Magic Christmas Cruise 2010 (Dec 18th - 29th) - ***UPDATED - post #411 ***

[pillow]

There is an area at the far end of the check-in counters marked "supervisor". After you check in, you can go to that desk and ask if there are any upgrades available. DCL had given us the free upgrade from cat 12 to cat 9, but we did have to pay to upgrade to the cat 5. however, it was about 60% less than what the upcharge would have been between at cat 9 and a cat 5 before sailing, so it was a bargain in my opinion! however, you cannot count on upgrades being available, as the ship often sails full. we were just willing to take a chance at booking a lower cat and being able to upgrade at the port. it was nice it worked out for us this time.

Got it! Thanks for the tip!

J

 

[Hanny&AlsMom]

I've heard you can ship things to the ship. It might be a little easier than trying to pack all that stuff. Worth looking into.

Jodie

Thanks for the tip Jodie! I have read that on the boards as well, and it was something that I've considered. The only problem would be - can you ship things off the ship? You have no idea my packing dilemmas. Drives my husband crazy. On our last cruise we bought a fair amount of "stuff", but not an outrageous amount. Well, we could not fit everything into our suitcases when we were packing to go home. It was really stressful. I filled my beachbag to the point of overflowing, was going to use this as a carry-on. It just didn't make sense that we had so little room, and I had my husband telling me that I always pack too much, on and on and on. Not really helping my situation. Then I did a count of the suitcases and realized we were missing one! It was still under the bed. You can't imagine my happiness - I had been getting ready to leave clothes behind!

My DD will be maybe a just a little older than you DS when this cruise rolls around, so it's good to know that others with kids around the same age are not hesitating to do this cruise b/c it's over Christmas. DD actually asked where this cruise went and was pretty excited about it. I all but told her there is no way we can do it, but where there is a will there is a way! I have 18 months to save towards it, and I think I almost have DH convinced he would be fine with just a window, so maybe there is hope yet!

I really hope I'll get to meet you guys!

My kids are so excited to be on the ship at Christmas! Thanks for the upgrading tips. We are booked in a category 9, have sailed in the same room before. We are very happy with the room, would be no problem to stay there. But I think I will now try and upgrade at check in - worth asking. Do you have to be there right at opening? I assume this would be the case.

 

[Dreamsoftravel]

Thanks for the tip Jodie! I have read that on the boards as well, and it was something that I've considered. The only problem would be - can you ship things off the ship? You have no idea my packing dilemmas. Drives my husband crazy. On our last cruise we bought a fair amount of "stuff", but not an outrageous amount. Well, we could not fit everything into our suitcases when we were packing to go home. It was really stressful. I filled my beachbag to the point of overflowing, was going to use this as a carry-on. It just didn't make sense that we had so little room, and I had my husband telling me that I always pack too much, on and on and on. Not really helping my situation. Then I did a count of the suitcases and realized we were missing one! It was still under the bed. You can't imagine my happiness - I had been getting ready to leave clothes behind!




My kids are so excited to be on the ship at Christmas! Thanks for the upgrading tips. We are booked in a category 9, have sailed in the same room before. We are very happy with the room, would be no problem to stay there. But I think I will now try and upgrade at check in - worth asking. Do you have to be there right at opening? I assume this would be the case.

I have never heard of shipping stuff off the ship, but depending on what you are doing when you disembark, maybe go to the post office and send stuff home?

We had a cat 9 and loved it. We are in a cat 6 for our October cruise. I am looking forward to it, but I am still waiting to see if it is worth the extra money and might go back to a cat 8 or 9 for this Christmas cruise.

 

[Hanny&AlsMom]

I have never heard of shipping stuff off the ship, but depending on what you are doing when you disembark, maybe go to the post office and send stuff home?

We had a cat 9 and loved it. We are in a cat 6 for our October cruise. I am looking forward to it, but I am still waiting to see if it is worth the extra money and might go back to a cat 8 or 9 for this Christmas cruise.

I think that we'll stick to smaller presents, maybe a couple of extra special shore excursions, and decide closer to the date if Santa will leave presents at home, while we're away. The shipping to the boat idea is great, but I think that (in my case), it won't help us at all for the return trip.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Hey! Well, I think I almost have DH convinced to move our spring break trip next year to this sailing...

I know DD would love going on a long cruise like this. I just don't know how to handle the Santa thing other than to bring a few things along. Unfortunately, we have always called all her gifts ones from Santa. I know some folks say a few are from Santa and most are from mom & dad...how I wish we had done that! Hey, where there is a will there's a way, and if I get the green light to book this, I will find a way to make it work!

Any ideas what the excursions might be in some of the different ports (i.e. not St. Maarten and St. Thomas)?

I posted a question on the main board today about shows and activities on longer cruises and especially about ones over the holidays. I think it would be cool to have extra entertainers and shows!

