March 12, 2011 Eastern Caribbean, Let's rock the Magic!

[jennyh2829]

I just saw this. We are going to "TENDER" at ST Thomas now.. Bummer i cant do a tender...

Wednesday 16-Mar-2011 ST THOMAS 7:45 AM 3:30 PM TENDER

Mark

Where did you see this??? DH said he's not into tendering either.

On another note just booked Palo brunch...can't wait!!

 

[jennyh2829]

Merry Christmas, everyone. We are less than 80 days away....

Enjoy your day!

 

[Paragd911]

Merry Christmas, everyone. We are less than 80 days away....

Enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas!!!

 

[Cheryllynn74]

I stayed up until midnight last night so I could make some cruise reservations. I was so nervous I wouldn't get Palo for my anniversary dinner, but I did. Also scheduled Palo brunch and the St. John island tour excursion. I think we will be doing St. Martin on our own either renting a car or using taxis. I'm making DH nervous with that choice but I'm excited about it. Can't wait!!! 75 More Days

 

[3Goofy's]

Well, we are officially off this cruise. Very sad about it. My tummy troubles will not be resolved in time for the cruise. We did book for the same week in 2012, so we still have something to look forward to.
Have an awesome time! I'll look for any trip reports!

 

[5fromhamilton]

Congrats Cheryl and Ricky I will be celebrating my 42nd bday on the 17th and hoping to get into Palo for dinner it sounds like it is the place to go.

Mike
5fromhamilton

 

[5fromhamilton]

Well we are 75 days from sailing out and have never been on a cruise before my DW and I are woundering what to prepair for and were hoping that some of the more experinced crusers could help us out. We are bringing our 3 kids Candace 11, Garrett 7 and Braeden 5. We are looking for some day trips that will be good for all. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Beesmom]

Where did you see this??? DH said he's not into tendering either.

Jenny:

I saw this on the itenerary when I received a confirmation letter for paying off the cruise.

If we're tendering in St. Thomas that means there will be a ton o' ships there that day.

-Sandy

 

[Stinasmom]

Hey all!

Here is the list I have so far of all who've posted.

There are some changes, not to many. We did lose one family that was going to participate in the FE exchange, so adjust accordingly.

BTW- Take care 3Goofy's. Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Glad you were able to reschedule, at least you still have that Disney Cruise in your future to look forward to.


*Stinasmom - Marcy 43, VJ 44, Christina 14, Dominic 10
*Cheryllynn74 - Cheryl 35, Ricky 36, celebrating 10th anniversary aboard
M&P's mom
Beesmom - 45, DH 39, DS4
vkashtap1971 - Veena, Raj, DD Saira 15, DS Nick 3
steveigoe - Steve & Sue
*candizfan - mom, DH, DD15, DD12
*jennyh2829 - Jenny, DH 40ish, DD11
*dfamily- Ruth, DH40, DS12, DD9, DS6, DD2 + inlaws (inlaws not in FE)
*neeedAcruise - me, DH 30's, DD8, DD10, Dniece 14 + inlaws
azrealtor - me 40's, DD9, DD11, sister 50's, son, Mom 70's
farmfan - 30's, DD10, DD7
*Ashansen - Ashley, DH, DD10, DD8
*mickeyhugger - Pricilla, Rob, DD16 Rachel, Dfriend 16 Kristin
*DisneyDarwin - Mom50, DD18
*terimac - Teri, DH- Mason (30's), DD5 - Brynlea, DS6 Rylan
5fromhamilton - Mike (birthday on 3/17), DW (40s), DD11Candace, DS7Garrett, DS5 Braeden + inlaws and family
Hookedonmagic - Lisa & Tim (40s), DS8
Dizneyfool - +DH, DS8. DS5
*Jules30 - Julie, DH("30s"), DD7, DS4
*Paragd911 - Mark, Joy, DD14 Marissa, DDog (service dog) Shadow
SB's Mom - Charlene, Paul, DD12+
*venegasfam4 - Sally, Laz, DD4 Abby, DS6 Cosmo

I did most of my FE shopping on the day after Christmas

One more thing - my DD14 wants to Facebook friend other teens from our group... PM me and I'll get you in touch!

Marcy

 

[farmfam]

My DD10 is wondering about the kids clubs for her age. She'd like to go in the club that's for 11-year-olds, where she could come and go without having to wait for us to get her. We were wondering if they are really strict with the age restrictions.
Have any of you on this board cruised with daughters her age?

 

[Stinasmom]

My DD10 is wondering about the kids clubs for her age. She'd like to go in the club that's for 11-year-olds, where she could come and go without having to wait for us to get her. We were wondering if they are really strict with the age restrictions.
Have any of you on this board cruised with daughters her age?

OH, oh... I can speak to this one...

