May 9, 2012: 5 Night Bahamas Cruise on Disney Magic

[iloverags2]

I have jury duty too!! -- the week before the cruise. Hoping and praying I don't get picked for a trial lasting longer than a week -- that would NOT be good!

Wow! Lots of jury duty calls! I can't serve (severe hearing loss in both ears), so I've never had the chance to sit on a jury. Would think it would be kind of fun (depending on the case).

We always tend to be dressier than a lot of folks on the cruises. DD wears a dress to dinner every night as do I. DH wears slacks and a button-down shirt. We all dress up fancy for formal night. We cruise once a year or so, so DH has his own tux and I have several long gowns. I see no problem with boys in nice shorts and a polo in the dining room, but I don't like to see adults in shorts when they do have a dress policy of no shorts in the dining room, even though I have never seen them turn anyone away, except at Palo. We don't get to dress up at home, so cruising is when we do it.

I think I could easily go to a resort and never step foot in the parks, especially YC. Epcot is the one park I would have a hard time staying away from though. We all just love to be there. I don't even need to go on any rides!

Love the puppy pictures! We have 2 black and white kitties that stay home with a pet sitter.

We are the same way...dress-up while we can since we don't often at home!

Oh, and I hear you on going to WDW and not stepping foot into the parks. We used to head down once every two or three months, and often just relaxed the weekend away. WL is our favorite resort, so it's easy to do so there. But if we stay at YC or BC, that makes things pretty simple too. We're getting back on our schedule of once every few months for a weekend getaway, so I foresee more of those relaxing weekends ahead in the near future!

We have three kitties in the house now (rescued one from the yard last year during a rather cold spell). They pretty much fend for themselves while we are away, but my BIL does come and check on them. We also have two cats who were dumped in the neighborhood that have taken up residence in our yard (they have yet to wander into the house). They've been spoiled with a house and a tent filled with blankets and beds set-up in the yard. A few feeders, and they are good to go while we are gone.

That's so funny, DH just got jury duty summons in the mail yesterday for April 16. He made some comment about how he thinks a grand jury would be interesting. I said "No way!!"

Here's today's question: Has anyone tried the The Rainforest at the spa? I heard you could get a day pass for $16 a day and wondered if it was worth is.

Thanks in advance, I promise I will run out of questions soon. I'm typing up all my packing notes and tips I've copied down from other website and keep coming up with questions.

Grand jury, eh? Yeah, that would be interesting if it came up!

I have never tried the Rainforest, but heard great things about it. If you decide to get the pass, just be sure to visit during off-peak times. I believe there are only four or five loungers, and during the less hectic times on the ship, it can get crowded in there.

Oh! And I finally got the last of the FE details completed last night so I can finally shaaaaare! Here it is, my masterpiece, the Pixar Up! inspired FE of champions:

I'm really proud of it. Seriously. I think altogether I've got between 35 & 40 hours into it...all hours that were well worth the effort, too.

OMG! Your FE is sooooooo super cute! I love UP! I wish I were crafty, but just do not have that gene in me.

She also loves to fly. She has done a women in the sciences camp twice and her favorite thing has always been the aviation. Also, last year she did a camp where they went up in a small plane (not sure what kind) and she actually got to takeover the controls and she was super excited. She said there were other kids kissing the ground when they got out of these planes. That ticked her off because she would have taken their turns

That is so cool she had the chance to experience that!

John is actually flying now (just a local) but he's on the trips coming up over the next few weeks...bring home that PERDEUM MONEY HONEY!

Are we meeting up on the ship anytime/where?

Ha! I have a conference in Orlando as soon as we return from the cruise, and I am totally looking forward to my per diem!

Yes, we are meeting in the Promenade Lounge at 3 p.m. on Embarkation Day. Maybe we can set-up a meet on our at-sea day also? Anyone game for that?

Love all the dog pictures! Are those black labs? We have a black lab names Sadie, and a black toy poodle Licorice. We've got both sizes covered, 90lbs and 7lbs.

LOL! They are so cute, first of all! Our 7 lb. cat is best buds with the 45 lb. puppy!

I got all the kids FE gifts done today! Now to work on the adults.

So insanely jealous! I'm at the point where I don't think I will be crafting anything. This conference and presentation has been eating up all my time as of late, and with it coming right on the heels of the cruise, I just don't think I'm going to find a few spare hours even.

