May 30, 2009 - Western Cruise Magic

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Hiya, my 10 y.o. is a ds!

Bruce- I saw you updated the list but I think you missed her comment? I was going thru figuring out how many girl/boys on the list and noticed this.

My kids would love them...we don't have too many Disney clothes, hats toys etc but the ones we do have the use all the time!

oooooh
and you have little ones which they might fit!

 

[cruisefanz]

OK, I just measured mine and it is 8" wide and 20.5" long. I have 3 pockets and they are each 5.5" long. The fish is about head high, so you have a long way to go...

Thanks so much...that gives me something to work with! We'll see how it goes. I may be ordering one off ebay. I'll give myself this week to get it completed and see how it turns out.

 

[erinlees_mommie]

WHEW...
I have been at my mama's with the slowest laptop and the slowest DSL connection EVER!! I was lucky to get yahoo going.
I thought I had missed the list of FE families and see I got home just in time to see I haven't! YAY!!

I am getting so excited about this cruise.My hubby pulled into a port and got to call this weekend so that made things a million times better.And he can't wait to go on the cruise.I told him the DCL site and he looked up our stateroom and had to show his buddies..they were asking was there enough room for stowaways HAHAHA

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

WHEW...
I have been at my mama's with the slowest laptop and the slowest DSL connection EVER!! I was lucky to get yahoo going.
I thought I had missed the list of FE families and see I got home just in time to see I haven't! YAY!!

I am getting so excited about this cruise.My hubby pulled into a port and got to call this weekend so that made things a million times better.And he can't wait to go on the cruise.I told him the DCL site and he looked up our stateroom and had to show his buddies..they were asking was there enough room for stowaways HAHAHA

Awwww It's going to be so fun for everyone!

We're getting excited. It's just a little over a month before our vacation starts (we head out on the 22nd) and I know from previous experience waiting years for a cruise that it takes forever BUT the last month flies by! Not to mention I'm kept even busier now that I'm homeschooling and we have a bunch of stuff goign on (awanas ending/awards, my son is crossing over to boyscouts from webelos and has chosen the troop he'll join so he's doing his regular webelos stuff and also doing campouts/meetings with them, my youngest is bridging over to juniors in Girl Scouts, and we have a bunch of homeschool field trips coming up in the early weeks of May- homeschool days at scarborough faire, six flags, gnismer farms and going to Casa Manana again too... etc. etc.)

My point is that I know this time is gonna fly by pretty quickly from this point on! I'm going down my checklists! I've got our FE's from last cruise and have the FE gifts ready to go (plus if anyone else want to chime in with a response about my previous post about the hats/etc- please do so! LMK!), went thru my stashed away bags to pick out all the stuff we're going to bring with us, have magnets and shirts made and ready to go... got some things to make our stay more comfortable at FW.. I'm working hard on my list of things to do! I don't want to blink and realize it's already time to go and have to pack suddenly and forget stuff! LOL

Can't wait to find out what room assignments we all have too!

 

[klcason]

Awwww It's going to be so fun for everyone!

We're getting excited. It's just a little over a month before our vacation starts (we head out on the 22nd) and I know from previous experience waiting years for a cruise that it takes forever BUT the last month flies by! Not to mention I'm kept even busier now that I'm homeschooling and we have a bunch of stuff goign on (awanas ending/awards, my son is crossing over to boyscouts from webelos and has chosen the troop he'll join so he's doing his regular webelos stuff and also doing campouts/meetings with them, my youngest is bridging over to juniors in Girl Scouts, and we have a bunch of homeschool field trips coming up in the early weeks of May- homeschool days at scarborough faire, six flags, gnismer farms and going to Casa Manana again too... etc. etc.)

My point is that I know this time is gonna fly by pretty quickly from this point on! I'm going down my checklists! I've got our FE's from last cruise and have the FE gifts ready to go (plus if anyone else want to chime in with a response about my previous post about the hats/etc- please do so! LMK!), went thru my stashed away bags to pick out all the stuff we're going to bring with us, have magnets and shirts made and ready to go... got some things to make our stay more comfortable at FW.. I'm working hard on my list of things to do! I don't want to blink and realize it's already time to go and have to pack suddenly and forget stuff! LOL

Can't wait to find out what room assignments we all have too!

I had totally forgotten about Scarborough Faire! We lived in Arlington for a year while dh went to grad school and I went. Man, the kids would love that. Do they come the same month every year? What are the dates? They would think that was so cool!

I hope, hope, hope, we see room assignments tomorrow!!

BTW, I just figured out how everyone does those multi quotes, accidently hit the wrong button and couldn't figure out what the prob was!! Duh!

