May 30, 2009 - Western Cruise Magic

[erinlees_mommie]

I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for the FE gifts as well !! It was like Christmas every time we came back to the room or opened the door.
I don't know if we met any of you.If you went to the early show you saw us for sure...Check out the siggy

We haven't stopped talking about it and we are planning for our next cruise already.It won't be until next year but we will be going back.

Erinlee was breaking our hearts this morning when we had to leave.She woke up crying about not wanting to come home.And now all she can talk about is when we go back.
Not saying this will replace our park visits but we probably won't make as many trips to the parks if we plan on being repeat Castaways!

We will be going to Disney August 22nd to celebrate Erinlee's 5th birthday Can't wait for that trip!

Thanks to everyone who made our first cruise MAGICAL!

 

[casacoco]

Thank you for all of the FE gifts; teens were thrilled with their treasure. enjoyed meeting you and hope to sail with you again.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Hi all. Just dropping in for BibbidyBobbidyBoo got an email from her this morning. She is having internet problems while at WDW. She has not forgot about y'all.

Thanks for posting that for me!!!
What happened is I forgot to pack my paper with all my passwords on it- and couldn't even remember my charter email password (had changed it recently) and online charter wouldn't give me the password or change it with no amount of other proof of who I was BESIDES some numbers off a bill.... as if I'd bring my bill with me on vacation? (stooopid) So i wasn't even able to ask for passwords, like for this board, to be emailed to me since I couldn't get in my email either! The only thing I could get on and remember the password was gmail (the way I reached Shannon) and that's probably because gmail makes you log in occasionally so I have the password memorized instead of just logging me in automatically like on my pc here. LOL

So...... I had 2wks of no internet at all except trying to get password from charter (and being denied) and emailing Shannon about it. LOL

We made it home safely today - ofcourse DH and myself rather exhausted while the kids have lots of energy having slept practically the entire way home yesterday and today. LOL Par for the course. We're having DCL withdrawals ofcourse......

I don't think I really saw a lot of you during the cruise- it happens that way sometimes... maybe even passing one another without realizing it? We appreciated all the FE gifts though- so thoughtful, creative, fun, etc.

I need to have a few days to get over my withdrawal (and unpack, prepare for youngest's birthday party this saturday, etc.) before I can really talk more about the cruise- so I won't get more bummed out that it's over. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
anyone else having DCL withdrawals? we always do.

 

[erinlees_mommie]

Thanks for posting that for me!!!
What happened is I forgot to pack my paper with all my passwords on it- and couldn't even remember my charter email password (had changed it recently) and online charter wouldn't give me the password or change it with no amount of other proof of who I was BESIDES some numbers off a bill.... as if I'd bring my bill with me on vacation? (stooopid) So i wasn't even able to ask for passwords, like for this board, to be emailed to me since I couldn't get in my email either! The only thing I could get on and remember the password was gmail (the way I reached Shannon) and that's probably because gmail makes you log in occasionally so I have the password memorized instead of just logging me in automatically like on my pc here. LOL

So...... I had 2wks of no internet at all except trying to get password from charter (and being denied) and emailing Shannon about it. LOL

We made it home safely today - ofcourse DH and myself rather exhausted while the kids have lots of energy having slept practically the entire way home yesterday and today. LOL Par for the course. We're having DCL withdrawals ofcourse......

I don't think I really saw a lot of you during the cruise- it happens that way sometimes... maybe even passing one another without realizing it? We appreciated all the FE gifts though- so thoughtful, creative, fun, etc.

I need to have a few days to get over my withdrawal (and unpack, prepare for youngest's birthday party this saturday, etc.) before I can really talk more about the cruise- so I won't get more bummed out that it's over. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
anyone else having DCL withdrawals? we always do.

Lots of withdrawals here from all 3 of us.
I think that the people on the ship were MUCH more friendly on the ship than in the parks.So we might cruise more than going to the parks now.
I am blogging about the cruise *I was going to do a TR about it but it is much easier to blog because I have a lot of NON DISNEY friends..LOL who can't read the DIS*

I still have my sea legs and find my self laying in bed and swaying..LOL Which is fine by me because I slept so much better on the boat than at the resort Maybe they should put water beds in the resorts!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

If you went to the early show you saw us for sure...Check out the siggy.