My washing machine is still broken with no end in sight. We have a home warranty thru American Home Shield and, as nice as it is to know you'll only be out $60 no matter what the problem is or if the appliance has to be replaced, I don't think their repair people are the best of the best by far. The guy sounded totally annoyed when he set up a time to come to the house...like "Oh geeeez, yeah, I guuuueeesss I can drive all the way down your way tomorrow...". Then when he was here he hardly spoke a word, didn't tell me what was up, was very vague when I asked, and was in no way even remotely specific in indicating how long the ordered part will take or how long I'll be without my washing machine. I think maybe men just don't understand getting behind with laundry. Grrrrr!!! I guess tomorrow morning another visit to the stinkin' washateria is on the agenda.

Oh, that really stinks. I'm so sorry you have to deal with that.

Did I mention before how adorable Riley is???

Here's my big baby!

And here's Licorice who's fondly known as the "RAT". Poor baby!!

They are just so cute!

Loved seeing everyone's dogs. So cute. I will have to sneak one of mine.


Update: I have booked All Star Music with DP so much easier to budget that way on May 7th Checking out May8th. Annual pass discount was something like 20 or 25% at this resort.

So on May 7th We will be hitting MK followed by Epcot possible Garden Grill for Dinner (Love some Chip and Dale). Already have it booked tentatively.

May 8th half day at Hollywood Studios then go to Residence Inn by the port for our free night

No shore excursions or Spa treatments. Just winging it at ports. And Palo Brunch for at sea day.

Then trip home.

Already found someone to come by the house and check on my dog and let her out and check on the house. So my precious fur baby gets to relax at home while we are away.

Have been working on ideas for FE and think I know what I want to do

Off topic: Sorry have not been posting as much just submitted a design for a t-shirt design contest for a band I love. Hoping I win it would mean so much to me. I got 20 votes so far and am in the top 50 : Crossing fingers for that to come through, the prize is awesome.

Sounds like a great pre-cruise plan! And yes, please post a pic of your furbaby!

 

[PixieMom712]

Love ALL the furbabies! I worked first as a vet tech and then as the "Customer Service Coordinator" (I ran the front desk and dealt with customer service for the whole clinic) until late fall. I would just squish them all up!

Cindy - I just talked to my DH about the 3:00 meetup and said he could swim or drink a beer or whatever if he didn't want to come and he DOES want to come (crazy) which means he might be up for a second meet. Or maybe for THAT one he'll do something else. Long story short, yeah I'd be up for a second meet. You all are making this trip amazing!

Just yesterday I was fiddling with magnet stuff and he laughed and said, "That silly message board is making this into two months of fun for you isn't it?" YES IT IS!

 

[iloverags2]

Love ALL the furbabies! I worked first as a vet tech and then as the "Customer Service Coordinator" (I ran the front desk and dealt with customer service for the whole clinic) until late fall. I would just squish them all up!

Cindy - I just talked to my DH about the 3:00 meetup and said he could swim or drink a beer or whatever if he didn't want to come and he DOES want to come (crazy) which means he might be up for a second meet. Or maybe for THAT one he'll do something else. Long story short, yeah I'd be up for a second meet. You all are making this trip amazing!

Just yesterday I was fiddling with magnet stuff and he laughed and said, "That silly message board is making this into two months of fun for you isn't it?" YES IT IS!

How I would love to work for a vet! Although I would want to take home every stray that was brought in.

And too funny about your DH commenting on the boards. Mine says similar things. He figures as long as I keep busy planning, I'm happy!

When and where should we look at meeting up on our at sea day? Ideas anyone???

 

[jenf22]

Just yesterday I was fiddling with magnet stuff and he laughed and said, "That silly message board is making this into two months of fun for you isn't it?" YES IT IS!

I've been going crazy with magnets too! Shutterfly keeps sending me deals and they're too hard to pass up! I'm just printing photos, cutting them, and putting magnetic tape on the back. Nothing too fancy.

We got Ryan's passport Tuesday, so now we're all set with passports. You should see his picture though - just hideous. His eyes are half closed and he looks like a drunk 4 year old. Oh well.

Also got our return flight switched from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando yesterday. Now no 3 hours drive! So now we just need to figure out if we're doing Kennedy or Magic Kingdom on Tuesday (we're for sure doing LegoLand on Monday) and everything will be finalized!