Kayla

 

[erinlees_mommie]

Awwww It's going to be so fun for everyone!

We're getting excited. It's just a little over a month before our vacation starts (we head out on the 22nd) and I know from previous experience waiting years for a cruise that it takes forever BUT the last month flies by! Not to mention I'm kept even busier now that I'm homeschooling and we have a bunch of stuff goign on (awanas ending/awards, my son is crossing over to boyscouts from webelos and has chosen the troop he'll join so he's doing his regular webelos stuff and also doing campouts/meetings with them, my youngest is bridging over to juniors in Girl Scouts, and we have a bunch of homeschool field trips coming up in the early weeks of May- homeschool days at scarborough faire, six flags, gnismer farms and going to Casa Manana again too... etc. etc.)

My point is that I know this time is gonna fly by pretty quickly from this point on! I'm going down my checklists! I've got our FE's from last cruise and have the FE gifts ready to go (plus if anyone else want to chime in with a response about my previous post about the hats/etc- please do so! LMK!), went thru my stashed away bags to pick out all the stuff we're going to bring with us, have magnets and shirts made and ready to go... got some things to make our stay more comfortable at FW.. I'm working hard on my list of things to do! I don't want to blink and realize it's already time to go and have to pack suddenly and forget stuff! LOL

Can't wait to find out what room assignments we all have too!

I just read through everything to catch up and I am OK with the recycled FE things..LOL DD loves anything new to her

I am going to start a list today of things to bring.I know it is going to fly by..and I hope that when we get there it seems to stand still but I know it won't.We are driving down the morning of.We live about 3 hours away.So we are going to get up .... get Chick Fil A breakfast and head down! YAY

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK ... it is ticking down!!

 

[brucechase]

Bruce- I saw you updated the list but I think you missed her comment? I was going thru figuring out how many girl/boys on the list and noticed this.

Yep, missed it. Now it is fixed. I will try to send out the list at lunch. My boss hates to see this site on my computer.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Good morning. Hoping today is the day we find out room assignments, but I have a feeling it is not going to be today!!!! Wishful thinking though!

 

[kcashner]

Was updating our contact info on the DCL site...no room numbers yet. I know it's too early, but I check every day. Hello, my name is Kathryn and I am a DCL addict.

 

[loveysbydesign]

This is our 1st cruise...is there anything that you can think of that you wished you had brought along the 1st tme you cruised but forgot?

 

[CarolinaBlue]

This is our 1st cruise...is there anything that you can think of that you wished you had brought along the 1st tme you cruised but forgot?

Nope, but I can tell you what we brought too much of: CLOTHES!

We are definitely bringing less this time. We just didn't need half the stuff we brought with us.

 

[brucechase]

This is our 1st cruise...is there anything that you can think of that you wished you had brought along the 1st tme you cruised but forgot?

I had to look at my trip report from October, but here is a list of "tips" that I thought would be good. I edited out the stuff that was Nassau specific.

My tips and advice

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great tips


• Stay at a local hotel and take the shuttle to the port (if you can).
• Pack the going home clothes in a separate 2 gallon zip lock bag for each person and put in the suitcase. There will be no problems on the last night.
• Get to the ship early and enjoy the time (if you don’t have extremely young children).
• Join up with your meet thread on the Disboard and do the FE exchange. Don’t bring a lot for the FE exchange – a little goes a long way.
• We brought the over-the-door shoe holder and it was OK, but we could have lived without it. I would bring one again because it is a great place to put stuff like the cameras, batteries, car keys (so I wouldn’t have to dig for them later) and other small stuff.
• If your camera uses AA or AAA, consider spending the extra dollars for the Energizer Lithium Battery. The cost around $2 per battery – but – after 800+ pictures over 5 days, I still had over half the battery left. They say it lasts 7X longer and I now believe it. My camera would normally go through batteries after 100-200 pictures. I would still take a couple of extra batteries, but these things were surprisingly great.
• Don’t overbook stuff for Castaway Cay. I never used the floats and my youngest never used the snorkel equipment. Most of these small things can be rented there when you arrive.
• Go to the right side at Cookies BBQ on Castaway Cay.
• I never went to the debarkation presentation, just watched it on the TV in the room. I don’t think it is necessary attend if you watch it in the room.
• If you want character signatures, drop off the book or pillowcase or photomat at guest services the first night. You won’t have to take up time in line trying to get it done and you won’t miss any. I put the pillowcases in a ziplock bag with fabric markers and a couple of small bags of M&Ms for the characters to snack on while signing.
• If you want to do any jewelry shopping in Nassau, attend the presentation. You might want to attend anyway for a chance for a beautiful necklace.
• If you are getting off the ship in Nassau, get the coupon from Diamonds International for the free charm. Buy the bracelet ($5) for a great souvenir.
• Go to the Adventures Away party and sing and dance until you can’t do it anymore. Great way to start the vacation.
• I never did unpack the clothes, just lived out of the suitcase for the 3 day trip. Might be too much for a 7 day.
• Pre-pay the tips if you can. You can always change it later or add more to it in cash yourself later. Also, give the tips personally to each person, they worked hard to make your trip great and they do need to know if they were successful.
• If you want the Shutters photos, buy a package early to keep the ones you like with you. You can trade out for others at different times and add or subtract at any time. This will save some time at the end instead of scrambling for the photos.
• If you have kids, be prepared for the different feelings on the kids club. I had one (11YO) who loved it and didn’t want to leave and I had one (9YO) who spent almost no time in it because she didn’t like it.
• Trade out the memory cards in your camera every day. Even though nothing bad happened to me, a lost card would mean losing all the pictures instead of just one day’s worth. And put that card in your luggage immediately so you don’t leave it behind.
• If you want an inexpensive digital underwater camera, consider the Vivitar 5188. I read some good and bad reviews but I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for an Olympus. I picked this up for $55 which would have been the same as 3 underwater disposable camera.;

