Memorial Week Cruise May 24-29, 2009

[jenelabri]

I was wondering if anyone was cruising on these dates yet? It's memorial week and we are taking our 1st cruise then. Let me know if your on here and lets see if we can start some fish extender meets. Thanks.

 

[hillfam]

Hello! We are celebrating my husband's return from deployment in Iraq and are very excited about our first Disney Cruise! We are bringing 2 of our most precious gifts our DS - 7 and DS - 2. I would be on the computer all night if I started asking questions. Any tips for a newbie? Thanks and God Bless!

 

[jenelabri]

HELLO!!! I am so glad someone responded to me!!! i was beginning to think I was the only one cruising!! I too am a newbie cruiser. This is my first cruise EVER!!! However, I've done so much research and talked w/ so many people on dis board that I already have pretty much the basics down!! We are traveling with me (of course) dh, ds 9, dd 5 and then both sets of grandparents are tagging along w/ us and not a single one of us have ever cruised. I am excited to have someone that is going on the same cruise as me to talke to. maybe together we can get planned and prepared.

 

[hillfam]

I mean this board is so great, but I am feeling overwhelmed. It seems like everyone on some of the treads have cruised about 100 times. We have cruised before, but it was like on Carnival and we were newly married and didn't have our precious ones. But now, this is the biggest deal we have done as a family vacation. I am looking at all and ANY way to save money, but still have a great time. We are about 2 or 3 payments from finishing and I am trying to save for excursions, spa treats, etc. What are you guys thinking about doing?

 

[jenelabri]

If it weren't for tax money we wouldn't be going thats for sure. I know we are going to do the sting ray excursion. I had a friend that crusied the wonder back in October and she did the stingray and said it was well worth it. I think it's only 35.00 and you feed them and get to snorkle for a bit so were doing it. I'm not into them massage, spa, exc so I'm not sure what DH and I will do just the 2 of us....if anything.

I with you on being overwelmed. I get on the site daily and always learn something new. have you see the threads about the door magnets? I have over 200 disney cliparts that I've saved to make the signs. If you want some I'll send you a link and you can use what I have.

You know that the Monday were on there is Memorial day. I wonder if they will have a special show or anything for the celebration. We shall see I guess.

 

[hillfam]

We have been saving for about a year, so with the economy the way it is, we really wanted a nice vacation. But, it is kind of expensive to say the least. I was thinking about the door sign and I am going to try to do something simple and cute; I'm going to try and not go overboard with my creativity. I will probably come up with a design and I will send it to you for your critique, if you think I should add one of your graphics, I will. I think with my kids being small, if I mention "stingray" they may freak out and think they will actually sting them....I was actually thinking about the atlantis adventure excursion or the boat one.

BTW, have you ever had a professional massage? I know I used to be a little skiddish at first, but once you have had a really good one, you are sold on them! I exercise a lot and they do wonders for my sore muscles. I'm a girly girl so I love spa treatments and stuff like that. You should try it.

I hope they do something for Memorial day, that would be neat.

 

[jenelabri]

My best friend gave me a massage for my birthday back in may and I have yet to use the certificate. I'm a girly girl as well. I love pedi's and mani's and getting my hair done exc!! Who knows, when i use my free massage i may book one for the cruise.

i have heard GOOD things about he Atlantis adventure. DH wants to do it but it takes ur entire day on the island and there are 8 of us going so I'm still not 100% sure what were going to be doing!! I hope to get some me time (my name is Jennifer by the way) so I can shop and do some things for me but we shall see.

I've made some magnet designs. I'll send u a couple of them when i figure out how.

 

[hillfam]

Cool, my name is Monique. I think we are going to stick with the Atlantis, because I love aquariums, but I am still looking at other stuff too. I was trying to really get my budget down on how much to spend. I love to shop too and I really love to buy things for my extended family; but I like to give "meaningful" gifts; not that t-shirts aren't cool; but so typical. Sometimes (most times) I get carried away. But, the spa treatments are a must! I really hope me and my hubby get to go to the Palo. I hear its amazing!

 

[jenelabri]

I would like to do Palo as well. I don't want to miss any of the dinner rotations because of the different restaruants so I would like to have lunch at Palo on sea day or have it there on the night were scheduled to visit the same restarant twice.

I've been going over our budget as well. There is so much to look at before you even leave!! We have to pay to board our English Bulldog, since there are 8 of us going we are splitting the cost of a big van, have to consider the cost of parking at the port for 5 days. The list goes on and on but that why we booked in July and entire 10 months out from our cruise date so we will be prepared to pay out.

I'm bad about shopping. I like to look at things even at Wal-mart!! My husband doens't go to the mall the shoe store walmart or anywhere with me unless he has to becasue I can't go into a store and look at just one thing. I want to see it all!!! Maybe between me and you we will be so prepared that we won't have any stress come travel time

It's so cool that I"ve met someone thats in a different state that is going to be on the same cruise as us and we get to talk until cruise time!!!

 

[hillfam]

Yeah, Im a shopaholic in a sense of I just don't want to miss a great bargain or miss something unique. I don't have a lot of time, working 2 jobs, 2 little ones, yada, yada, the list goes on, so I am always looking for a bargain. Have you already made your reservations for Palo?