 

[wildforgoofy]

Love ALL the furbabies! I worked first as a vet tech and then as the "Customer Service Coordinator" (I ran the front desk and dealt with customer service for the whole clinic) until late fall. I would just squish them all up!

Cindy - I just talked to my DH about the 3:00 meetup and said he could swim or drink a beer or whatever if he didn't want to come and he DOES want to come (crazy) which means he might be up for a second meet. Or maybe for THAT one he'll do something else. Long story short, yeah I'd be up for a second meet. You all are making this trip amazing!

Just yesterday I was fiddling with magnet stuff and he laughed and said, "That silly message board is making this into two months of fun for you isn't it?" YES IT IS!

We'd be up for meeting on the at sea day too. Just let me know the time and place and we'll come for a drink.. or two.

I've been going crazy with magnets too! Shutterfly keeps sending me deals and they're too hard to pass up! I'm just printing photos, cutting them, and putting magnetic tape on the back. Nothing too fancy.

We got Ryan's passport Tuesday, so now we're all set with passports. You should see his picture though - just hideous. His eyes are half closed and he looks like a drunk 4 year old. Oh well.

Also got our return flight switched from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando yesterday. Now no 3 hours drive! So now we just need to figure out if we're doing Kennedy or Magic Kingdom on Tuesday (we're for sure doing LegoLand on Monday) and everything will be finalized!

I never thought about hitting anything in Orlando before we drive to the port, but the kids would love a stop at Lego Land and I love!!!! Downtown Disney. Plus the last few times we flew to WDW we didn't rent a car, and I've missed my trips over to the Character Warehouse. I'm hitting that either before or after our cruise.
I'm going to try and print my magnets using magnetic paper. We'll see if they turn out and how good they look.

 

[Britster18]

I'm going to try and print my magnets using magnetic paper. We'll see if they turn out and how good they look.

My printer STINKS so I'm going to see if I can use VistaPrint or something.

 

[jenf22]

We'd be up for meeting on the at sea day too. Just let me know the time and place and we'll come for a drink.. or two.



I never thought about hitting anything in Orlando before we drive to the port, but the kids would love a stop at Lego Land and I love!!!! Downtown Disney. Plus the last few times we flew to WDW we didn't rent a car, and I've missed my trips over to the Character Warehouse. I'm hitting that either before or after our cruise.
I'm going to try and print my magnets using magnetic paper. We'll see if they turn out and how good they look.

Since Monday is Ryan's birthday, we thought LegoLand could be fun. Something to note - they're closed on Tuesday and Wednesday that week. So if you're planning it, Monday or the weekend are the only options before the cruise.

 

[PixieMom712]

How I would love to work for a vet! Although I would want to take home every stray that was brought in.

And too funny about your DH commenting on the boards. Mine says similar things. He figures as long as I keep busy planning, I'm happy!

When and where should we look at meeting up on our at sea day? Ideas anyone???

Yeah, there are definitely difficult parts to working for a vet but lots of great ones!

I know other DIS groups have met on Deck 10 midship, we could do that? I've never been on a cruise so I'm not totally familiar with where everything is. We could do lunch at Topsiders or something too I suppose but again, not sure what that day's activities look like.

Do Wave Phones work between cabins? Like, could someone send us all a text with a meet time/place after we see the Navigator?

 

[Denine]

Love the FE!!! You did an awesome job.

Before DD came along, DH and I used to love to go to the Rainforest at the spa. LOVE the loungers! But, we haven't been in 9 years, so I don't know if there have been any changes.

Can't wait to go to Disney on Saturday and eat at Via Napoli!

No washing machine? Yikes!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh my gosh, this is gorgeous! I just finally broke down and bought one from Etsy, for more money than I wanted to spend, but there's just no way I can make one. I asked my one sewing friend but she's super busy right now so... bleh. Yours is so unique and amazing! I'm totally impressed.

Thank you so much for the compliments! My fingers were so sore last Tuesday and Wednesday from all the hand-stitching thru dense layers. LOL! I was thoroughly convinced that my new glasses are da bomb, tho! I sewed for like 14 hours that day and my eyeballs never failed me. It was terrible trying to sew stuff that I could only barely see before. Chandler put it to words quite well: My eyes just didn't seem to have the same work ethic that I did. LOL!