 

[homespun]

BTW Karen (homespun) - Thanks for starting this thread more than 1 year ago!

You're welcome-- thanks for organizing everything. Can we appoint you our unofficial cruise director?


You're doing a great job!!!

Karen

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

This is our 1st cruise...is there anything that you can think of that you wished you had brought along the 1st tme you cruised but forgot?

Clothes pins. I cannot live without my clothes pins on the cruise! I use them to keep the curtains closed, dry swimsuits, etc.

 

[Suzepoo]

Shoe Bag to hang on bathroom door for bathroom stuff....and a power strip!!! Can't live without that at night for my curling iron and stuff! Also...$1 dollar bills for taxi fares and tips....

 

[brucechase]

Small FE update:

I was looking thru my PM and noticed that Disneyfan72 did not want to do the FE. We now have 19 families and 83 people. I will send out the email soon:


Here are the families (# in family) (breakdown):

stlkeeler (3) (DGM54 - DM31 - DGD7)
sixtiesmum (4) (DH49 - DW48 - DS15 - DD12)
PoohFriend#1 (4) (DH39 - DW29 - DD12 - DD12)
pooh.kim (4) (DGF52 - DGM51 - DM33 - DD12)
loveysbydesign (5) (DH - DW - DS10 - DD6.5 - DS2)
liliagm (3) (DH34 - DW34 - DD2)
kcashner (6) (DM54 - DD18 - DD18 - DD18 - DS18 - DS17)
jpoeling (4) (DH39 - DW37 - DD11 - DD6)
Homespun (3) (DH - DW - DS14)
Hmurry (4) (DM50 - DD18 - DD18 - DD18)
grlzmom (9) (DH - DW - DD19 - DD17 - DD14 - DD13 - DD7 - DS6 - DD6)
erinless mommie (3) (DH32 - DW 35 - DD4)
cruisefanz (6) (DH44 - DW40 - DD15 - DS12 - DS7 - DS7)
casacoco (4) (DM40 - DS18 - DD16 - DS14)
CarolinaBlue (4) DH45 - DW43 - DD18 - DD15)
brucechase (4) DH44 - DW 42 - DD12 - DD10)
Bibbidybobbidyboo (5) (DH42 - DW39 - DD15 - DS11.5 - DD8)
Bamabornnemonut (4) (DM72 - DM45 - DD15 - DS13)
2BoysMom (4) (DH - DW - DS5 - DS5)

 

[homespun]

Dollar Bills for Room Service

Roll of Quarters for Laundry

Chargers for Phones and Camera batteries


Karen

 

[loveysbydesign]

Small FE update:

I was looking thru my PM and noticed that Disneyfan72 did not want to do the FE. We now have 19 families and 83 people. I will send out the email soon:


Here are the families (# in family) (breakdown):

stlkeeler (3) (DGM54 - DM31 - DGD7)
sixtiesmum (4) (DH49 - DW48 - DS15 - DD12)
PoohFriend#1 (4) (DH39 - DW29 - DD12 - DD12)
pooh.kim (4) (DGF52 - DGM51 - DM33 - DD12)
loveysbydesign (5) (DH - DW - DS10 - DD6.5 - DS2)
liliagm (3) (DH34 - DW34 - DD2)
kcashner (6) (DM54 - DD18 - DD18 - DD18 - DS18 - DS17)
jpoeling (4) (DH39 - DW37 - DD11 - DD6)
Homespun (3) (DH - DW - DS14)
Hmurry (4) (DM50 - DD18 - DD18 - DD18)
grlzmom (9) (DH - DW - DD19 - DD17 - DD14 - DD13 - DD7 - DS6 - DD6)
erinless mommie (3) (DH32 - DW 35 - DD4)
cruisefanz (6) (DH44 - DW40 - DD15 - DS12 - DS7 - DS7)
casacoco (4) (DM40 - DS18 - DD16 - DS14)
CarolinaBlue (4) DH45 - DW43 - DD18 - DD15)
brucechase (4) DH44 - DW 42 - DD12 - DD10)
Bibbidybobbidyboo (5) (DH42 - DW39 - DD15 - DS11.5 - DD8)
Bamabornnemonut (4) (DM72 - DM45 - DD15 - DS13)
2BoysMom (4) (DH - DW - DS5 - DS5)

Great...thanks for you hard work!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I had totally forgotten about Scarborough Faire! We lived in Arlington for a year while dh went to grad school and I went. Man, the kids would love that. Do they come the same month every year? What are the dates? They would think that was so cool!

I hope, hope, hope, we see room assignments tomorrow!!

BTW, I just figured out how everyone does those multi quotes, accidently hit the wrong button and couldn't figure out what the prob was!! Duh!

Kayla

I'm not really sure if it's just a month but it is about the same time every year. the last time we went Robert was only like 2 and I was pregnant with Rita (everyone had a blast but I was kinda miserable almost due with her and HUGE belly -I was a weeble wobble walking around there in the heat LOL) The only reason we haven't been in so long is because I just kept forgetting about it during the time it's going on! LOL This time I was reminded when someone on a homeschool group mentioned school days there.

I'd have to look up the website to see the dates again but I think it's longer than a month or maybe I'm wrong and it's only a month? I dunno. LOL Maybe that's why I kept missing it/forgetting about it!

I just read through everything to catch up and I am OK with the recycled FE things..LOL DD loves anything new to her

I am going to start a list today of things to bring.I know it is going to fly by..and I hope that when we get there it seems to stand still but I know it won't.We are driving down the morning of.We live about 3 hours away.So we are going to get up .... get Chick Fil A breakfast and head down! YAY

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK ... it is ticking down!!

I wish we didn't have such a drive- boy a 3hr drive there would be nice! The only thing I'm dreading about this vacation is driving there and back. The only reason I dread the drive is this time we're towing our TT and DH has to do the driving... I'm the one that usually drives because I can drive long distance and not get drowsy/sleepy like him! So it's going to take us longer to get there with him driving- we'll have to stop and do silly stuff like SLEEP at night!

Was updating our contact info on the DCL site...no room numbers yet. I know it's too early, but I check every day. Hello, my name is Kathryn and I am a DCL addict.

Looks like the ones on the 16th cruise got theirs a bit early... maybe we won't. Maybe ours will come next Monday and SO WILL June 6th- maybe they are doing 2wks at a time and it didn't work out to be "early" for us. LOL

Nope, but I can tell you what we brought too much of: CLOTHES!

We are definitely bringing less this time. We just didn't need half the stuff we brought with us.

amen to that. I always bring too much for fear I'll need it- my clothes will get smaller on the trip (hahaha you know what I mean!), that we'll need extra swimsuits in case one breaks a strap or gets a hole/etc. etc. etc. I try each time to bring less- and I'm going to try again this time but it will be even harder this time since we're driving and have no airline baggage restrictions! Wish me luck on bringing less. LOL

Bruce- your list of tips of what to bring/etc. was great!

Clothes pins. I cannot live without my clothes pins on the cruise! I use them to keep the curtains closed, dry swimsuits, etc.

That's one thing I didn't really think I'd need- but considering I'm a nightowl and DH isn't and this time we won't have a verandah for me to go to.. I better bring clothes pins! I never can get those room divider curtains to stay closed enough to keep all the light out of the "bed area" LOL Thanks for the reminder!

 

[brucechase]

OK everyone - a new email has just gone out. If you do not get the email, let me know so I can fix it.

On that email I have included:

a master list of all cruisers ( there are 162 disboard members on our cruise)
an FE list of those participating (in pdf)
an FE list sorted by age (pdf)
a master list sorted by age (pdf)
an excel spreadsheet with all kinds of tips and prices that I've been hiding


If anyone want a copy, please send me a PM with your email and I will drop you a copy. You don't have to be in the FE to get a copy of the email. Next I will be working on the ship layout in excel and where all the rooms are (if I have some time).