March 3, 2007

[ejkjmom]

I looked at SW and it would mean either coming on to MCO at 8:30pm Friday night or taking the girls out of school for ANOTHER day. They don't have redeyes from Seattle, which is what we are looking more towards. Their latest flight out of Seattle is at 1:30pm and that would get us into MCO at 10:30pm.

Bummer

I really hated to take the girls out of school an extra day as well. but I was afraid our trip would be off to a hectic start if we flew out on saturday. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive to the airport/ then a 3 hour plus flight , and Fl is 2 hours ahead of us, we are looking between 7 and 8 eights hours just to get to FL, and thats not counting the 2 hours we need to be at the airport before our flight out). So we opted for the Friday flight.

Hope you find a flight that's both timed and priced right

 

[Caropooh]

I guess I should clarify that we are looking at a redeye for Thursday night. That way we have Friday to rest and relax after the flights. The only airline that does nonstop is Alaska, so we are probably looking at connecting flights. So, even if we leave at 8:00am Friday morning, we are still looking at getting in to MCO no earlier than 5:00ish. Leaving Thursday night works out for us.

 

[ejkjmom]

Just curious....how many days of school is everyone missing for the cruise????

we have spring break the week of the cruise, but our spring break consist of only thur and fri off, so counting the the friday before the cruise, we are missing a total of 4 days of school...which I think is alot???
Other then our christmas break, we only get 1 to 2 days at a time off . I really wish they would combine all those 3 day weekends we get during the year, and give us a full week.

 

[Caropooh]

Just curious....how many days of school is everyone missing for the cruise????

we have spring break the week of the cruise, but our spring break consist of only thur and fri off, so counting the the friday before the cruise, we are missing a total of 4 days of school...which I think is alot???
Other then our christmas break, we only get 1 to 2 days at a time off . I really wish they would combine all those 3 day weekends we get during the year, and give us a full week.

Our girls are missing 6 days of school. Friday(March 2) and then Monday-Friday.(March 5-9) I'm not real thrilled ith it, but have accepted it. They know that they will be doing schoolwork during the cruise. I'm not sure when we will be telling the teachers and principal.

 

[mermaidbaby]

My kids will be missing 7 days of school. I know it is a lot, but it's the choice we made. We are flying in Thursday morning and staying in Vero Beach with my in-laws. We hardly ever see them and would hate to think that we were only an hour away and didn't visit.

The kids will make up all missed work and I feel that the trip is worth it. We took them out a few years ago too for a different trip and it worked out fine.

 

[MrSanderz]

My DD9 will be missing 6 days of school also. She has already said she plans to do all of her work Thurs night and Friday on the airplane. We'll see. Maybe we'll have to schedule a DIS-schoolwork-meet

Caropooh-Have you done the red-eye flights before? I thought about it but my DH thought (and I agreed) that it might be too much for my DD4 because we cannot get a direct flight from our airport. We are arriving MCO at 7:00 pm and staying near the airport.

 

[alanapapa]

My DD9 will be missing 6 days of school also. She has already said she plans to do all of her work Thurs night and Friday on the airplane. We'll see. Maybe we'll have to schedule a DIS-schoolwork-meet

Caropooh-Have you done the red-eye flights before? I thought about it but my DH thought (and I agreed) that it might be too much for my DD4 because we cannot get a direct flight from our airport. We are arriving MCO at 7:00 pm and staying near the airport.

Yes we have, we flew a Red Eye to NYC a few years ago. DD8 threw up all over Caropooh just as we were landing. Both DDs seem to be able to sleep a bit on planes.

 

[michaels_mom]

OK - we are taking DS6 out for 10 days - his spring break is actually the week AFTER our cruise and we're going to drive to Fl and go to WDW BEFORE the cruise - I really do not see the big deal, though, since he's in grade one, he will do some work everyday (& we'll get work from his teacher) and I think there is alot to be learned from travelling and visiting other countries. We have not told his teacher yet, either - but like someone else said (sorry, can't remember who at the moment ) - it is our decision

 

[Indea88]

Our kids don't have spring break until April! DS 13 will miss 6 days and DS 3 just started full day preschool, he will miss 6 days as well. It will be tough on my older son because he already had missed a week when he went to DC in Sept., he's still making up that work!
It gets tougher as they reach the middle and high school years, in grade school I didn't sweat it!

 

[ejkjmom]

I too agree that family time is important..and I can guarantee you that years from now, all our kids(including ourselves) will remember a week long family vacation on the Disney cruise vs what they would've learned in school that week So I as well have no problems with missing school.

I do like the idea of a DIS homework meet lol.... we just have to figure out who the teacher will be any volunteers?????

 

[Johnna_Story]

Ours are missing 7 days also - it's not a big deal for us either since they are only in pre-school and kindergarten. I'm of the firm belief that it's a family decision, and only you know what's best for your child(ren). If taking them out of school is something you don't think is a problem for them, then what's the big deal? If you have a child who struggles with school and has other issues with school and taking them out for a week would be more problematic than just making up the work, then that's another issue entirely. It's not like you're taking them out for a week every month...right...?