My Hubby was Hannah Montano on the second show. Carolyn and I couldn't stop laughing! We were both surprised to see both Bruce and my hubby Chris up there on stage.

Had a great memorable cruise. Definitely one of the best and friendliest groups. Thanks to all for the great FE gifts and the wonderful memories.

We are still on vacation in Florida. Today we took an airboat ride through the Everglades.

Bruce/Carolyn - my girls will be emailing Erica soon. I packed away her email so now I have to find it somewhere!

 

[brucechase]

To all on here:

Thank you for everything. The FE gifts were great! There was so many crafty gifts and every gift was appreciated by all.

Everyone we met was wonderful. We (especially the kids) made some great friends - hopefully some long term friends where we can keep in touch.

The cruise was the best ever!



Heidi - Erica will be waiting. Also, I found an earring that Erica says is one of the girls. Let me know if you are missing 1 - didn't find the other one.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

Okay, so who rebooked while onboard?

We did! We're only doing a 3-day this time because I'm going back to school and I don't have any really long breaks (not even in the summer). We booked the 3-day on 5/20/10. Our servers kept trying to talk us into booking one of the Magic cruises for next summer. Boy, wouldn't I LOVE to be able to do that!

 

[erinlees_mommie]

Okay, so who rebooked while onboard?

We did! We're only doing a 3-day this time because I'm going back to school and I don't have any really long breaks (not even in the summer). We booked the 3-day on 5/20/10. Our servers kept trying to talk us into booking one of the Magic cruises for next summer. Boy, wouldn't I LOVE to be able to do that!

Unfortunately being a Navy family we couldn't but would have LOVED to rebook.Hubby's schedule doesn't let us look that far into the future.This time I booked and paid April 2nd for the May 30th.And that was still pushing it because we weren't sure if he could get the time off.Lucky for us he did
BUT we are talking about saving up and re booking for next year !! I guess if it is last minute we can do that as long as we are on the boat.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Unfortunately being a Navy family we couldn't but would have LOVED to rebook.Hubby's schedule doesn't let us look that far into the future.This time I booked and paid April 2nd for the May 30th.And that was still pushing it because we weren't sure if he could get the time off.Lucky for us he did
BUT we are talking about saving up and re booking for next year !! I guess if it is last minute we can do that as long as we are on the boat.

Couldn't you still rebook onboard with a "dummy" date like we do? And then just transfer it to the date you want to do later on when you find out when you can go? That's what we do. Granted we do it with more notice, because we can (don't have your situation) and do so to try to get the lowest price- but I don't see why you couldn't do the same -the ony difference is you'd have to book it short notice when you know you can go but you'd still get the 10% off and the onboard credit since you rebooked it onboard... and you can move your dummy dates further and further (to avoid ever losing any money on penalties within the penalty phase) until you can use it- or later on if need be you could cancel it and get all you deposit money back.

We rebooked onboard another room- to go with the one "dummy booking" date we still had (since we always cruise with 2 rooms for our family of 5). We used "dummy dates" transferred to May 30th for this cruise and 2 other dummy dates were transferred to the 2010 transatlantic we're taking- that left one room left booked on dummy date, not yet transferred to any specific date to actually cruise. So we rebooked onboard another date then told our TA to move both rooms to be waitlisted for the Wonder repo to Ca.

