March 17, 2007 7 Day Eastern

[MN Dis Fans]

Happy Thursday everyone!
We broke down and told the kids about the cruise at Christmas. My mother typed up clues with gifts attached. There were 5 total. My son had it guessed by clue #2. The look on my mom's face was priceless when he guessed it with 3 clues to go. They are excited. We watched the planning DVD to cap things off.

Does anyone know of any independent excursion companies? We definitely want beach days for both St. Thomas and St. Maarten but are kind of hesitant to do it on our own because of having kids with us. The excursions on the Disney web site aren't really what we are looking for.

Any help is appreciated!!

You might want to check out the cruisecritic website message boards . They have a breakdown on each island that I found very helpful. I wasn't very happy with the DCL excursion tour descriptions either. We've booked an independant tour operator for St. Maartens, and cancelled our DCL ones. I'm a bit more wishy / washy about St Thomas / St Johns. Still trying to decide what we want to do, although I've booked the island tour for the morning & snorkeling for the afternoon with DCL.

Hope this helps?

My DW and I managed to surprise our 2x DS's in October. They knew we were going to WDW, but no idea about the cruise. It was really hard for the DW & I to keep our mouths shut, but we managed. The looks on their faces when we pulled up to the terminal; PRICELESS!

 

[disneypoor]

OK, guys! It's officially 2007! That means our cruise is getting closer!:cool1Are there any first time cruisers who are able to make reservations now for Palo's, etc.? Just trying to bump us up to the first page again. Hope everyone had a happy new year's eve!

 

[nana_b]

Just wanted to say HI to all of our fellow cruisers

We gave the March cruise to our grand-daughters for Christmas and they are so excited. They had to do a scavenger hunt to find the 12 clues. Each clue was a puzzle piece (in an envelope) that they were not allowed to assemble until all pieces were found. It was a blast!!

We have not planned any excursions yet, I was really hoping to see a new version of the navigator before making too many plans...
I look forward to getting to know everyone before the cruise.
See you around.

 

[jenbrem1]

You might want to check out the cruisecritic website message boards . They have a breakdown on each island that I found very helpful. I wasn't very happy with the DCL excursion tour descriptions either. We've booked an independant tour operator for St. Maartens, and cancelled our DCL ones. I'm a bit more wishy / washy about St Thomas / St Johns. Still trying to decide what we want to do, although I've booked the island tour for the morning & snorkeling for the afternoon with DCL.

Hope this helps

Thanks! That does help. I'll do some research today.

I went online yesterday and looked at what was available for Palo. No brunch times left and dinner times only left for the port days. I think I'll probably just wait until we board and see what's there.

Happy New Year everyone! 74 more days!!

 

[SB's Mom]

Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe that our cruise is just 10 weeks away from this Saturday!

My sister and brother-in-law were to take their 1st cruise this past Saturday but it was cancelled (not a Disney Cruise). The ship had problems on its way back from the Western Carribean and they were docking it to make the repairs for a week. They will get a full refund and then 1/2 off their next booked cruise. They had already traveled the 12 hours from their house to the port before they learned of the cancellation!

Have a great week!

Charlene

 

[SB's Mom]

Nana_B. . .did you get Stacy's e-mail for Morgan?
Let me know!

Charlene

 

[DW4US]

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can't believe only 10 more weeks --- so much to do and so little time.

Disneypoor --- were able to get anything worked out with the KU tickets -- I would've been heartbroken too. You work so hard for the big surprise and then to have it ruined is awful.

Kids are back at school today -- I hope they don't have too much homework to start off with!!!

 

[evebo]

Myself, DH, DS(9) and DS(5). Would love to meet others on cruise. We haven't book anything yet, and suggestions?

 

[jenbrem1]

evebo - check out my first post in the thread. We have a website that lists all of the families involved and our bios. That will fill you in on the group so far.
My name is Jen. Welcome!