~Kimberly

 

[pillow]

Thanks for the tip Jodie! I have read that on the boards as well, and it was something that I've considered. The only problem would be - can you ship things off the ship? You have no idea my packing dilemmas. Drives my husband crazy. On our last cruise we bought a fair amount of "stuff", but not an outrageous amount. Well, we could not fit everything into our suitcases when we were packing to go home. It was really stressful. I filled my beachbag to the point of overflowing, was going to use this as a carry-on. It just didn't make sense that we had so little room, and I had my husband telling me that I always pack too much, on and on and on. Not really helping my situation. Then I did a count of the suitcases and realized we were missing one! It was still under the bed. You can't imagine my happiness - I had been getting ready to leave clothes behind!

Funny!! The only thing I can think of would be to bring a collapsible duffle and pack it in one of your other suitcases on the way down???

On the Med trip, we managed with just 1 suitcase per person, but I did laundry twice on the ship. Really we were gone 2 weeks total including the pre-cruise time in Barcelona, so I feel like we did pretty well. We even had some souveniers packed for the return trip - not sure how we did that!!

Jodie

 

[Dreamsoftravel]

Hey! Well, I think I almost have DH convinced to move our spring break trip next year to this sailing...

I know DD would love going on a long cruise like this. I just don't know how to handle the Santa thing other than to bring a few things along. Unfortunately, we have always called all her gifts ones from Santa. I know some folks say a few are from Santa and most are from mom & dad...how I wish we had done that! Hey, where there is a will there's a way, and if I get the green light to book this, I will find a way to make it work!

Any ideas what the excursions might be in some of the different ports (i.e. not St. Maarten and St. Thomas)?

I posted a question on the main board today about shows and activities on longer cruises and especially about ones over the holidays. I think it would be cool to have extra entertainers and shows!

~Kimberly

How old is your DD? I wonder if Santa can send a letter a head of time with disney dollars to use on the cruise. I know it seems silly saying Santa is now paying for travel, but depending on the age of the child, it might just work.

 

[itutorfortravel]

How old is your DD? I wonder if Santa can send a letter a head of time with disney dollars to use on the cruise. I know it seems silly saying Santa is now paying for travel, but depending on the age of the child, it might just work.

Hi, DD will be 3 months shy of her 9th birthday when we sail. Disney Dollars are an excellent idea for a gift! She has already asked about going on the "longer" Disney cruise but we told her that was just not within our budget and that if we even hoped to do it, we would have to ask Santa to help us pay for it rather than bring a lot of gifts that year...that way, she isn't counting on being able to go and if we did she knows that it means less gifts. She seemed pretty excited about that idea, so who knows, maybe we can pull that off! We did our cruise this year right after her birthday and lots of family members gave her $ for her birthday, so she had a little over $100 for souvenirs...boy did that help!

I second the idea given earlier about duffle bags. We packed 2/3 of our stuff in rolling duffles and they were great. They fit nicely under the bed so we could keep our luggage out of the way. I have already resigned myself to the idea of having to do laundry at least once if we do this cruise. Oh well, that is a small price to pay I suppose.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thanks for the tip Jodie! I have read that on the boards as well, and it was something that I've considered. The only problem would be - can you ship things off the ship? You have no idea my packing dilemmas. Drives my husband crazy. On our last cruise we bought a fair amount of "stuff", but not an outrageous amount. Well, we could not fit everything into our suitcases when we were packing to go home. It was really stressful. I filled my beachbag to the point of overflowing, was going to use this as a carry-on. It just didn't make sense that we had so little room, and I had my husband telling me that I always pack too much, on and on and on. Not really helping my situation. Then I did a count of the suitcases and realized we were missing one! It was still under the bed. You can't imagine my happiness - I had been getting ready to leave clothes behind!

Funny!! The only thing I can think of would be to bring a collapsible duffle and pack it in one of your other suitcases on the way down???

On the Med trip, we managed with just 1 suitcase per person, but I did laundry twice on the ship. Really we were gone 2 weeks total including the pre-cruise time in Barcelona, so I feel like we did pretty well. We even had some souveniers packed for the return trip - not sure how we did that!!

Jodie

Hey Jodie, was the Med cruise longer than 7 days? Maybe you can tell us what DCL does for entertainment on those extra days...I'm curious as to what we can expect...

Thanks, Kimberly

 

[itutorfortravel]

Hey, I just read this on the Budget Board and placed my order. The Crocs site online has Disney crocs on sale...the Cayman style are $9.99 / pair and the Mary Janes I think are $14.99. Anyhow, lots of styles to choose from...I got DD some for this year and some for next. Oh, and if you use the code "springcustomer09" you will get free shipping for any purchase over $50. One pair I purchased should fit DD by the time this cruise rolls around.

