November 18, 2012 ~ Turkey day on the Wonder

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

3 more rooms added to this cruise! I just booked two days ago and we're NOT changing now!!

We were trying to coordinate with other family members in another state and the first week of December is rough to take kids out of school for. Most schools seem to schedule all their "Christmas performances", etc at the beginning of the month knowing as it gets closer to Christmas they will lose some kids to family plans.

All that said, we are absolutely looking forward to Thanksgiving on the cruise! I don't recall a Thanksgiving where I didn't have to cook or at least help clean up afterwards! (In our family if you don't help cook, you're polite enough to do the dishes darn it!)

We are myself, DH, DGF, DD(14), DD(11); then my girlfriend's Mom, Sister and two young siblings: DB13 & DS 11.

For DH & our girls this will be our 3rd cruise (having cruised on the Wonder & Magic previously), but it's been 6 years since our last so we're just as excited as the newbies, which all the rest of our travelling group are.

I am definately interested in the FE exchange if we get one going. This will be my very first FE exchange!

 

[gusdmh]

Hi everyone,
I've scheduled for my family to take this cruise. We originally had Christmas week scheduled but it got cancelled. The OBC was a sweet deal though. Unless anything comes up, we should be going on this MR cruise.
Gus

 

[adnil530]

3 more rooms added to this cruise! I just booked two days ago and we're NOT changing now!!

We were trying to coordinate with other family members in another state and the first week of December is rough to take kids out of school for. Most schools seem to schedule all their "Christmas performances", etc at the beginning of the month knowing as it gets closer to Christmas they will lose some kids to family plans.

All that said, we are absolutely looking forward to Thanksgiving on the cruise! I don't recall a Thanksgiving where I didn't have to cook or at least help clean up afterwards! (In our family if you don't help cook, you're polite enough to do the dishes darn it!)

We are myself, DH, DGF, DD(14), DD(11); then my girlfriend's Mom, Sister and two young siblings: DB13 & DS 11.

For DH & our girls this will be our 3rd cruise (having cruised on the Wonder & Magic previously), but it's been 6 years since our last so we're just as excited as the newbies, which all the rest of our travelling group are.

I am definately interested in the FE exchange if we get one going. This will be my very first FE exchange!

Hi everyone,
I've scheduled for my family to take this cruise. We originally had Christmas week scheduled but it got cancelled. The OBC was a sweet deal though. Unless anything comes up, we should be goint on this MR cruise.
Gus

Welcome to the newcomers! I just got off the ship yesterday after doing the MR over our Spring Break! Wonderful time, as usual. Loved Cabo and can't wait to go back. I thought it would be a bummer being in Cabo 2 days in a row, but no. I can't wait to go back.

Didn't cook for a week, so fits in with the plan of no cooking.

I guess we should start a roll call and a FE gift exchange list. We did the FE gift exchange on this last trip and got some interesting gifts....from some pretty neat coasters, magnets, embroidered tote bag...note pads...and of course some candies. It was a manageable group so no problem doing it again. I can do it unless someone else would like to volunteer.

Gus, if you don't mind sharing the info, what kind of OBC did Disney give you when they cancelled Christmas week? I imagine it was a great disappointment for you and your family. It's a shame that Disney will not be doing the MR's any longer. I understand why though. Maybe after a few years when demand is a little higher. I'd like to see them do Avalon/Catalina Island, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo.

I'm very curious as to where she is going in the Fall of 2013. A little bit of time in dry dock might be warranted, more so in another 15 months. In the 2 rooms we had, many small maintenance issues were seen so some TLC overall to let maintenance catch up might be in order. Nothing major just many small ones. I'm going back either way

At any rate, I am trying to catch up on my 10 day hiatus from the computer. Everyone have a great week!
Linda

 

[gusdmh]

Gus, if you don't mind sharing the info, what kind of OBC did Disney give you when they cancelled Christmas week? I imagine it was a great disappointment for you and your family. It's a shame that Disney will not be doing the MR's any longer. I understand why though. Maybe after a few years when demand is a little higher. I'd like to see them do Avalon/Catalina Island, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo.

Linda

Hi Linda,
I got an extra $500 OBC for a 7-night cruise. It would be less if I did a 3/4 night cruise. Now I have a total of $700 OBC. Well, my wife sure loves Palo and the spa.

 

[rmonty02]

GOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLE!!!
One for each member of my family going on this cruise (Myself, DH, DM, DD, DS7 and DS5) thanks to my DM and DD. Gotta LOVE grandparents Thanks!

I just booked today and the planning is underway. So hello to you all, I'm glad to have found you. I don't know anything about cruises, let alone DCL, so I have 7 months to get edumacated I would like to participate in the FE exchange, whenever the list gets started.
Of course I am very excited and have subscribed to this thread
Saludos a todos!

