MAGICal Christmas 2008 - December 20, 2008

[tinkerbell_29]

Take care Shannon and be safe. Will be praying for you and your family.

Lissa

 

[ShannonR]

WooooWeeee! Is it ever raining and windy outside!@?!! The tropical storm hit about three hours ago (the news said it had slowed down in speed) and the hurricane is about to reach Brownsville, so in the next couple of hours it should get pretty shaky around here. They have already lost their power on South Padre Island and I expect to lose ours sometime throughout the day. If that happens, I told Rick to pack up the kids and head for San Antonio. There is NO WAY they could stand it even for a couple of hours with no air. It averages 100 degrees outside each day down here. Even with the rain dropping the temps some, it still will be between 80-90 degrees.

So far so good with the power, so I will utilize everything I have at this point (the kids are taking their showers NOW, I am doing all the laundry, doing the dishes, using the computer, etc...). I would NEVER have survived in the pioneer days! I love the conveniences of modern day society!!

Shannon

 

[BearFan]

Hi Gang!
I just had a brainstorm! How about a digital scavenger hunt!?! I had the idea to do a scavenger hunt and then after researching it yesterday, I came up with the idea of a digital scavenger hunt. Most people have digital cameras or camcorders that do stills nowadays. Am I off-base? Would you all be interested in doing something like that on a day at sea? I could pass out sheets in the AM with things to take pictures of and maybe we could get together later that evening or afternoon and see what people got as results. I wouldn't think that we'd have to print anything at the end unless people wanted to do it on their own to keep. I'd be happy to do it for our group. Anybody interested?

Lisa Marie

 

[nzdisneymom]

Shannon - hope you guys are staying safe. Keep us posted when you can.

Lisa - I love the idea of a digital scavenger hunt - I know my boys would absolutely love it -- on our last cruise, we gave them the camera and told them to "go have fun." We have pics of parts of the ship we've never seen before (oops!). But seriously, I love that idea.

 

[tinkerbell_29]

I love the idea of a digital scavengar hunt. On our last cruise I came back with over 2000 pictures. Alot of them places around the ship. I have been threatened not to come back with that many pictures ever again it cost a fortune to develop.

 

[Az Pirates]

We've seen how fast the weather can change with the monsoons in AZ, and I'll be just fine if I never experience the fury of a hurricane.

We've got family near Galveston and they headed up to stay with friends in Ft Worth for a few days.
I hope all is well in Texas and that Shannon and family are safe and secure.

We are officially booked for the Christmas cruise. Can't wait this is our 2nd cruise. Our first was just a 4 night this past Jan. So what can we expect on a Christmas cruise?? Can't wait to see everyone on board!!

We've never cruised during the Holidays either; but there are several folks on our thread who have been on previous DCL Christmas cruises and are coming back for more, seems like a good recommendation to me.



I tried to do a dummy ressie for our cruise the other day just to see what categories were left, and I got an error message telling me to pick another itinerary or month, so I check All Seasons site and there are no prices listed there either. So it looks like we might be sold out.

Hi Gang!
I just had a brainstorm! How about a digital scavenger hunt!?! I had the idea to do a scavenger hunt and then after researching it yesterday, I came up with the idea of a digital scavenger hunt. Most people have digital cameras or camcorders that do stills nowadays. Am I off-base? Would you all be interested in doing something like that on a day at sea? I could pass out sheets in the AM with things to take pictures of and maybe we could get together later that evening or afternoon and see what people got as results. I wouldn't think that we'd have to print anything at the end unless people wanted to do it on their own to keep. I'd be happy to do it for our group. Anybody interested?

Lisa Marie

We're in!

We participated in a digital scavenger hunt on the Repo cruise a few years back. Some of the pictures we took for that are my favorites because they're of things you wouldn't ordinarily get (at least I wouldn't)

Of course I still say we should have gotten bonus points since we got pictures of the INSIDE, not just the entry door, of the Stack (teenagers on our team) and the Walt suite (friends staying there) I lobbied for bonus points at the time... but it was a no go.