 

[pillow]

Hey Jodie, was the Med cruise longer than 7 days? Maybe you can tell us what DCL does for entertainment on those extra days...I'm curious as to what we can expect...

Thanks, Kimberly

I just lent all my Med cruise info to a friend who is considering doing the 2010 cruise. I honestly can't remember what the shows were like??!! Bad memory!

Jodie

 

[pillow]

Well, I just officially cancelled!! It really did make me feel a bit ill.

The good news for you guys is that I cancelled a secret porthole room. If anyone wants it, you might be able to call and grab it - room 5020.

Signing off.

Jodie

 

[pillow]

Hey, I just read this on the Budget Board and placed my order. The Crocs site online has Disney crocs on sale...the Cayman style are $9.99 / pair and the Mary Janes I think are $14.99. Anyhow, lots of styles to choose from...I got DD some for this year and some for next. Oh, and if you use the code "springcustomer09" you will get free shipping for any purchase over $50. One pair I purchased should fit DD by the time this cruise rolls around.

Thanks for the tip. My daughter needs a new pair.

Jodie

 

[pillow]

Hey, I just read this on the Budget Board and placed my order. The Crocs site online has Disney crocs on sale...the Cayman style are $9.99 / pair and the Mary Janes I think are $14.99. Anyhow, lots of styles to choose from...I got DD some for this year and some for next. Oh, and if you use the code "springcustomer09" you will get free shipping for any purchase over $50. One pair I purchased should fit DD by the time this cruise rolls around.

FYI - I put in your code and got the free shipping even though my order was only $15!!! Great deal! Thanks!

Jodie

 

[itutorfortravel]

FYI - I put in your code and got the free shipping even though my order was only $15!!! Great deal! Thanks!

Jodie

Ugh! I just tried to grab your SPH cabin but someone must have already snapped it up!

 

[pfishgirl]

DH & I have been tossing the idea around.. We may cancel this trip.. We have a Cat 3..

Originally we booked it and our son was booked with us, however, our son passed away May 13th.. He had just turned 19. We don't know why he passed, and was told the Autopsy reports take 8 - 12 weeks. We are still confused and in shock and kinda numb.. We live day by day..

Hubby and I are still booked but, I just don't know what we will do.. This was going to be our 1st ever Vacation away for Christmas. But, Now, without our son, it's not so special to us anymore

We might just switch dates when the New ships come out instead..

 

[EllaEnchanted]

DH & I have been tossing the idea around.. We may cancel this trip.. We have a Cat 3..

Originally we booked it and our son was booked with us, however, our son passed away May 13th.. He had just turned 19. We don't know why he passed, and was told the Autopsy reports take 8 - 12 weeks. We are still confused and in shock and kinda numb.. We live day by day..

Hubby and I are still booked but, I just don't know what we will do.. This was going to be our 1st ever Vacation away for Christmas. But, Now, without our son, it's not so special to us anymore

We might just switch dates when the New ships come out instead..

OMG Stacy......OMG.....OMG.....OMG.....how is it that you're standing and breathing.....OMG.

I lost my mom 2 years ago and it's still hard everyday. How do you lose a 19 year old son.....OMG.

You and Andy will be in my prayers everyday. Stay strong, one step forward at a time. I hope your answers come sooner rather than later. I hope you find peace. Hugs.

 

[pfishgirl]

OMG Stacy......OMG.....OMG.....OMG.....how is it that you're standing and breathing.....OMG.

I lost my mom 2 years ago and it's still hard everyday. How do you lose a 19 year old son.....OMG.

You and Andy will be in my prayers everyday. Stay strong, one step forward at a time. I hope your answers come sooner rather than later. I hope you find peace. Hugs.

Thank You

I didn't announce it on the Tortola thread cause he wasn't going to be going on that cruise with us anyway, due to his College schedule. I just wasn't ready for it

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Thank You

I didn't announce it on the Tortola thread cause he wasn't going to be going on that cruise with us anyway, due to his College schedule. I just wasn't ready for it

Mums the word.....they won't hear it from me.

Hugs sweetie....to you and Andy....I'm thinking of you both.

 

[Hanny&AlsMom]

DH & I have been tossing the idea around.. We may cancel this trip.. We have a Cat 3..

Originally we booked it and our son was booked with us, however, our son passed away May 13th.. He had just turned 19. We don't know why he passed, and was told the Autopsy reports take 8 - 12 weeks. We are still confused and in shock and kinda numb.. We live day by day..

Hubby and I are still booked but, I just don't know what we will do.. This was going to be our 1st ever Vacation away for Christmas. But, Now, without our son, it's not so special to us anymore

We might just switch dates when the New ships come out instead..

Oh Stacy,

My sincere condolences for your loss. That is just so tragic. As I sit here I cannot even think of words to express how deeply sorry I am to read this news. You and Andy are in my thoughts and prayers.

Carolyn