My Double Dipped in Butter Thanksgiving Cruise - PTR

Mean Queen

<font color=blue><marquee> If only life were like
Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
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As a Florida resident, going to Disney doesn't require all the planning it does for most. I keep a bag packed at all times for spur of the moment trips. So a pre-trip report for that would be short and boring.
ME: "Hey honey, want to go to Disney this weekend?"
DH: "Sure."
ME: "Which park?"
DH: "Anything but Animal Kingdom, I won't do Animal Kingdom in the Summer."
ME: "I know. How about (insert name of a park we didn't hit last time)?"
DH: "Sounds good."

Sometimes we will go for a weekend and that usually means we had this conversation months before and made our DVC reservations based on a long weekend.

But all that was to say a cruise takes a bit more planning, even for us. So at the request of a few (creativeamanda and smileybug), here is my first ever Pre Trip Report!!!!!!

My cast of characters:
Me - Mean Queen AKA Shay - 37
DH - Nonald Nuck (that's how our 2 year old says Donald Duck) - 39
DD9 - Tink
DD2 - Minnie

Our friends, I'll call the Daytrippers. They travel all the time.
Mr. Dr. DT
Mrs. Dr. DT (one of my best friends)
Boy DT - 11
Girl DT - 9 (one of my Tink's best friend)


Planning for this trip began in May 2007. We were on a 4-day cruise on the Wonder for our 10th anniversary. This was our second Disney cruise and we finally learned of the "wonders" of re-booking on board. We originally planned for a trip earlier in November in a balcony room.

Once we got back on land, we realized it wasn't a great idea to take Tink out of school or use that much vacation time for Nonald. So we moved it to Thanksgiving week and downgraded to a window room because of the cost increase. The Thanksgiving trip was originally a Double Dip at Castaway Cay with a stop in Costa Maya and Cozumel. But nature had something else in mind. Costa Maya was hit by a hurricane and the itinerary changed to Grand Cayman. :banana: :banana: :banana: That dancing babnana (yes, babnana, not banana) is for the change, not the hurricane.

Now when my friend, Dr. Mrs. DT heard we were going to do a Thanksgiving cruise, she wanted to come along. We tried to get another Disney fanatic family we vacation with to come, but it was way too expensive for their family of 5. I think DCL needs more inexpensive options for larger families. Either way, we were excited to be cruising together. And have a Thanksgiving without our extended families. :banana: :banana: :banana:


NEXT REPORT: Waiting is the hardest part
 
Yay I'm first!!

How much do I LOVE that you are doing this PTR?! Can't wait to read about a Disney cruise!!

:banana:


.
 
Wooohoooo! Glad you'v started a Pre-trippy :)

Can't wait to hear more.
 

Here are some pictures of my family from our last Disney cruise.

Me and the girls at Castaway Cay
May2007058.jpg


Ready for Pirate Night!
May2007068.jpg


Just running into Peter Pan in the hall.
May2007081.jpg


Desserts at Palo's brunch.
May2007083.jpg
 
As a Florida resident, going to Disney doesn't require all the planning it does for most. I keep a bag packed at all times for spur of the moment trips. So a pre-trip report for that would be short and boring.
ME: "Hey honey, want to go to Disney this weekend?"
DH: "Sure."
ME: "Which park?"
DH: "Anything but Animal Kingdom, I won't do Animal Kingdom in the Summer."
ME: "I know. How about (insert name of a park we didn't hit last time)?"
DH: "Sounds good."

I should post a pic of my face right here and right now so you can see what jealousy looks like in the flesh. :p

Just running into Peter Pan in the hall.
May2007081.jpg

Um.
Someone should talk to Petey about dying his eyebrows to match that red mop of his. ;)
 
Don't mind us Mean Queen. Mickey needs us to row the boat. LegoMom...just because you're first, don't let it go to your head. :rotfl:
 
Don't mind us Mean Queen. Mickey needs us to row the boat. LegoMom...just because you're first, don't let it go to your head. :rotfl:


Nah, I'm just trying to butter Mean Queen up so I have a friend in Florida before I actually get there! ;)


.
 
Yay! A PTR for a cruise! (Which is hopefully our next trip after 2009). Just wondering when you'll be mentioning Starbucks. :rolleyes1

Seriously, the thought of Castaway Cay is awesome. I remember seeing about it on one of the Travel Channel documentaries and thinking it seemed like a lot of fun!

Glad to see the planning with you! :goodvibes
 
Nah, I'm just trying to butter Mean Queen up so I have a friend in Florida before I actually get there! ;)


.

You already do. And I'm right around the corner from your dad, so you'd be sure to see me. ;)
 
My mini-Starbucks report for the day:
Today I went to the Starbucks at my local Target in the morning. This is where my favorite barista, Tracey, works. She feeds my coffee addiction by telling me all new and crazy ways to order. Many of which take at least half an hour to do. But this time, I ordered a simple venti iced non-fat Pumpkin Spice latte with extra pumpkin, whipped cream, and an extra shot of espresso. For those not familiar with the ice ventis, that means I had 4 shots of espresso in my drink. :coffee: :hyper:

In the afternoon, I stopped by the drive-thru at another Starbucks. But I really didn't think I needed more caffeine. I was still a bit :hyper: so I ordered a venti Shaken Iced Tea in Passionfruit with Melon syrup. Very sweet! But refreshing.