Think of your Etsy FE puchase as an investment! You can use it for your future cruises, too! Well, you can as long as you didn't have "First Cruise" put on it like I had done on my first one. Hubby even questioned why I did that because we wouldn't be able to use it again. My response? "I know. But I want to force myself to have to make the next one anyway." My brain works in very odd ways sometimes.

I agree with Kelly - Civil Air Patrol! DH was in it when he was younger and actually took his first solo flight the same day he got his driver's license. I don't think they fly themselves in CAP - his dad was in instructor - but it's great for character building and stuff too!

My hubby wasn't CAP but took private lessons (partially funded by his retired grandfather ~ God rest his sweet soul). He also soloed around 16 or 17. We took the boys to check out the CAP since we live right next to the regional airport. It's kinda a long story as to why they didn't want to do it. I think it was too soon after we had pulled them from public school and they still were very reserved about the other kids more than anything. CAP is really awesome, tho. They learn a lot including the flying aspect. But like the unit-commander-lady-person was telling us, kids who are uncomfortable with the flying can shift their focus to other things (like navigation, communications, survival-stuff, etc.). They don't *have* to fly.

We are meeting at the Promenade Lounge at 3pm on the first day!

It's officially entered into my iPhone calendar with reminders 2 hours and 1 hour before the meet. On our Dream cruise the group did a meet but I was so scattery with everything new that first day and totally forgot to go. I don't want to forget this time!

I can't believe your washer is still broken. Since you did laundry twice on a 3 day cruise I bet you are losing your mind! I hate when repair people are so unhelpful. I know their job is to fix things, not make friends but... seriously.

I think my big complaint is no mention of how long or short it would be to get the part, etc. Just an idea how long I'm looking at. Last night the boys and I packed up all the laundry and got everything ready to go to the washeteria this morning first thing. The boys even stayed up late doing their school work for today so they could go give me a hand. About the time I rolled out of bed I got a call from the repair guy saying he'd be out in a half hour to install the new part. Yay! No washeteria! And the boys decided they'd keep working their school work to be a day ahead so they can take off Monday for the drive over to my folks' house in Alabama. Good little guys, I have.

And Riley really is a Belle! She's SO CUTE!

Edited to add: That video is /hilarious/. My son keeps making me play it over and over and now he wants to know if you will bring her on the "Mickey ship". I am just glad the JB cutout doesn't belong to YOU.

Thank you! I love my little girl. She's my baby. First dog I ever had. I wish I could bring her. I don't know how she'd like it. She's not the happiest on boats although a ship would be different. I took her with me for a ride on the old man's boat about a month or so ago. I tried to get her to hop up on the seat between me and the side of the boat and she nearly jumped over the side. Seriously caught her in the air as she was sailing over the rail. I don't think she realized that brown, muddy stuff over there was water. LOL!

Here's my big baby!

And here's Licorice who's fondly known as the "RAT". Poor baby!!

So adorable! I love the black coats against your decor. Your fur babies work well with your decorating. LOL! Leave it to me to find the cohesion between design and your furry loves. I'm such a nerd. LOL!

Off topic: Sorry have not been posting as much just submitted a design for a t-shirt design contest for a band I love. Hoping I win it would mean so much to me. I got 20 votes so far and am in the top 50 : Crossing fingers for that to come through, the prize is awesome.

I'll cross my fingers for you, too. Is there somewhere we can go vote for you and lend a hand? I'd love to help and for you to be the ultimate winnaaaaah!!!

OMG! Your FE is sooooooo super cute! I love UP! I wish I were crafty, but just do not have that gene in me.

Thank you! I love Up!, too. It's really makes my heart go pitter-pat.

Yes, we are meeting in the Promenade Lounge at 3 p.m. on Embarkation Day. Maybe we can set-up a meet on our at-sea day also? Anyone game for that?

We're game!

LOL! They are so cute, first of all! Our 7 lb. cat is best buds with the 45 lb. puppy!

We had lots of cats and critters when I was a kid. Once we had an albino rabbit we named Garfield because he ate cat food, used the kitty box, and thought he was one of the cats. He used to sleep all snuggly with the kitties, too. It was really neat. We used to name everything odd things: cat named "Dog", big tom-cat named "Moose", black cat named "Snowball", dog named "Kitty", etc.

Oh, that really stinks. I'm so sorry you have to deal with that.

Did I mention before how adorable Riley is???

Thanks for the sympathy. Washer is fixed today so I can wash 'til my heart's content now! WooHOOOO!!! I think.... LOL! And thanks for the love for Riley. She eats up all this ooey-gooey-goodness. She's such a little lovey.