 

[SB's Mom]

Evebo. . .welcome aboard! I would check into parasailing at Castaway Cay. . .we've done that the last 2 trips and loved it. . .our DD (8) loved getting to parasail this past June. (you have to be 8) The dolpin encounter at Anguilla was fun but the boat ride from St Maartin was TERRIBLE! Palo's is great for you and your DH! I like the brunch the best but dinner there is wonderful also.

Where are you from? My family lives in Montgomery Alabama.

Have a great week!
Charlene

 

[Iowa6]

Just booked this cruise. We are DH (old), DD (11), DD (8), DD (5), DS (4), and myself (young and full of energy). We are from Iowa and really like to have fun. Watch out Disney were all coming back for round 3.

 

[disneypoor]

Hi and welcome to everyone who is just joining this thread! We only have 2 months and 2 weeks to go! I just might drive my family nuts by then!

 

[GreenTad]

I'm thrilled to have found this website and to be able to chat with other cruisers that I'll see on the boat. We are from Birmingham, AL and have been to the parks many times, but never cruised. We're in room 2139, I think. It'll be me, the DW (35), DH (39), DS (8) and DD (3). I'm hoping DD won't be totally freaked out by the characters like she is by Chuck E. Cheese. Ha ha!

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

Welcome aboard Iowa6 and GreenTad! Glad to have more cruisers.

As Jen said, we have a group website set up, the info is in her first post of this thread.

Iowa6--My DD will have turned 12 right before the cruise, she'll be glad another girl her age will be onboard, especially one from Iowa (we're from Pella).

 

[GreenTad]

My sister-in-law said I have to bring princess dresses for my DD (3) to wear to dinner each night. From the pics I've seen, the little girls have on regular dresses at dinner and only wear the princess dresses for photo ops with the characters. What is the real story on this? Thanks, guys!

 

[Iowa6]

Dutch Girl - - My daughter will turn 12 in June, and she loves meeting new people. We love Pella, Dutch letters, and the chicken n biscuits from that little restaurant on the SE corner of the town square. We spent this Christmas in Disneyworld and can't wait to get on the cruise an have more Disney fun. My kids love Disney, and SSSHHHHH, (so do I).

 

[evebo]

Charlene thanks for the info. We are from Jacksonville, Florida about 2 hrs. away from PC. This will be our third DC, however, we have never been able to get into Palo's. I guess we book to late. This is our first time on the Eastern. We like to go to the beach and snorkel. Do you know if we should book a excursion or is it better on our own? Thanks for your help. Evelyn

 

[SB's Mom]

Iowa 6 and GreenTad!

GreenTad. . .it is great to have someone else from Alabama. We live in Montgomery and will be driving down late on Friday the 16th. (DD (8) doesn't get out of school until 3:30) This will be our 3rd Disney cruise. . .yes we love it!

Evebo. . .TiaMaria (another of our cruiser) seems to have found a great deal with www.sailwinifred.com (with a non-Disney vender) for St Thomas/St John. You might check with her on it. We always book our excursions thru Disney. We liked the Dolphin Encounter at St Maartin. . .we did an island tour on St Thomas in June and then parasailed at Castaway Cay.

If you have kids. . .the "mickey university graduation" on Thursday evening (about 5 p.m.) is great. . .we forgot about it earlier in the day so our DD didn't get to practice so she couldn't participate but that will be on our list for this trip. . .they get a t-shirt and a mickey mouse mortar board.

Have a great weekend!
Charlene

 

[SB's Mom]

Everyone that is new. . .be sure to check in with dutch_girl_scout. . .she has started a web area (get the site from her) regarding our group.

 

[GreenTad]

SB's Mom --- Yea! Another Bama family! We're leaving around lunch on Friday and driving as far as we can. How early do we need to be at the Port? Can you answer my question about princess dresses? Not sure if I need to bring dresses for dinner AND the princess dresses. Packing for all of us is going to be rough enough!

Dutch Girl Scout --- I would love your website address! I hope to meet many new friends on this cruise!