Now I'll get back to thinking of the next installment of my pre-trip report.
 
When you book a cruise, you are pretty limited in your early planning. If you are a first time Disney Cruise line cruiser, you can book excursions, Flounder's and Palo's at 75 days out. Luckily, we are Castaway Club members (along with the many thousands of other previous DCL cruisers). We get to book 90-days out. The truly lucky, the concierge guests, get to book at 105-days out. Ahhh. One day, I want that to be me.

When I originally called to switch to the Thanksgiving cruise, the main dining was already booked. So we got stuck with an 8 p.m. dining time with a 2 year old. I was askeered. :scared: (that's my askeered face) I think the people booked to sit near us were also askeered without knowing why. Just somewhere, deep down in their hearts, they felt something wrong. Because a tired and hungry 2 year old, even my mellow child, is not something anyone wants to see. The CM did tell me that people with young children (like me) or medical needs would get first priority when seats opened up. So I had hope. I just figured I'd have to rush first thing like we did on the last cruise and get our time changed, missing out on booking our second Palo's meal. :sad2:

From May of 2007 when we booked the cruise to August 24th at Midnight, we just had to wait and research all the excursions. There are a lot of really fun things to do on in port. But not when you have a 2-year old. :headache: For some reason, they don't do well on a zip line or hiking. :rolleyes1 I have been to Cozumel before and didn't see anything that interested us. So we decided to just shop around the port then spend time on the ship.

In Grand Cayman, I really wanted to visit the Stingray city, Boatswain's Marine Park, or the Butterfly Farm. But trying to get Nonald to decide on anything was like pulling teeth. None of the excursions, especially the prices, sounded good to him. Finally, thanks to some of the Dis members going on the trip, I found something I know he'll like. Margaritaville in Grand Cayman has a pool you can swim in, with a slide coming down from the second floor. :woohoo: The Daytrippers cruise so much, they are fine with whatever we pick. So we planned a day of margaritas with a big cheeseburger in paradise for us meat eaters and some vegetarian option for my friends the Daytrippers, followed by shopping.

This made things easier for our August 24th deadline. Now we knew the only things we had to book were Palo's, the spa, and time at Flounder's during both. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong.

Next installment: COMPUTERS STINK!!!!
 
Pictures, no one told me there were pictures. :banana:

Thanks for teaching us Disney cruiseline tips :thumbsup2
 
When you book a cruise, you are pretty limited in your early planning. If you are a first time Disney Cruise line cruiser, you can book excursions, Flounder's and Palo's at 75 days out. Luckily, we are Castaway Club members (along with the many thousands of other previous DCL cruisers). We get to book 90-days out. The truly lucky, the concierge guests, get to book at 105-days out. Ahhh. One day, I want that to be me.

When I originally called to switch to the Thanksgiving cruise, the main dining was already booked. So we got stuck with an 8 p.m. dining time with a 2 year old. I was askeered. :scared: (that's my askeered face) I think the people booked to sit near us were also askeered without knowing why. Just somewhere, deep down in their hearts, they felt something wrong. Because a tired and hungry 2 year old, even my mellow child, is not something anyone wants to see. The CM did tell me that people with young children (like me) or medical needs would get first priority when seats opened up. So I had hope. I just figured I'd have to rush first thing like we did on the last cruise and get our time changed, missing out on booking our second Palo's meal. :sad2:

From May of 2007 when we booked the cruise to August 24th at Midnight, we just had to wait and research all the excursions. There are a lot of really fun things to do on in port. But not when you have a 2-year old. :headache: For some reason, they don't do well on a zip line or hiking. :rolleyes1 I have been to Cozumel before and didn't see anything that interested us. So we decided to just shop around the port then spend time on the ship.

In Grand Cayman, I really wanted to visit the Stingray city, Boatswain's Marine Park, or the Butterfly Farm. But trying to get Nonald to decide on anything was like pulling teeth. None of the excursions, especially the prices, sounded good to him. Finally, thanks to some of the Dis members going on the trip, I found something I know he'll like. Margaritaville in Grand Cayman has a pool you can swim in, with a slide coming down from the second floor. :woohoo: The Daytrippers cruise so much, they are fine with whatever we pick. So we planned a day of margaritas with a big cheeseburger in paradise for us meat eaters and some vegetarian option for my friends the Daytrippers, followed by shopping.

This made things easier for our August 24th deadline. Now we knew the only things we had to book were Palo's, the spa, and time at Flounder's during both. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong.

Next installment: COMPUTERS STINK!!!!

Wow...I didn't know planning a Disney Cruise was sooooo mind boggling. You know what you have done don't you? Now the rest of us are going to be trying to figure out when we can squeeze out the cost of a Disney Cruise in these economically trying times. :rotfl:







 
Wow...I didn't know planning a Disney Cruise was sooooo mind boggling. You know what you have done don't you? Now the rest of us are going to be trying to figure out when we can squeeze out the cost of a Disney Cruise in these economically trying times. :rotfl:


It isn't easy. The cruises are more expensive than others. But you get what you pay for. It's Disney service all the way. If you can go in the off times, you can get a good deal. They just announced Florida resident discounts for all the cruises in November, except mine. That's the trouble with doing a holiday cruise.
 
OT I know....If we planned a girls trip and my sister that lives in FL did the booking...would we all get the discount?
 












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