Our trip home was uneventful- it was atleast better than the drive there (the drive there was rain the entire way thru 4 states... the drive home only had one downpour for about an hour before we got out of Florida) -I may have already said that? But we did lose one cover/casing on the outside of the trailer (hopefully we can replace it. It covers where you can get in the wiring/etc. behind the fridge area! LOL) and then a few hours after we got home (a few hours after my previous post on this thread) the a/c went kaput. so um.... it got hot and I didn't want to unpack in the heat. We slept in the trailer in our backyard since it had a/c and I can't sleep in 90 degree weather sweating to death all night. LOL Had to get an a/c guy out here and pay to get that fixed. I can't go without a/c here in Texas in the summer! No way! So I had to pay to get it fixed even though we're feeling kinda poor righ now after our vacation just about emptied our wallets. LOL
Finally working on unpacking today once it cooled off a bit in here though. Normally I'd let the luggage sit for awhile and get over my blues (from leaving the ship) for a bit but this time -no time for that! First off this time with camping some of the "stuff" we need in the house (cooking stuff/etc.) and Rita is having her birthday (pool) party here this Saturday so I have to get the house **** and span- and the pool was yucky green so I'm working on that too! (and DH went to clean the pump/filter and it has cracks so diametrous- sp?- soil was leaking into the pool plus the rain while we were gone turned it green. He's trying to seal the cracks or else we'll have another big cost to get that replaced!)
Anyway her party was supposed to be Sat the 20th but everyone had plans that weekend it seemed- so it was either have her party THIS saturday or have her party with no one showing up for it! So now I have a bit of a rush to get that done- along with dr appts (physicals for camp) and dentist appts (ones I couldn't get squeezed in before our vacation),etc.- I have a busy week ahead of me!
I would have preferred to just let those bags sit and stew awhile though.... Ohwell... we have our next cruise to look forward to (TA in 2010) -that is if we can afford it by then and I hope we can!

ps. we really super mega enjoyed our cat 3 on this cruise... and now what once felt like a once in a lifetime thing- assuming it would always cost too much and this time we just lucked out with the discounted upgrade at the port- is something we're hoping we can do again in the future! It worked out great for us- the extra space, bathrooms, etc. (we kept the one cat 9 for the older two kids too) and bigger verandah, eating in room at our leisure, etc., etc. etc..... it was awesome!!!!! I hope we can cruise cat 3 again in the future!!!!!

 

[kittyscrap1]

I'm vouyering into your Cruise Meets Thread but is anyone doing a TR? We are due to leave 27 JUN Western and would love to hear any info you can share. Thank you so much and I feel your withdrawls.

 

[luvdmouse57]

Just checking in. We got home last night about 8 pm. It was a VERY long drive!

I really enjoyed meeting some of you on the cruise! Suziepoo was across the hall from us so we ran into her quite often. Missed the onboard meet so we didn't get to meet everyone.

It was a wonderful cruise & I'm ready to go back again! DH wants to do Alaska next, so since Disney doesn't do Alaska we'll have to go with someone else. Not sure who yet.

Karla

 

[kcashner]

Thank you everyone! THe cruise was great...the FEs were AMAZING, my teens behaved, etc.

We had a long trip home. DD and I were bumped from our direct flight and spent the night in Tampa...arrived home on Sunday afternoon. The Tampa airport is nice--free internet, several decent places to eat. There is a Mariott similar to the situation with the Hyatt in Orlando.

It was great meeting many of you! And yes, we did a rebooking on board for a dummy date.

 

[liliagm]

Well we are also back, long drive home, DD2 did great but DH was really tired so he said next time we are flying!

Thank you to everybody for the FE gifts! they where amazing, my DD keeps wanting more! she asks me for a "surprise" like at the boat!

and I (DH doesn't know) reeboked us for a dummy date as well, waiting for the new ships.... I figure I still have plenty of time to convince him for another round!

 

[homespun]

We got back last night and are trying to return to reality.

So glad we got to meet so many of you and put faces with names and I hope that someday we'll be able to cruise again together sometime. We didn't rebook, but we did join the Disney Vacation Club so there will be lots of Disney vacations in our future.

Thanks to everyone for all the great FE gifts that made this cruise so exceptionally wonderful.

Karen, Mario & Brian
Homespun

 

[loveysbydesign]

Hi everyone...we've been back since Sat. but it's been absolutely crazy here as my kids still have school left...they're not done til the 17th! We are going through withdrawal...that's for sure!