I haven't logged on for quite awhile, so I haven't responded to the planning PM yet. I'll check it out now though. Sorry for the slow response.

So much for having plenty of free time during the summer... I need to get the kids back to school so I can slow down a bit! We don't start back until after Labor Day around here though, so I've still got plenty of summer left.

 

[pogopossum]

i hope that all is well for shannon and the rest of the valley people. i did see that the storm was losing steam pretty fast so i hope that helps.

for those of up north of there, hopefully we can get a band or two of the outer stuff, we sure need some relief for the dry, so that we don't slip back into droughthood.

prayers are up for those in the storm's way, and shannon let me know if there is anything that i can do or send to you for help.

 

[HFC1969]

Can someone tell me what is the cheapest way to call home while on the cruise? Do cell phones work now? Should I sign up for Global Roaming?


The last couple times on while cruising at the holidays we took alot of our imeadiate family with us.. This time they declined so I figure we are gonna have to make alot of phone calls on Christmas day.

 

[minnie1]

We got our passports yesterday. It really seems real now that we are going on this cruise. The girls were so excited to see their own passports with their pictures in them.

Everyone have a great weekend. I am off to prepare for dd's 10th birthday party tonight. She is having 7 girls sleepover and we are having an American Girl Doll Mystery party so I have to go put up the clues.

Angie

 

[ShannonR]

Hello everyone!! We survived Hurricane Dolly!! It wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be. I worked last night and it was really busy for as bad of weather it was outside. I couldn't believe how many women actually found their way to the hospital in 70 mph winds and rain! I guess if there is a will there is a way , and out of all the women that came in last night only ONE was actually in true blue labor. The rest of them were for "back pain", "I haven't felt my baby move in 30 minutes", etc.. We were thinking you are out in this weather for THAT!?!?! The city called a Code Yellow (natural disaster) and we weren't able to leave the hospital this morning until it was cleared by the city. A lot of the day girls had spent the night in one of the labor rooms to make sure we had relief this morning, which was great, but by 6:00 AM the wind and rain was gone. There is SOOO MUCH wind/rain damage from the storm, it is going to take a while to repair. We personally had no damage to our house and lost power for only about 12 hours! It was funny to see the doctors come in for deliveries last night SOAKING WET and all wind blown! Ha!Ha!Ha!

Count us in for the digital scavenger hunt! Mitchell LOVES that kind of activity and the baby will too! We are really looking forward to ALL the activities! COUNT US IN FOR EVERYTHING!

Everybody have a great day. I have seven more nights to go and then a couple days off!

Shannon

 

[BearFan]

Shannon,
You're a real trooper! I'm glad that all has turned out well for you and yours. Just don't forget to take care of yourself during times like this because well, you know that saying "If momma ain't happy...." !

Lisa Marie

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Shannon I'm glad to hear you and your family made it through the storm ok. Hurricanes are one reason we left Florida I hate the clean up afterwards.

Lissa

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Yay!!! We just made our last payment and are now paid in full. I love knowing a vacation is paid off because it mean we are really going to go. I was fooling aroung with our vacation widget from DVC we have 144 days until this cruise. Right now were getting ready to leave for WDW we leave on Friday I can't wait.

Lissa

 

[nzdisneymom]

We got our packet in the mail from DCL today with our "dates to remember
" and our "planning" document/booklet. Yippee -- that makes it seem like it's coming up so soon!

We won't be making our final payment til nearly the last minute, but since we aren't concerned about making excursion reservations or palo / spa, etc., it won't make any difference for us.

 

[stillwater]

To answer the "what to expect on a Christmas cruise?" questions, this is my answer from another thread based on our Christmas 2007 cruise:


Okay, here's a quick list of the special holiday activities (I may miss some, I'm home for a bit between driving the kids around).

