March 30, 2014, Wonder 5-Night Western Caribbean

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

So excited to going on our first EVER cruise! Even more excited that is is on DCL! I am a HUGE Disney buff, and can't get enough. We lived in Jax, FL for 6 1/2 years, and went to WDW a lot during that time. DH was in the Navy (yes, stationed on an aircraft carrier), so for the longest time he had no desire to go on a cruise (no matter what kind it was). Now he is ready and as excited as we are. We will be cruising with DD16, DD10 (but will be 11 on 4/17), DD6 (will be 7 on 5/12), (2) DS5 (twins who will be 6 on 4/27). So i guess you could say we are celebrating nearly everyone's bdays (DS16's being 2/27 and DH 3/8). The only one we have elected to not take with us is DD2. She will almost be 3, but with so many "little" ones we felt we would need another pair of hands to help for the whole trip, and paying 2 additional cruise fares just seemed like too much when she probably won't remember, and have to spend her time in the Nursery (at even more cost). We will be in staterooms 7041 and 7044. We are from Granville, OH (about 30 miles east of Columbus) and will be driving to Miami. Looking forward to meeting lots of Disers and making new friends!

 

[Pinkocto]

Welcome aboard you guys are going to love it!!! How long a drive is it from OH?

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

Thank you! With younger kids not used to traveling, I am guessing it will take approximately 18 hours total. We are planning on leaving the morning of the 28th, driving to Charlotte, NC and spending the night then driving to Port Canaveral (or maybe a little further) spending the night again then finish driving to the port the morning of the 30th. With needing 2 hotel rooms with each stop, plus meals, and gas round trip, I think its going to be about $1850-2000 just for travel, but when u need 7 RT airfares, ground transfers, rooms the night before, We would have to find really cheap airfare to make flying with It. We prefer flying SW, which means MCO or FLL. Whew! I'm thinking next time (yes, I'm optimistic we will become regular cruisers) We should stick to PC rather than Miami. Any input or suggestions are welcome.

 

[Pinkocto]

Hotels on the way shouldn't be too bad, Best Western has some very comfortable ones for reasonable prices. Are you planning to buy all meals or bring a cooler with food for the drive? That's a lot of people to feed!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

I am sure we will try to pack what food we can for on the way down to cut some of the expenses Yes, it is a lot of ppl to feed, so glad all the food is included on the cruise! LOL I am going ot be researching more about the hotels in the cities we are planning on staying in and making adjustments. Our first test on how well they will travel will be in a few weeks. Oct. 12/13 we are driving about 3 hours to Kalahari Water Park and Cedar Point for Halloweekends. Should be a fun weekend!

 

[harleyquinn]

I am sure we will try to pack what food we can for on the way down to cut some of the expenses Yes, it is a lot of ppl to feed, so glad all the food is included on the cruise! LOL I am going ot be researching more about the hotels in the cities we are planning on staying in and making adjustments. Our first test on how well they will travel will be in a few weeks. Oct. 12/13 we are driving about 3 hours to Kalahari Water Park and Cedar Point for Halloweekends. Should be a fun weekend!

OMG!! We will also be at Kalahari on the 12th!! We need to meet up!! We are trying to decide if we want to do Halloweekends on the 12 or stay at Kalahari. I have a librarian conference and will be at Kalahari from the 9-12!

We've driven from Willowick, OH to WDW twice with DD. From there it takes about 19 hours with stops if I remember correctly. What an adventure!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

OMG!! We will also be at Kalahari on the 12th!! We need to meet up!! We are trying to decide if we want to do Halloweekends on the 12 or stay at Kalahari. I have a librarian conference and will be at Kalahari from the 9-12!

We've driven from Willowick, OH to WDW twice with DD. From there it takes about 19 hours with stops if I remember correctly. What an adventure!

That's too funny that u will be at Kalahari the same weekend. We will be driving up the morning of the 12th, spending the day at the waterpark and going to CP on the 13th. Yes, we should meet up. That would be fun. I'll PM u.