Cindy - I just talked to my DH about the 3:00 meetup and said he could swim or drink a beer or whatever if he didn't want to come and he DOES want to come (crazy) which means he might be up for a second meet. Or maybe for THAT one he'll do something else. Long story short, yeah I'd be up for a second meet. You all are making this trip amazing!

Just yesterday I was fiddling with magnet stuff and he laughed and said, "That silly message board is making this into two months of fun for you isn't it?" YES IT IS!

Get this! When we first switched to this cruise my old man asked me several times, "Did you go find our cruise group online yet???" I kept saying, "Eh, no. Not sure I'm going to do all that this time. Think I might lay low, not do any meets or FEs so we can focus on just us and the cruise and stuff." He was like, "What??? Doing the FE thing with you and meeting the people on our last cruise was something that made the cruise even more fun for me. If you don't want to, that's cool but I sorta wish we could do it again." That's how I landed here with you all! I'm glad I listened to him. It has been a lot of fun getting to know everyone! We'll definitely be at the embarkation day meet. I think I might be meeting with another friend from the other message board the night before for dinner at WDW somewhere (although I've been pushing to go over to Margaritaville at City Walk instead...DH isn't so sure). Hubby definitely is in for the meet-ups and has been a big help getting my FE gifts going. He's super-outgoing...his mom & grandmother say he's never met a stranger. Even when he was a little guy helping his grandmother and met a friend/somewhat-scary-fellow at a laundromat & invited him home for dinner.

And too funny about your DH commenting on the boards. Mine says similar things. He figures as long as I keep busy planning, I'm happy!

When and where should we look at meeting up on our at sea day? Ideas anyone???

Yep, hubby asks to be kept up-to-date on what's up with the group. Heehee!

At-sea-day: I'm not sure. We could do a meet like around 11 then either go to Topsiders or collectively descend upon whatever table service place is serving lunch for the day. Or split so split so those who want buffet can do that and those who want table service can do that. On our Nassau day on the Dream we thoroughly enjoyed eating in the dining room (Royal Palace). Best. Food. Ever. Loved it!

Also got our return flight switched from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando yesterday. Now no 3 hours drive! So now we just need to figure out if we're doing Kennedy or Magic Kingdom on Tuesday (we're for sure doing LegoLand on Monday) and everything will be finalized!

Well, yay! for switched flights!

My printer STINKS so I'm going to see if I can use VistaPrint or something.

Do you have like a Kinkos or an Office Depot that can do your printing for you??? Maybe even a friend or relative who has a better printer??? I'm never patient enough to wait on things to ship. LOL!

I know other DIS groups have met on Deck 10 midship, we could do that? I've never been on a cruise so I'm not totally familiar with where everything is. We could do lunch at Topsiders or something too I suppose but again, not sure what that day's activities look like.

Do Wave Phones work between cabins? Like, could someone send us all a text with a meet time/place after we see the Navigator?

I'll have to go look at a deck plan real quick. Where exactly on Deck 10 midship are we talking about? I'm guessing there's like a loungy-space? I'm hoping it's easier for me to get my bearings on this cruise. I don't have Tracey's innate sense of direction so I felt like I was all turned around for the first day or so. By the time I felt like I had a clue where I was and how to get where I wanted to be on the Dream it was time to leave. I joked a lot about not knowing my aft from a hole in the ground...

I don't want to scare any of the new people, tho. You have to understand that I truly do NOT have a good sense of direction. I'm a landmark person and rely too much on the 2 guys in the family who are great with direction. That first night when we were rushing to get to dinner I was in a total fluster because I was running late. We dashed out the door to the nearest elevator bank (happened to be midship but I had no idea at the time). As we stood waiting for a door to open it hit me all at once: Where are we going? I knew we were going to Enchanted Garden but hadn't the foggiest idea how to actually get there. In a panic I blurted out, "OMG! Does anyone even know where the restaurant is??? How do we get there?!" Tracey & Chandler turned to me in complete disbelief. "Um...yes. You don't know?" Nope. Not a clue. And I was exactly in that same state of "Where am I?" for no less than 2 days. If it hadn't been for Tracey we would never have gotten the FE gifts distributed either. I held the list of stateroom numbers and he had a deck plan. I called out the locations and followed him. At least we made a good team.