We loved our 1st Disney cruise and can hardly believe that we go to be the family of the day and be the 1st ones to board. It all went so fast...thank goodness my dh got like a 30 second shot of the terminal as I don't even remember what it looked like since we were only in it for about 20 minutes-lol!
We did re-book while onboard and we've already watched the videos we took as my almost 2 y.o. keeps asking to go on the "Mickey boat". I am soooo happy that we took as much video as we did as he was pasted to the tv screen watching it...and he normally doesn't watch tv. We're not planning to go again until he turns 3 so he can enjoy the kids clubs...he wasn't a big fan of the nursery and only ended up spending 2 hours in it- he wanted to be in the club with his older sister-lol.

Thank you everyone for the FE gifts and thanks to....yikes I can't remember her name...for the Mickey crocs for my oldest son...he's worn them everyday since you left them at our door on the Magic! Even though we only saw a few of you it was so great seeing some friendly faces while onboard.

 

[BamaBornNemoNut]

Shout out to everyone!! Our trip was certainly memorable and meeting a lot of yall made it even more special.

DS lost his wallet in KeyWest and someone (I'll never know who, but sure wish I could find her) turned it in to the Gangway folks and we were so thankful.

I won $100 OBC by default as I was the only one to attend the DVC presentation on Tuesday.

I'm still catching up on my missed sleep, but it was worth it. I think my body is totally confused with how many calories I'm supposed to eat. I've now lost weight since the start of the cruise.

I especially loved participating in the FE. What a great group!!

Here's hoping we all cruise together again soon.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Hi everyone...we've been back since Sat. but it's been absolutely crazy here as my kids still have school left...they're not done til the 17th! We are going through withdrawal...that's for sure!

We loved our 1st Disney cruise and can hardly believe that we go to be the family of the day and be the 1st ones to board. It all went so fast...thank goodness my dh got like a 30 second shot of the terminal as I don't even remember what it looked like since we were only in it for about 20 minutes-lol!
We did re-book while onboard and we've already watched the videos we took as my almost 2 y.o. keeps asking to go on the "Mickey boat". I am soooo happy that we took as much video as we did as he was pasted to the tv screen watching it...and he normally doesn't watch tv. We're not planning to go again until he turns 3 so he can enjoy the kids clubs...he wasn't a big fan of the nursery and only ended up spending 2 hours in it- he wanted to be in the club with his older sister-lol.

Thank you everyone for the FE gifts and thanks to....yikes I can't remember her name...for the Mickey crocs for my oldest son...he's worn them everyday since you left them at our door on the Magic! Even though we only saw a few of you it was so great seeing some friendly faces while onboard.

It was me! Sorry I had to cram the crocs in your FE like that, but we kept going to your room and not finding you there.. and I wanted to give them to you ASAP so he could use them DURING the cruise and not wait till further in the cruise to give them to you. I had no idea when we'd see you again and shoot- we never did see you again! I'm so glad he liked them and that they fit!
I took 2 photos of you as you were about to go in first as the family of the day- unfortunately my camera decided to be a patooty head (long story- lots of pictures gone for some reason, the rest with 2005 dates on them when I didn't even have it set to put dates on the photos, etc.) and only one of the photos is still on there. I'll send it to you! I was so tickled for you guys that you were chosen family of the day! Did you get any other special treats/treatment other than allowed on first?
we've been in the port before (once- our last cruise was out of Ca) but it was way back in 2006...... and I didn't get to see much of it this time since I was basically just checking in, then in the line for upgrade and then once we upgraded we pretty much only had a few moments before walking on! I only had a few moments to run back over to our "meet area" and try to meet some (and get updates on room # changes). I didn't even set my butt down on the cushioned seats in the port once! LOL

I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and will be cruising again. Maybe we'll cruise again together someday!

Shout out to everyone!! Our trip was certainly memorable and meeting a lot of yall made it even more special.

DS lost his wallet in KeyWest and someone (I'll never know who, but sure wish I could find her) turned it in to the Gangway folks and we were so thankful.