 

[Smschmiesing]

Thank you! With younger kids not used to traveling, I am guessing it will take approximately 18 hours total. We are planning on leaving the morning of the 28th, driving to Charlotte, NC and spending the night then driving to Port Canaveral (or maybe a little further) spending the night again then finish driving to the port the morning of the 30th. With needing 2 hotel rooms with each stop, plus meals, and gas round trip, I think its going to be about $1850-2000 just for travel, but when u need 7 RT airfares, ground transfers, rooms the night before, We would have to find really cheap airfare to make flying with It. We prefer flying SW, which means MCO or FLL. Whew! I'm thinking next time (yes, I'm optimistic we will become regular cruisers) We should stick to PC rather than Miami. Any input or suggestions are welcome.

You made a good choice--there is no reasonable airfare from Columbus, I cringed at the cost for four---I shudder to think about 7. And I tried every nearby airport and date combination imaginable.-- to no avail. Ended up booking at the crazy prices--cause I am the kind of person that needs to have everything planned well ahead of time. You are brave to travel all that way with 5 kids.

Hope to meet you once we are on board. We live nearish Polaris in Columbus. My son will be just 7 and daughter 4 when we cruise

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

You made a good choice--there is no reasonable airfare from Columbus, I cringed at the cost for four---I shudder to think about 7. And I tried every nearby airport and date combination imaginable.-- to no avail. Ended up booking at the crazy prices--cause I am the kind of person that needs to have everything planned well ahead of time. You are brave to travel all that way with 5 kids.

Hope to meet you once we are on board. We live nearish Polaris in Columbus. My son will be just 7 and daughter 4 when we cruise

Wow, another "neighbor" on board. We go to Polaris quite a bit. We live between Pataskska and Granville. I work at OSUMC- The James. Hope we get to meet up. good to know I wasn't missing anything when looking into the travel arrangements. I'll still keep my eye out though, just in case....

 

[harleyquinn]

Wow, another "neighbor" on board. We go to Polaris quite a bit. We live between Pataskska and Granville. I work at OSUMC- The James. Hope we get to meet up. good to know I wasn't missing anything when looking into the travel arrangements. I'll still keep my eye out though, just in case....

We should totally plan a meet-before-the-cruise get together with all 3 families. That would be sweet.

Oh and Nic is in Shaker. I wonder if a meet up somewhere between Columbus and Cleveland would be feasible? Like the Akron Zoo or something? Probably not, but it would be cool!

 

[Smschmiesing]

We should totally plan a meet-before-the-cruise get together with all 3 families. That would be sweet. Oh and Nic is in Shaker. I wonder if a meet up somewhere between Columbus and Cleveland would be feasible? Like the Akron Zoo or something? Probably not, but it would be cool!

I am up for it, if we can make it work out!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

I am up for it, if we can make it work out!

Sounds great, hope we can work it out! We had a change of heart and WILL be taking our DD2 with all the others, so we will be traveling with 6 kids. We are hoping that she will be potty trained by then, and since she will be just 28 days before her 3rd birthday, maybe the kids counselors (if they have room) will consider letting her in the Oceaneer's club with 3 of her siblings that will also be in there. We'll see- but won't count on it.

Just 177 more days til we cruise! In the meantime I have just 14 more days until I get to go to WDW for 5 nights at CSR with my BFF to celebrate my 40th birthday (Oct. 17th). Lots of Disney Magic for me right now!!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

Just seen that you replied. I just booked 12 of us for Nachi Cocum. I think this one looked like the best option. My youngest daughter will be 18 months when we sail, so I like the idea of only having 100 people there. We might have another 5 people going on our cruise with us. Our other neighbors are trying to decide if they are going. They will have an 8 month old then and a 9 year old girl and 7 year old boy.

I am so excited about this cruise, but it is so far away . I tried contacting a taxi company and did not receive a response. I have heard that many of the taxi's don't have seat belts. This is a concern to me since I have the baby. I believe Nachi is about a 20 min. ride from the port. I was hoping since we had a large party that we could call ahead for a shuttle van with seat belts. I plan on taking my carseat with me.