Yes, the Wave phones work between cabins. You have to know the other stateroom number you are trying to text or call and know the right buttons to push to do get the right phone. I forget the extension things. Like for our stateroom we had the 2 phones that came in it plus a borrowed/rented one. There was something you had to dial with the stateroom number to get the right 1 of the 3 so you weren't sending messages to the wrong person. Like I'm sure you don't want to send texts to my sons who might be like "Who is this random freak-show texting me??" Or, like cell phones. Each of the 4 of us has an iPhone all on the same account. You need to know the number of the exact phone to text to get the right person in my family. Does that make sense? I bet I could put Chandler on here and he could tell you all the particulars on how to use the Wave phones. If I didn't have him I'd still be trying to figure out how to operate my iPhone that I've had forever. LOL!

I was so turned around, overwhelmed, and clueless on the Dream, tho. If I wanted to get hold of one of the boys I made Tracey send them messages. I don't think I even touched a Wave phone. All 3 of the guys carried them. Not me.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Love the FE!!! You did an awesome job.

Before DD came along, DH and I used to love to go to the Rainforest at the spa. LOVE the loungers! But, we haven't been in 9 years, so I don't know if there have been any changes.

Can't wait to go to Disney on Saturday and eat at Via Napoli!

No washing machine? Yikes!

Thank you for the compliments on the FE! My TA/friend went wild over it and said I should post it to the Dis. She thought everyone would go nuts over it. She was saying how I should make them to sell but it was so labor intensive I'd have to charge an arm & a leg to make it worth-while.

Via Napoli! Oh DH would cry. He's a total freak for their tiramisu! ((drools))

Washing machine fixed just this morning! Now to start working on the 5 loads I have waiting.....

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I know y'all wish I'd shut up. I'm a pretty chatty girl. I'm sorry. LOL!

I meant to post this link for y'all!

https://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/featured-products/wallpocketorganizer.htm

It's a .pdf download for purchase ($5) for FEs. I found it when browsing youcanmakethis.com. That's such a cool website for all sorts of crafting and sewing ideas. There's even a section for kids crafts! I could go broke buying downloads and fabric-stashing. I have bins full of Disney fabrics that I purchased (mostly online) just because I liked them. Made my first quilt out of my stash, too. I think I might carry it with me on the ship....I do hate bedspreads in the worst way....

 

[Lainey321]

I still don't know what I want to do about the excursions. We definitely want to get off the ship in the Bahamas so we can at least say "we've been to the Bahamas" My 9 y/o says she wants to swim with a dolphin...I have my doubts My nearly 14 y/o just wants to walk around a bit then get back on the boat.

I guess I need to have Camille email her fellow Vibe'ers to see what their plans are

I know I want to parasail in Key West. Has anyone ever used Fury Water Adventures in KW?

 

[Britster18]

I still don't know what I want to do about the excursions. We definitely want to get off the ship in the Bahamas so we can at least say "we've been to the Bahamas" My 9 y/o says she wants to swim with a dolphin...I have my doubts My nearly 14 y/o just wants to walk around a bit then get back on the boat.

I guess I need to have Camille email her fellow Vibe'ers to see what their plans are

I know I want to parasail in Key West. Has anyone ever used Fury Water Adventures in KW?

I'm thinking the same thing. John and I have been to Nassau and other then Atlantis there isn't much to do. Atlantis is expensive too!!
I wonder how much a room is for the day. I know I've seen people do that to use the pool.

I haven't ever used them in Key West but we are renting an electric car and driving around. I've been to the Key's a million times as a kid and MAN I can't wait to get back!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I still don't know what I want to do about the excursions. We definitely want to get off the ship in the Bahamas so we can at least say "we've been to the Bahamas" My 9 y/o says she wants to swim with a dolphin...I have my doubts My nearly 14 y/o just wants to walk around a bit then get back on the boat.

I guess I need to have Camille email her fellow Vibe'ers to see what their plans are

I know I want to parasail in Key West. Has anyone ever used Fury Water Adventures in KW?

Brian emailed Camille and Kane (I think he spells that with a K?) yesterday afternoon. I know because I had to help him get the email addresses put in on his iPad. LOL! He wasn't very chatty. And I didn't go nuts trying to correct his grammar and spelling, neither of which he's a real natural at. I know we homeschool and all but sometimes I think I drive the boys crazy with making *everything* into learning/lessons all the time. LOL!