I won $100 OBC by default as I was the only one to attend the DVC presentation on Tuesday.

I'm still catching up on my missed sleep, but it was worth it. I think my body is totally confused with how many calories I'm supposed to eat. I've now lost weight since the start of the cruise.

I especially loved participating in the FE. What a great group!!

Here's hoping we all cruise together again soon.

That is so cool about the wallet!
And LOL about the $100 OBC by default! I'm glad you got it- I shoulda gone and then my chances would have been 50/50 to get it! LOL (j/k ofcourse- glad you got it!)

I actually got more sleep on this cruise than any other I've ever taken! I'm not sure why- maybe the bed was more comfortable- I know for sure the pillow was more comfortable! I slept on the memory foam one and at the end of the cruise I asked about buying one (and did)- I have pillow issues even at home and I can fall asleep when my head hits that pillow! LOL Unfortunately I was NOT as lucky as you to lose weight while on the cruise- I never do! I gained weight on the cruise like I always do... I just canNOT lowcarb while on the cruise! so I have to "re-lose" some weight to get back where I was and then continue to try to lose more. LOL

My only regret from this cruise (because it was awesome!!!) was that I didn't see more of you all throughout the cruise! I saw some of you at the port terminal, most of you at the meet at promenade lounge and then saw Kcashner a couple times I think- and that's it! I didn't see any of you the rest of the cruise! I hate when that happens. Rita said she never saw Erica except once in the hallway but I was like um Rita- you have to BE in the lab to see her in the lab! (Rita pulled the same stuff as always- wanting to stay with us practically 24/7 and not really wanting to go in the lab much at all LOL)

 

[homespun]

Just checking in. We got home last night about 8 pm. It was a VERY long drive!

I really enjoyed meeting some of you on the cruise! Suziepoo was across the hall from us so we ran into her quite often. Missed the onboard meet so we didn't get to meet everyone.

It was a wonderful cruise & I'm ready to go back again! DH wants to do Alaska next, so since Disney doesn't do Alaska we'll have to go with someone else. Not sure who yet.

Karla

Alaska was actually mentioned at the Castaway Club Party by Captain Tom as a place people would like to cruise. I also heard from other CM that there are rumors of them possibly going to Alaska during in season once the new ships arrive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed as we'd love to go there too.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

My only regret from this cruise (because it was awesome!!!) was that I didn't see more of you all throughout the cruise! I saw some of you at the port terminal, most of you at the meet at promenade lounge and then saw Kcashner a couple times I think- and that's it! I didn't see any of you the rest of the cruise! I hate when that happens. Rita said she never saw Erica except once in the hallway but I was like um Rita- you have to BE in the lab to see her in the lab! (Rita pulled the same stuff as always- wanting to stay with us practically 24/7 and not really wanting to go in the lab much at all LOL)

My girls lasted in the the club about 5 minutes on the first day and never went back. They enjoyed sticking with us and hanging out in the room with Erica! We did get to meet up with Kim and Natasha in Cozumel and my girls really enjoyed hanging out with Natasha at Mr. Sanchos. We are currently going through withdrawals, I wonder how long that will last as we probably won't cruise until the new ships come out (unless Bruce and Carolyn can convince me otherwise )

 

[loveysbydesign]

My girls lasted in the the club about 5 minutes on the first day and never went back. They enjoyed sticking with us and hanging out in the room with Erica! We did get to meet up with Kim and Natasha in Cozumel and my girls really enjoyed hanging out with Natasha at Mr. Sanchos. We are currently going through withdrawals, I wonder how long that will last as we probably won't cruise until the new ships come out (unless Bruce and Carolyn can convince me otherwise )

My kids spent alot of time with us as well!
My little guy only spent 2 hours at Flounders and my kids were only in their clubs for maybe 5 hours each for the entire cruise! There are so many things to do and so many things clash in the schedules that it was hard for them to decide on what to do...and then the pool areas were big draws for them too!
We loved spending time together as a family although my dd was especially challenging towards the end of the cruise...her and my dh were butting heads