Any thought or solutions on this? I am a huge planner, so I like to get a jump start on everything.

So glad I read through this thread. Just booked our family at Nachi Cocum for day in Cozumel! So excited for all of us!!

 

[Cats12]

Hi all,

We've been booked on this cruise for a while, but didn't want to join until we were pretty sure we wouldn't change it. This will be our 3rd cruise on the Wonder, 5th Disney cruise total. We just love the Wonder and we took this same itinerary last May. It's a great cruise, so we booked a repeat!

Here's my info:

stateroom 5013
first name Melissa
DIS user ID Cats12
where you live Lexington, KY
who you're traveling with DH, DD (7) and DS (4)
special occasions you're celebrating (if any)

I think I'm interested in the FE. I did it for the first time on my last cruise. I worked HARD on it, and I'm trying to get myself in gear to start again. May be interested in the magnet exchange, too.

 

[Pinkocto]

Welcome

 

[staley98]

Yay! Welcome to another family from Kentucky!

 

[dis ms.]

So excited to going on our first EVER cruise! Even more excited that is is on DCL! I am a HUGE Disney buff, and can't get enough. We lived in Jax, FL for 6 1/2 years, and went to WDW a lot during that time. DH was in the Navy (yes, stationed on an aircraft carrier), so for the longest time he had no desire to go on a cruise (no matter what kind it was). Now he is ready and as excited as we are. We will be cruising with DD16, DD10 (but will be 11 on 4/17), DD6 (will be 7 on 5/12), (2) DS5 (twins who will be 6 on 4/27). So i guess you could say we are celebrating nearly everyone's bdays (DS16's being 2/27 and DH 3/8). The only one we have elected to not take with us is DD2. She will almost be 3, but with so many "little" ones we felt we would need another pair of hands to help for the whole trip, and paying 2 additional cruise fares just seemed like too much when she probably won't remember, and have to spend her time in the Nursery (at even more cost). We will be in staterooms 7041 and 7044. We are from Granville, OH (about 30 miles east of Columbus) and will be driving to Miami. Looking forward to meeting lots of Disers and making new friends!

Welcome aboard!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Life has been crazier than normal lately. Would you like to be added to our roster? (Info is in the OP).

 

[dis ms.]

Hi all,

We've been booked on this cruise for a while, but didn't want to join until we were pretty sure we wouldn't change it. This will be our 3rd cruise on the Wonder, 5th Disney cruise total. We just love the Wonder and we took this same itinerary last May. It's a great cruise, so we booked a repeat!

Here's my info:

stateroom 5013
first name Melissa
DIS user ID Cats12
where you live Lexington, KY
who you're traveling with DH, DD (7) and DS (4)
special occasions you're celebrating (if any)

I think I'm interested in the FE. I did it for the first time on my last cruise. I worked HARD on it, and I'm trying to get myself in gear to start again. May be interested in the magnet exchange, too.

Hey, Melissa! Welcome to our cruise. I will get you added to the roster today.

 

[dis ms.]

Hey, y'all!

Heads up for anyone in or near Atlanta. I just booked a nonstop flight on American Airlines out of ATL for $129.80 per person (including taxes and fees)! We're leaving March 29, returning on April 5.

We were driving from SC, but now we're going to drive the measly two hours to Atlanta. Woo-hoo!

 

[staley98]

Hey, y'all!

Heads up for anyone in or near Atlanta. I just booked a nonstop flight on American Airlines out of ATL for $129.80 per person (including taxes and fees)! We're leaving March 29, returning on April 5.

We were driving from SC, but now we're going to drive the measly two hours to Atlanta. Woo-hoo!

We'll be on the 5:25pm flight on 3/29, but we'll leave on the afternoon of the 4th. I really appreciate the tip on flights. We were able to get tickets for $140pp r/t. We're about 6 hours from Atlanta, but it beats having to drive 16+ to Miami!!!