My first suggestion is to see if she and any of the other DD10, or 11s on this cruise meets thread would want to get to know each other over the internet (facebook, email?) so they can pal up right away and go to the clubs together. They'll likely make other friends too, but it's always easier to go into a new situation with someone else.

The Oceaneers Lab is technically for 8-10 year olds but instead of putting age limits on anything in the Oceaneers Club (3-7s) or the Lab, they list the actual activities in the Navigators each day. The activities are catagorized by type such as arts&crafts, sports court, etc and age ranges are suggested. Kids can pick and choose what they want to do.

You can give her permission to "check herself out" of the clubs. Ages 11 and up don't even "check in/out." Also, although I am waiting to hear about the success of these, the cruiseline is now offering wave phones, two to a stateroom with more available for $7.50 per day. These take the place of the pagers and work like cell phones with a range of just the ship and Castaway Cay. She can let you know when and where she is! I love this!!!

As far as 10 year olds going to Ocean Quest, I don't think the councelors actually check ages as long as they look close. I have a DS10 and was concerned that he'd be bored with the younger kids. However, I got to thinking, and even posted a thread about it on the DCL board, that the age separations fall along school grades... my DS10 is in the 4th grade and the Ocean Quest group is meant to be Middle school age.. also to keep them separate from the Stack which would be pretty much high school age.

The other thing kids who are mature enough to check themselves out or who are over age 11 do is "wander the ship." This sounds worse than it is and has gotten a bad rap by the few kids who get out of control. They can go to the arcade, the Goofy pool, food areas, the sports courts, and there are lots of places on Deck 10 to "hang" in the sun.

Hope this helps! If it brings up more questions, just ask!

Marcy

 

[farmfam]

Wow, thanks Marcy! That is very helpful. I just showed your response to my daughter, and she was glad to hear that she won't necessarily have to always be in with the younger kids.

 

[SB's Mom]

Has anyone eaten at Palo before? If so did you do brunch, high tea, or dinner? We are considering this but not sure. DH doesn't want to do dinner since we try to eat as a family. So I guess that leaves brunch or tea....any thoughts?

We love going to Palo's....brunch is my favorite! We've got brunch booked late in the cruise and dinner on the 2nd night....looking forward to it!

 

[amysuch]

We're getting close! What excursions are everyone going on?

 

[amysuch]

Question: How supervised is the teen area? DD14 is on a "short leash" lately (her grades have been slipping) so DH doesn't want her going to the teen area. I told him I thought it was very supervised and there were lots of activities.

I'm sure she doesn't want to hang out with mom & dad the entire time.

 

[Ashansen]

We're thinking about booking teh Butterfly tour on St. Maarten....Not sure about what to do on St. Thomas. Kids are 10 and 8.....

Any suggestions??? Might just not book anything!

Ashley

 

[Ashansen]

Anyone with a 10 year old who feels a little "old" for kids club? My DD is 10...she's been on the Disney cruise before and liked thd club...but is feeling like she may be a little old for it now..but she's too young for their tween program...I told her that there were other 10 year old girls on the cruise board.....hoping to reassure her!

Ashley

 

[azrealtor]

I stayed up until midnight last night so I could make some cruise reservations. I was so nervous I wouldn't get Palo for my anniversary dinner, but I did. Also scheduled Palo brunch and the St. John island tour excursion. I think we will be doing St. Martin on our own either renting a car or using taxis. I'm making DH nervous with that choice but I'm excited about it. Can't wait!!! 75 More Days

On St Martin you may just want to use a taxi. Would think it to be too time consuming to rent a car. My sp and I took a taxi when we went last. Interesting on the other side of the island there was no warning for seeing the people without garments. Suggest not bring the kids...

 

[Stinasmom]

Question: How supervised is the teen area? DD14 is on a "short leash" lately (her grades have been slipping) so DH doesn't want her going to the teen area. I told him I thought it was very supervised and there were lots of activities.

I'm sure she doesn't want to hang out with mom & dad the entire time.

The Stack, or teen area has councelors but the activities are very loosely organized. Not like the younger youth clubs. It's really a place to "hang" and meet new friends. The teens come and go as they please... no checking in and out. You can certainly set curfews, and I am SOOO looking forward to the Wave phones so we can keep in touch with our teens aboard.

I'm not sure what to tell you... unless you keep your DD with you all the time, she's going to want to meet kids her age and be able to go where they're going. My DD is turning 14 today, as a matter of fact. Maybe they could get to know each other before? She is a really great kid and makes friends easily.

We still have a couple months before cruising... maybe your DD could make amends by then? Sorry, I rarely look for parenting advice and am not trying to offer any, just tossing it out there.

Good luck!

Marcy

 

[amysuch]

Thanks, Marcy. I'm sure she'll be fine.

She would probably love to get to know your daughter before the trip. I don't think I have enough posts to PM. I'll work on posting more so I can send you her email.