I didn't check parasailing in Key West but I looked for other stuff in Nassau that Disney doesn't offer. There's a neat Segway thing. I was hoping to find parasailing way cheaper than CC's in Nassau. No such luck. Oh well!

I'm thinking the same thing. John and I have been to Nassau and other then Atlantis there isn't much to do. Atlantis is expensive too!!
I wonder how much a room is for the day. I know I've seen people do that to use the pool.

I haven't ever used them in Key West but we are renting an electric car and driving around. I've been to the Key's a million times as a kid and MAN I can't wait to get back!!

I looked into the Comfort Suites option everyone talks about to get the big savings and still go do the Atlantis Aquaventure. I posted this just this morning on an Atlantis thread:



Be careful booking the Comfort Suites. I looked into that option for my family of 4 (sons are teens so they are adult prices). If the price of the room + tax was all the cost then, yes, it would be a great deal at only $408.42. That's currently the lowest possible rate I can get for the date I need. But, read the fine print when you get to the total page on CS's website:


Please note: Must have one adult 21 years or older in each room. Energy surcharge: 13.95 per person per night. Housekeeping gratuities: 5.00 per person per night These are additional charges not included in nightly estimated total and must be paid directly at the hotel. Persons 16 and older are charged as adults. 3rd/4th person charged 40.00 per night + tax and service charges.


Okay. So that adds $13.95 energy surcharge + $5 housekeeping gratuities PER PERSON.

$13.95 + $5 = $18.95 x 4 people = $75.80

Now we get to add another $40 for each of my sons since they are the 3rd & 4th people in the room (yes, I based my quote on all 4 of us being there but that's not included in the room total).

So my "good deal" at Comfort Suites at $408.42 now has become $564.22. I still have to pay my own cab fare to/from and buy my own lunch. Another hundred bucks for Disney and I'm pretty much neck-and-neck with what Comfort Suites costs me. I'll take the peace of mind.

FWIW, I found a similar heads-up several times over when digging around Cruise Critic. Apparently others have called and tried to dispute the housekeeping and energy surcharges since they aren't even really using the rooms. You literally check-in & check-out at the same time. Nope. Standard fees and everyone pays. No exceptions. I also confirmed this with my TA who said she was aware of the insane fees and was waiting to see what we wanted to do before she said anything.





Gotta be careful of the "hidden" fees. From what I read on Cruise Crittic this is a common practice at many (if not all) hotels on Paradise Island. Kinda deceiving, really. That's why I went ahead and booked the Aquaventure thru DCL. It's a LOT of money, I agree. However, it's something we know we want to be able to do at least once and we love water parks. We'll do it this once while we can. Who knows if we'll ever do it again. For me it's worth it to no longer wonder what it was like.

 

[PixieMom712]

Sweetpee, I feel like you said so much I can't reply to all of it! XD

I am not sure where on Deck 10 it is - I have just seen it mentioned in a few trip reports. But I really like the idea of meeting around 11 and then doing lunch!

BTW, your trip report is one of the reasons I am so glad we're doing the Magic - less space for me to try to keep straight, because I am totally directionally challenged!

Re: Nassau, since my kiddo is only 4 we decided not to do Atlantis. We're going to do the See & Sea tour, which has a boat with a keel that goes 5' underwater and windows, so sort of like a glass bottom boat but glass sides instead. Then there's a bus tour that includes the Fort and the Queen's Staircase. We want to be able to see some of the island without walking around too much, and decided not to do beach stuff because we'll have beach days with grandparents before and after, plus CC. We're doing the 9:45 tour, if anyone wants to do something like this and would like to join us!

 

[wildforgoofy]

Brian emailed Camille and Kane (I think he spells that with a K?) yesterday afternoon. I know because I had to help him get the email addresses put in on his iPad. LOL! He wasn't very chatty. And I didn't go nuts trying to correct his grammar and spelling, neither of which he's a real natural at. I know we homeschool and all but sometimes I think I drive the boys crazy with making *everything* into learning/lessons all the time. LOL!

.

Kane got it. I asked if he e-mailed Brian back and he said, "Yup" Quite the wordsmith.