 

[dhidalgo]

Glad to see that you had a great time. I am ready for the FE whenever it is setup. This is my 2nd DCL cruise, but my first FE, so if you want to organize, that would be great.

WDW -October 2009 & June 2011
DCL - Dream - June 2011
DCL - Wonder - November 2012

 

[adnil530]

Hi Linda,
I got an extra $500 OBC for a 7-night cruise. It would be less if I did a 3/4 night cruise. Now I have a total of $700 OBC. Well, my wife sure loves Palo and the spa.

That's a great deal of OBC....let me know if you need some help spending it I hope that Thanksgiving week is a no school week for anyone attending school in your family. I know my sis, Goofy's_Gal would have preferred an "off peak" week but I can't take the kids out of school. I was scheduled on the 12/15/12 Fantasy but changed to this one and that's a good thing. The kids get out for winter break on 12/21 and the school will conveniently schedule finals on 12/20 & 12/21. Glad to have changed it to Thanksgiving week!

GOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLE!!!
One for each member of my family going on this cruise (Myself, DH, DM, DD, DS7 and DS5) thanks to my DM and DD. Gotta LOVE grandparents Thanks!

I just booked today and the planning is underway. So hello to you all, I'm glad to have found you. I don't know anything about cruises, let alone DCL, so I have 7 months to get edumacated I would like to participate in the FE exchange, whenever the list gets started.
Of course I am very excited and have subscribed to this thread
Saludos a todos!

I'll get a FE list and Roll Call going soon. I may want some assist from Goofy's_Gal though.

Glad to see that you had a great time. I am ready for the FE whenever it is setup. This is my 2nd DCL cruise, but my first FE, so if you want to organize, that would be great.

WDW -October 2009 & June 2011
DCL - Dream - June 2011
DCL - Wonder - November 2012

Awesome! We'll get that going shortly.

On our last cruise, the FE list was a smaller one, 21 families so very manageable. Judging by the roll call here thus far, it will even be even smaller on this cruise. That will allow people to really get creative! We will probably have a few guideline rules on the FE gifts. Not being picky or prissy, but unless your candy is special or packaged special...a bag of candy does not make a creative FE gift. I hope people don't think I'm being petty but some thought should go into the FE gift. It doesn't have to be one per person, it can be one per room, so very doable. We did have some salt water taffy gifts that were packaged in a fun way on our last trip. I've also had fortune cookies in the past with a special message inside. We also had someone who filled popcorn bags, attached a Toy Story ticket so you had treats to take to the movies. I tend to find though that the candy is left behind for the room steward. A nice gesture indeed, but this is not a token to take home from your trip. Your thoughts are welcome on this also as we would want the FE experience to be a positive one for the participants.

I really wish I was cruising this week or at least next month. I've got the just got off cruise blues

Linda

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Not being picky or prissy, but unless your candy is special or packaged special...a bag of candy does not make a creative FE gift. I hope people don't think I'm being petty but some thought should go into the FE gift. It doesn't have to be one per person, it can be one per room, so very doable. We did have some salt water taffy gifts that were packaged in a fun way on our last trip. I've also had fortune cookies in the past with a special message inside. We also had someone who filled popcorn bags, attached a Toy Story ticket so you had treats to take to the movies. I tend to find though that the candy is left behind for the room steward. A nice gesture indeed, but this is not a token to take home from your trip. Your thoughts are welcome on this also as we would want the FE experience to be a positive one for the participants.
Linda

I would be alright with this idea, with one exception (other than the adding a cute "Disney" decoration/etc). If the candy is a "regional" treat from where you live, I'd love to have it be included. Candy from Europe from European travellers, maple candy from Vermont/NH/etc would be perfectly ok in my book.

I grew up on the East Coast, but have been in CA for over a decade now. While I can get tons of Japanese treats and even a lot of European stuff, I miss some of the Pennsylvania Dutch/Northeast stuff that's harder to find out here. Just my opinion.

 

[adnil530]

I would be alright with this idea, with one exception (other than the adding a cute "Disney" decoration/etc). If the candy is a "regional" treat from where you live, I'd love to have it be included. Candy from Europe from European travellers, maple candy from Vermont/NH/etc would be perfectly ok in my book.

I grew up on the East Coast, but have been in CA for over a decade now. While I can get tons of Japanese treats and even a lot of European stuff, I miss some of the Pennsylvania Dutch/Northeast stuff that's harder to find out here. Just my opinion.

Agreed. Like I said, we had 2 people give out salt water taffy, regional here, packaged in 2 very fun and creative ways. Special treats I thing would be fine. I'm pretty much talking about a baggie full of every day pinata type of candy/chocolates. Special is special. And if anyone here is from the Northeast, bring some of those maple treats!