 

[jenelabri]

I don't think we can make reservations until 75 days before the cruise can we? Ours is not paid off yet so I doubt they would let us even if we could. I asked Dh last night if he wanted to do Palo and he said he didn't know. Men......they never can make a decision

 

[hillfam]

What travel agency did you book through? We went through AAA. I almost went to one of the travel agencies online, but that 6th sense said "don't do it", so I didn't. I am kind of skeptical about those. My husband and I love to try new restaurants, so I know we definitely have to do Palo. I think I will try and do some research and find out what kind of food they serve. It seems like they have a million sites about Disney. I'm a nurse, so for the next couple of days, I will be pulling some double shifts to pay off this expensive cruise! lol So, I will talk to you soon and I'm going to try to work on my door sign when I get some time off. Take care!

 

[jenelabri]

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. There don't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore!!! I booked directly through the website. We have AAA but it wasn't any cheaper and they weren't offering an onboard credit when we checked so we just done it ourselfs. Looks like it's a no go for us on Palo. Nobody in the crew of 8 thats going with us wants to do it so I guess I'm just out of luck

 

[hillfam]

Oh, well. I hear they have so many other choices, so it may not matter. When we booked through AAA, it was almost a $500 savings and we will get a $100 Onboard credit. I guess it may differ from state to state.

 

[churchlady]

Hi Guys, we have a reservation for May 24th but I'm not sure DH will let us do it, due to the economy causing uncertainty for his job! If I can save enough extra money by the March payoff date maybe he'll feel better. If we do get to go, it will be our third Disney Cruise. We took the 3 day in 2005 and the 7 day Western in 2006. I think a 4 day will be just right!! We have adjoining cabins on the 2nd deck- the 3 dds in one and DH and I in the other. You will absolutely love it!!!

 

[jenelabri]

Welcome to our cruise!!! I hope u can save the money and join us. I have never been on a cruise so i am counting down the day until we go. I case your wondering it is 6 months from today!!!! Hoorayy!!!!. I am super excited. i have read so much on the DIS board it's not even funny. I told my DH that by the time we went and got back I could be a disney travel agent with all the research i've done. Keep us posted on weather or not ur gonna be making the trip with us!!!

 

[churchlady]

Hi again, Jennifer and Monique. My name is Leigh. I go by churchlady because I work for our Catholic Community Credit Union. I have studied these boards for about 5 years now, and I can tell you that they are invaluable. We had the Poly booked for this summer, but DH said if we wanted we could do the cruise as well. They've done a lot of layoffs at his company now, so he will have to feel much more secure before we make the final payment. I save all the vacation money from my part time job and I sure hope it works out! Sorry for the long story!!!

Anyway, when I first became an obsessive planner DH resisted because he didn't want every minute orchestrated. Now he sees the benefit because by knowing the ins and outs you really get the most for your money- you save time, energy, and design the ultimate family vacation for your relaxation and enjoyment. For instance, in Nassau I book the Dolphin Encounter directly from the company and saved hundreds. We got the onboard credit from our Visa and I now have almost 800 Disney rewards dollars. We brought our own beer and wine on board and ordered the All Hand on Deck platter from room service as we dressed for the show each night.

I'm not telling you this to toot my own horn. All this I learned from my friends on these boards!!! There are many other tips, too, as you have gathered. Some of my favorites are bringing a highlighter for your navigator, preparing your tip money in advance, having a stack of ones ready for room service, a roll of quarters for the laundry, shoe holders to keep your things organized, taking your own picnic off the ship for excursions, packing supplies for Pirate Night and the best thing we've done is get 2 adjoining category 9 rooms for less than the category 4 family suite.

What tips have you liked the most so far? Oh, BYW the fish extender thing is new to us, but we did make the magnetic door sign.

 

[twokats]

I have not been checking this board for a while and had not noticed that ya'll were cruising the same week we were. This will also be my DH and my first cruise. We are seasoned WDW vacationers, in fact we are DVC members. This cruise will just be the two of us (no kids!!) since we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary which is the Tuesday after Memorial day on the cruise. We will be spending the night before the cruise at the AKL and going back to VWL for the rest of our vacation. I have been an avid planner since our 2001 vacation and it really does make a difference. My daughter is helping me plan this vacation even though she is not going with us. She is very jealous. Again, I am so glad to know others will be on this cruise from the DIS!! My name is Kathy.

 

[hillfam]

Hey, everybody! Sorry it has taken long to post! Wow! I am getting more and more excited by the minute. I am pulling extra shifts to try to afford this thing....economy or not....you only get this life once and we really want to celebrate my DH coming back from Baghdad for the fourth time.

I feel so overwhelmed sometimes reading all the tips, but they are great! I want to have fun but be smart in doing it. Thanks for the help!

Like I was saying earlier, Im a girly girl and I LOVE SPA TREATMENTS! love it, love it, love it! If they had 8 hour massages, I would probably get that....lol Do you have any advice on which ones are good and which ones are a waste of money, because I think that will be my one foolish indulgence... God Bless!

 

[jenelabri]

I'm getting more and more excited as well. I'm glad to see that eveyone is starting to join our group!!!! I can't wait to go on the cruise. All the advice we can get is very appreciated. WECOME TO ALL!!!!