 

[ejkjmom]

O.K. all of you seasoned cruisers.... Dec 3 is fast approching,(the day which we can start making Palo/etc resservations), have any of you decided what and when you are doing things?

We never toke advantage of Palo's last time, and really want to do so this time..
What if any nights do you think are better??? I know that Pirate night of course is not a night we would want to chose Palo's. Also I was thinking that a brunch sounded like something we would like to do, that of course is probably something that would be done on sea days???? Maybe we will just go for the brunch?? Have any of you done the "High Tea"? How about the Spa???

I'm clueless on the whole resservation stuff.... so..... HELP!!!!

 

[mark_story]

Welcome Robyn and family and a special welcome to baby Maxx!
Well, the cruise is officially less than 4 months away and I know with the holidays coming up the time will fly by.

Robyn, someone posted on the main DCL forum that the water temp in the Bahamas has never fallen below 73. For my family that is warm as our local ocean temp is about 60-in the summer! Never stopped the kids from swimming though-blue lips, shivering and all. I will definately be snorkleing at CC to find Mickey.

mark story-hello to a fellow Scorpio. My birthday is the 16th. I'll be 39 this year. November is big in our family. I have 3 nephews born the 15th, 16th and 30th.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Rebecca,

If I don't remember to post, HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the 16th! This is will be the 3rd anniversary of my 39th birthday (cough,cough) so enjoy your 3-'s while you can.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Mark

 

[mark_story]

O.K. all of you seasoned cruisers.... Dec 3 is fast approching,(the day which we can start making Palo/etc resservations), have any of you decided what and when you are doing things?

We never toke advantage of Palo's last time, and really want to do so this time..
What if any nights do you think are better??? I know that Pirate night of course is not a night we would want to chose Palo's. Also I was thinking that a brunch sounded like something we would like to do, that of course is probably something that would be done on sea days???? Maybe we will just go for the brunch?? Have any of you done the "High Tea"? How about the Spa???

I'm clueless on the whole reservation stuff.... so..... HELP!!!!

ejkjmom,

This will be our third-time around, so I can offer some perspective on the reservations thingy.

First and foremost, I realized that my last post was somewhat unclear. For losers and insomiacs like myself, we can make online reservations as of 3:00 AM EASTERN STANDARD TIME 90 days out if our accounts are paid off in full. I learned the hard way by trying at 12:00 EST last year and reloading the reservations page for a solid hour. So set your alarm clocks on the eastern seaboard.

As for Palo, it is a must. We did not do it in 2004, but were there three separate times last year. I am planning on organizing a brunch our first morning at sea (getting the cruise off to a good start - and se we all recognize each other) and we ended the cruise with a formal dinner at Palo on Friday night. I kind of liked anchoring each end of the cruise with Palo just because there is so much i n the middle.

As for other stuff, we had terrible, terrible luck last year - rain in every port, a sick daughter in the beginning, a stomach-flu ridden son towards the end (the poor little guy threw up on the boat on the way out to the submarine tour which we never got to take, but my Uncle did and wouldn't stop talking about how great it was) and two very grumpy parents throughout. The sun didn't come out and sicknesses dissipate until -- of course -- the last day of the cruise.

But that said, grab a copy of the Passporter - it offers pretty unbiased information and tips - like if you want to go to a beach, pay a cab driver $10 rather than spending $210 for a "family shore excursion" through Disney. We plan to book some stuff through Disney, but most through third parties or wandering off on our own. This will be the second straight year for the Eastern Cruise, but since we got rained out last year, much of it will be new for us.

Mark the Insomniac

 

[alanapapa]

So who all will be celebrating a B-day or Anniv while we are cruising? Our DD7 will have her 8th on the Monday and we will celebrate DD12's 13th the last day (Her B-day is 24th of Mar), and Caropooh & I were wondering who else will have a celebration onboard.

 

[alanapapa]

Hi all,
I have updated the signs for the DisMeet onboard. I think I have everybody who is on the list. I took MamaSnarks and JL_Dunbar off.

Here is what they look like:

And I am still planning on printing a sign for Pirate's Night with all the pirate names I get from my fellow cruisers.

 

[Indea88]

alanapapa..Thanks for making the door sign! Great Job!!!
Don't miss Palo for dinner..We weren't able to secure Brunch ressies last time, so it will be a treat for us with a big group!!
elkjmom..The rainforest room in the spa is a real treat, last cruise I booked for the week and was able to shower and relax while the rest used the cabin shower!! They have heated lounge chairs and a steam sauna too!!! I can't wait!!

 

[mermaidbaby]

Olivia will be turning 14 on 3/8 She told all her friends that this was her birthday present and that we are awesome parents. It is not, it's just the week we picked to go away. Ugh, now I need to plan other vacations on my 2 sons b-days when they turn 14 or we will be in the dog house!

 

[ejkjmom]

Alanapapa...Thanks for working on the sign..it's looks GREAT

Can't Wait!!!!!!!!

 

[michaels_mom]

alanapapa - the sign looks awesome!

DS is turning 7 on the 13th - we are celebrating on the cruise, even though the actual day is three days later We were on the ship for his 6th b-day last year