MAGICal Christmas 2008 - December 20, 2008

[alikat99]

I hope I didn't stir up too much with the report of what I found out from my call to DCL this week. Who knows, they may change their collective minds about what happens which night since it will be Christmas week. It hadn't occured to me that pirate night is on Christmas Eve. I was just glad that Christmas is at least semi-formal night.

My guess is that is the rotation schedule for the 7-night double-dips for this fall/winter. But, my guess would be that DCL will change it for Christmas week.

 

[Diana Lyn]

Shannon - Definitely call CafePress tomorrow!!! We had a small problem with shirts for our DVC member cruise. I think that what happened was that they only printed the design on the front, but not the one on the back for all 4 of my shirts. I called them immediately, they printed new ones and I got them even quicker than the first set. And, they just told me to donate the original ones or something. They had GREAT customer service!!!

I second that---anytime anyone had a problem, they made good on it.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Since DCL has altered our itinerary to send us to Cozumel on Tuesday instead of Wednesday (like other double-dips are), I would not be surprised to find that Pirate night is Tuesday night rather than Christmas Eve. Isn't Pirate Night generally on Cozumel night for Western Carib. itinerariies?

I need to get our t-shirt order placed but was holding out for a sale Shannon - how long between ordering and delivery for you?

 

[minnie1]

Merrilyn-I hope you can still go on the cruise. However, I totally understand.

Robin- It is great to hear that your mothers treatments are going well.

I too was thinking they may change the dining rotation around because of Christmas. It would be nice if they did, but if they don't I can't complain too much. We will still be on a Disney Cruise.

I get to make excursion reservations on Sunday night/Monday morning. I will let you know what I get.

Everyone have a great weekend. We are going away for the weekend. My little niece is getting baptized.

Angie

 

[tinksmom]

Angie, good luck with your ressies Sunday night. Have a safe trip this weekend!
tenya

 

[DCLInauguralXmas]

This is my first time participating in a blog. But this thread is so dear to my heart that I had to join in. So if I am doing it wrong let me know. Anyway, I also booked out December 20, 2008 Christmas Cruise on the first day possible way back in January 2007. My oldest DS is 18, a senior in high school this year and he initiated the whole trip. He wanted one more family trip where he could be a kid before going off to college next year. So we booked it and I am so excited I can barely work though the day without peaking at something Disney on the net.

I have above mentioned DS 18, DD 16, twin DSs 10, and DH who is a supervisor at Caterpillar. We live in Indiana on a farm. And, I cannot wait to board the Magic for Xmas.

I am hoping that you all will let me share in your excitement and let me get to know you all!

 

[DCLInauguralXmas]

\

 

[njmom23grls]

I know that there is a lot to catch up on - I think you will find we are a pretty friendly bunch - the ages of all the kids are on the first post. We also have an ornament exchange, a fish extender gift exchange and a meet n greet planned - I'll let the organizers chime in and tell you about it

Lisa

 

[minnie1]

Welcome Denise and family!
This board is amazing, everyday I just get more and more excited for this cruise. All the wonderful people here help that happen.

Angie

 

[gardengirlco]

Welcome, Denise! I also have a DS10, as well as DS3. We booked on Day 1 also. It seems like so long ago and now it's getting so close.

Cindy, I think what you say makes sense for Pirate Night being on Tuesday. I really can't imagine it not being switched from Christmas Eve because I believe I've read in past years that they do special events on Christmas Eve, like storytime with Mrs. Claus in the evening. I guess we'll find out come December.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Denise - let me add my to the thread! DH and I were talking at lunch how in 11 weeks we'll be driving down to Port Canaveral for this cruise!

I'm Cindy D., wife to Gary, mom to Nathan (12) and Zachary (11). This will be our 4th DCL cruise but our first over Christmas. It is also a surprise cruise for the boys.

I'm organizing the Meet and Greet on Embarkation day -- check the first post in the thread for details. It's a come and say hi and put faces with names sort of thing. I'm also keeping a spreadsheet of DISers with Cabin Numbers, traveling party, etc., so that those participating in the Fish Extenders exchange can know where to drop things off. So if you want to be included on the spreadsheet, you can PM me (well, I think you have to have some more posts before you can send private messages) with your names, cabin number, etc.


In other news, Zachary said last night that he would sure like to go on a Disney Cruise for Christmas this year (we have a RCCL one scheduled for next year). I was able to truthfully tell him that I had recently checked and the cruise was SOLD OUT. The guys were watching the Travel Channel last night and saw Samantha Brown in Cozumel doing a thing with the dolphins; Zachary said he wants to do that some day (yay - we are! not the swim, but the encounter).