You picked up my decorating style.....Black, white and bland all over When we got Sadie I had to stop wearing anything white and tan! She sheds like crazy! It's like we have a Sasquatch living in our house with us. I had to stop wearing anything white or tan, heck anything light for that matter so now I wear only black or jeans. Then Maya tells me she wants her own dog a cute WHITE dog she can name Popcorn. Ahhh how cute, but NO!! I'm already down to nothing but black then add a white dog into the mix! The solution, get the tiniest dog in BLACK I could find and name her Licorice. Yeah, all is right in my wardrobe world. Sigh...

You should post more pics of your FE. I'd like to see a closer look of all the details. Did you say you painted the UP parts? I love the way the pictures flow from the back of the FE onto the pockets. At first I couldn't even see the pockets at all they blended in perfectly.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sweetpee, I feel like you said so much I can't reply to all of it! XD

I am not sure where on Deck 10 it is - I have just seen it mentioned in a few trip reports. But I really like the idea of meeting around 11 and then doing lunch!

BTW, your trip report is one of the reasons I am so glad we're doing the Magic - less space for me to try to keep straight, because I am totally directionally challenged!

I know. I never shut up. And just think, I only type/say only a smidge of all the stuff rattling around in my brain. Can you imagine???? LOL!

Oh don't get me wrong, the Dream is amazing! We totally and completely love her. I kinda set myself up for the mini-breakdown I had. I read so much before the cruise and had this whole list of things in my brain that I wanted to do and see on that ship. I thought I was gonna explore every nook & cranny and see/do it all....in 3 days. I know. I know. It's okay to laugh at the sheer stupidity in THAT statement. I can look back and have a good laugh now. Plus, I'd never been on a cruise before so getting the rhythm of the way a cruise day works (vs. the way a WDW day progresses) was a concern. Then there was fatigue, my ongoing week-long headache, PLUS it was hormone-hell-week. Feeling utterly lost was the straw that broke the camel's back that day. Ugh! I can look back and laugh now but in the moment you'da thunk someone ran my little fur baby over. I was almost inconsolable. Bless my wonderful husband for being the saint he is with me on days like that. He was patient (I think it was all the drinks we'd been drinking ), sweet, and really picked my spirits up. And ya know, we never saw the art gallery, the night clubs, or a whole list of other things. 3 days was over before it got started. I'm so psyched about the Magic because it's smaller and different. Any way you slice it, cruising is total awesome-sauce on the best day and I can't wait to get back onboard!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Kane got it. I asked if he e-mailed Brian back and he said, "Yup" Quite the wordsmith.

You picked up my decorating style.....Black, white and bland all over When we got Sadie I had to stop wearing anything white and tan! She sheds like crazy! It's like we have a Sasquatch living in our house with us. I had to stop wearing anything white or tan, heck anything light for that matter so now I wear only black or jeans. Then Maya tells me she wants her own dog a cute WHITE dog she can name Popcorn. Ahhh how cute, but NO!! I'm already down to nothing but black then add a white dog into the mix! The solution, get the tiniest dog in BLACK I could find and name her Licorice. Yeah, all is right in my wardrobe world. Sigh...

You should post more pics of your FE. I'd like to see a closer look of all the details. Did you say you painted the UP parts? I love the way the pictures flow from the back of the FE onto the pockets. At first I couldn't even see the pockets at all they blended in perfectly.

Oh no! Your decorating style is so not bland! I thought it was very vogue and sassy in a classy way. I liked the print of the rug with the black dog laying on it. It's something a photographer would do! Really!

I'll have to get more pics for ya of the FE. The balloons and house were actually sketched then colored with crayons. The painting was the lettering and border on the top with our family name. Very tedious stuff. I'm glad the pockets don't chop up the overall composition of the FE. Sounds silly referring to it that way but that was the point of the way I did it. I wanted it to be a visual interpretation of Up! first with the function second. Does that make sense? I'll see what I can do for some pics to show the pocket function and some of the details. Maybe I can borrow Chandler's camera...

 

[DVCTigger]

@wildforgoofy - yes, they are both black labs . . . I really like all dogs, but I am a sucker for the big ones! There is a great dane in our community that is just a puppy, but bigger then my two labs! But he is SO cute!! Had to bring my girl to the vet today she somehow got a gash in her back She now has 6 staples and a pretty pink tube top! (wrap to cover the wound)

FWIW, for a meeting place, deck 9 probably isnt the best. Its either the pool deck or quiet Cove area which is adults only. Secret deck 7 is a good spot, quiet and fairly private if you want outside. If you want inside, Diversions is a good place. Just throwing that out there