Saturday - Tree lighting in the Lobby Atrium

Sunday - Oceaneers Club has Story Time with Mrs. Clause, then a Caroling Rehearsal

Monday (Christmas Eve) - Santa Visits from Noon to 4:30 in the Lobby Atrium, Holiday Crafts in the Oceaneer Club, Holiday Card Making in the Oceaneer Lab, Holiday Karaoke in Studio Sea, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas read by Mrs. Clause and her helpers at 10 p.m. in the Lobby Atrium

Tuesday at St. Maarten (Christmas Day) and Formal Dinner - Holiday Dance Party at 5 in the Lobby Atrium, Sounds of the Season at 7:30 in the Promenade Lounge, Christmas Ornament Making in the Oceaneer Club and Holiday Cooking Decorating in Ocean Quest

Wednesday in St. Thomas and Pirates In the Caribbean Dinner

Thursday - Sea day

Friday at Castaway Cay

The drinks of the day were all holiday-themed, like Berry Christmas, Santa's Treasure, Jingle Bash, Mistle Toe, Caribbean Christmas Mojito, and Santa's Bell -- if you're into that sort of thing

The ship was so beautiful with the huge tree in the lobby and the gingerbread house. And it was easy to immerse ourselves in as much or as little of the Christmas-iness as as wanted.

And I honestly can't say what was for dinner on Christmas Day. We did the Lotterie Farm tour on St. Maarten (an amazing but hilly hike, worth the physical strain for the views along the way) and then came back to the ship and swam and by dinnertime we were completely exhausted. We sat above the lobby area in our t-shirts and shorts, peeking down at everyone all dressed up so beautifully, and then we went up to Deck 9 and got a quick meal, then crashed. Sad, but true.

We brought a few decorations, but are planning to bring more this year. It's honestly up to you what you want to bring, and what you have room for in your luggage with the new airline restrictions.

Anything else I can help with, let me know.

 

[alikat99]

I was looking at castaway club dot com and the menus and she had ones listed from Christmas 2003 and 2004 and they are basically the exact same menu. So, I'm guessing that it's probably still pretty close to the same.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I finally had a few minutes to compile the replies to our activities list for the cruise. I'll summarize them here:

T-Shirts -- we have 22 individuals interested, so I would think that is enough to do a group-thing like cafe press or whatever. now we need a design and organizer.

Trinket exchange -- there were 10 families interested in bringing trinkets of some form or another for our fellow-DISers. These could be delivered at a meet or via fish extender.

Fish Extenders -- 11 families have indicated they are bringing something to use as a fish extender. This is awesome because it will help facilitate some of our other planned activities.

Ornament Exchange -- there are 6 families who said YES they want to participate in an ornament exchange and one maybe.

Secret Santa - there are 6 families who said YES they want to participate in a Secret Santa, and one maybe.

Meets -- there are 8 families who are interested in meeting up pre-cruise in the terminal, and 6 families who expressed interest in an Embarkation Day meet. Only 2 families were interested in a Sea Day meet.

So there it is -- now that we have a general sense of what folks are interested in doing, we can get to planning! Don't be shy - if you want to coordinate something, jump right in and offer! We're 4 1/2 months from sailing!

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Hi everyone! We arrived at SSR yesterday. we decided to come in August is beyond me. The humidity is awful. We are having agreat time so far just wanted to log on and tell everyone hi!

Lissa

 

[minnie1]

Hi everyone! We arrived at SSR yesterday. we decided to come in August is beyond me. The humidity is awful. We are having agreat time so far just wanted to log on and tell everyone hi!

Lissa

Lissa,
I hope you and your family have a great time. We can't wait to go. Just over a week and we will be traveling to WDW.

Angie

 

[nzdisneymom]

Lissa - have a great time at the World - and yeah, it's plenty hot but just think, you have that wonderful SSR to come back to and cool off and relax. Gotta love the free internet for DVC owners, too!


I bought the material to make our fish extender yesterday - now to get it made this week without the watchful eyes of the boys. I'm excited about it.

And I started thinking about packing list today - it's too soon!!!!!