DH suggested to the boys that we plan a trip to Kennedy Space Center for the weekend they get out of school. That gives us great cover for going to Port Canaveral that afternoon. And we were already planning to go to KSC on the day we get back from the cruise. I can't wait til we get to the hotel and then the boys see other DISers, particularly Lissa, Matt, and Nancy whom we met before... if I can not tell them we're cruising before we arrive at the hotel.

 

[tinksmom]

Welcome to the board and cruise, Denise! I lurked for a long time before I started posting. I think you'll find a nice home here for the next 11 weeks.

Cindy, I think it's incredible that you've been able to keep this a secret from your boys. I wanted to not tell my DH and DD, but we were watching a DCL show on the Travel Channel in June and my mouth just started blabbing. Oh well, it just let Joe and Carly become involved in the planning.
tenya

 

[DCLInauguralXmas]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to sharing in the excitement as we count down to sailing. Has anyone ever been on the Jeep excursion on Cozumel? We have it reserved on the shore excursions, but I have heard mixed reviews on the conditions of the roads, etc.

 

[njmom23grls]

We have not done the jeep excursion - but thought about it. In the end I ended up booking the dune buggy thing - its a nice long day and I get to go to the beach and Emily, my 14 dd, gets to get bounced around which is her favorite thing! It can never be too high, too fast, or too bouncy for her. Me? I'm a chicken!

 

[ShannonR]

Welcome Denise!!! We also booked A LONG TIME AGO (18 months to be exact )

I am Shannon, and along with DH Rick, we have three children: DD15 Morgan, DS12 Mitchell, and oops! baby DD4 Melissa . This will be our 2nd DCL cruise. We have been to WDW numerous times and plan to visit WDW for 4 days following the cruise!!!

Cindy-My shirts came in less than a week from ordering them. I am going to call Cafe Press and see what they can do because those two shirts really do look bad. What's the worst that can happen, right?

I bought this really pretty evening wear pantsuit for semiformal night. I still have to buy a dress for formal night. DH has decided to rent a tuxedo from DCL for formal night, so he said I HAVE to wear a dress. The older two kids are not going to formal night (they didn't go last cruise either. They would rather eat at the pizza house and be in the pool! ) So it was just Melissa with us for all the themed nights and character breakfast! I have bought her three pretty dresses for semi formal, formal and Christmas dinners.

Have to go and get ready for work now! Last night, there was a nothing but laboring teenagers! My three patients were 13, 14 and 17 y.o. (on her 2nd baby)

Shannon

 

[MOQu]

Well, my day went well...
Spent the morning getting a second more intensive mammogram and then waiting around for the ultrasound because it had been down earlier in the day so there was a backup. Turned out to be a cyst the size of a dime that they decided to leave alone instead of needle biopsy. The radiologist felt that it would be very difficult to get to since it was up deep against my chest wall and since I have a history of benign cysts and this one appeared harmless, it was best to leave it alone for now.

Still have to make the final decision about the $$ for the cruise. Hubby really wants to go on the cruise. Of course I pay the bills, so I know what a stretch it is for us. Most of me says go for it. I am working a full time job as an engineer, teaching a lab, running a part-time business and going to grad school. I think my family deserves some family time! (And I deserve a rest )

 

[MOQu]

Anyone but us have late seating for dinner? We prefer late seating, mostly because we get to sleep in a tiny bit on the last day...

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Denise welcome to the group. I'm Lissa and I'm traveling with my mom Nancy and my brother Matt all adults. This will be our 2nd DCL cruise and we are extremly excited about it.

Angie and anyone else booking ressies on Sunday good luck. Ou first cruise was the med cruise and we had to be up at 3am to book everything and then the system crashed. I nearly had a heartattack when that happened.

Cindy planning a trip to the space center is a great cover. It will keep them guessing for a little while longer.

Lissa

 

[nzdisneymom]

Anyone but us have late seating for dinner? We prefer late seating, mostly because we get to sleep in a tiny bit on the last day...

We have main seating as we prefer to eat a bit earlier, but because we read the awesome DISBoard tip about going to Topsiders for breakfast on the last day, we split the difference in what time we have to get up on the last morning -- not so early as first seating, but not as late as 2nd seating. We have time to go eat and then come back to brush teeth, check the room, collect our last bit of stuff and say goodbye to the cabin.

 

[bigedwin]

Hello!
We also have Late Dinner.
Done the early dinner all the other times on DCL.
Always wanted more time to get the family ready for dinner.
This is it!
Ed