 

[gusdmh]

FYI: I changed my cruise dates for 4/2013. Take care everyone. Happy Thanksgiving! It truly is a great American holiday.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Agreed. Like I said, we had 2 people give out salt water taffy, regional here, packaged in 2 very fun and creative ways. Special treats I thing would be fine. I'm pretty much talking about a baggie full of every day pinata type of candy/chocolates. Special is special. And if anyone here is from the Northeast, bring some of those maple treats!

Another maple candy lover! And let me just throw in that East Coast and West Coast salt water taffy are *very* different, imo. Santa Cruz taffy is nothing like Atlantic City taffy.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

It was decided we wanted to do an FE exchange, correct? I'm already working on my gifts.

And it looks like we're a small group of DIS'rs this cruise. Less than 7 months and there's only a handful of us.

 

[adnil530]

It was decided we wanted to do an FE exchange, correct? I'm already working on my gifts.

And it looks like we're a small group of DIS'rs this cruise. Less than 7 months and there's only a handful of us.

I'm in for a FE! I'll try to set up a roll call and FE list over the weekend.

Linda

 

[rmonty02]

I'm in for a FE! I'll try to set up a roll call and FE list over the weekend.

Linda

I'm excited about our FE! It will be my first one and I think the fact that it'll be a small group will be great. Now I can be extra creative I know...scary thought
Thanks adnil530!

 

[tammie33]

Our family is in for the FE exchange. We had a lot of fun with it on our Dream cruise in December. DD loved coming back to the room and seeing goodies.

 

[adnil530]

Hi Everybody!

Just a quick note that I have started roll call, page 1, post 1 of this thread and a FE list is in my signature below. Please check the info that I've gathered and feel free to add or delete from what I have posted. Post any changes here or PM me.

The FE list is on a website that I used for our last Mexican Riviera. Feel free to have a look at the maps that are up there if you'd like an idea of what is around.

Been pretty busy. I hope to add some photos of our last trip to this website also when I get some free time. We were fortunate to be out whale watching and got caught up in a pod of dolphins, hundreds and hundreds of dolphins. Of course, my photos are not that great as I was in such awe. Our boat captain says that it is unusual to see so many at once. We did find a whale and saw a marlin flying through the air. We did this on our 2nd Cabo day, leaving early in the morning and returning back in time to have lunch. We booked this the day before at the dock.

Anyway, is anyone into graphic designing? We could use some one to make a logo if they have the time.

That's it for now.

Linda

 

[dhidalgo]

Stateroom: 2019
Names/Age(s) at sailing: Dayna (Me), Randy (DH), Dylan (DS - 6)
Where From: Addis, Louisiana
Dining - late or early: Late
Celebrating: Thanksgiving
Fish Extender (FE): Yes

 

[Goofy's_Gal]

We will probably have a few guideline rules on the FE gifts. Not being picky or prissy, but unless your candy is special or packaged special...a bag of candy does not make a creative FE gift. I hope people don't think I'm being petty but some thought should go into the FE gift. It doesn't have to be one per person, it can be one per room, so very doable. We did have some salt water taffy gifts that were packaged in a fun way on our last trip. I've also had fortune cookies in the past with a special message inside. We also had someone who filled popcorn bags, attached a Toy Story ticket so you had treats to take to the movies. I tend to find though that the candy is left behind for the room steward. A nice gesture indeed, but this is not a token to take home from your trip. Your thoughts are welcome on this also as we would want the FE experience to be a positive one for the participants.

I just want to throw out my 2 cents worth ....I agree wholeheartedly about limiting candy to a specialty item. Halloween is less than 3 weeks prior to our cruise. PLEASE - can we all agree NO LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY? If you got some - give it to the kids club staff, the room stewards, the guest services staff. My first participation in FE was with mixed feelings. I thought I had put a lot of effort, time and thought into the gifts I gave out...a good amount of gifts received was candy of the Halloween variety. We did receive some awesome things as well..I just wasn't prepared - thought the whole idea was to come away with something memorable about the participants or the cruise.

I'll help in whatever way I can...

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Just noticed it, but in my second room the 11-year-old is a girl not a boy as you've got listed.

Edit: I just re-read my original post. I had it listed as DB & DS (as in brother and sister) for my DGF's family. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[adnil530]

Just noticed it, but in my second room the 11-year-old is a girl not a boy as you've got listed.

Edit: I just re-read my original post. I had it listed as DB & DS (as in brother and sister) for my DGF's family. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks...I think I got it. Glad there is another dd11 aboard. I see 3 so far. I hope they all get along well.

Leaving for DL tomorrow with Goofy's_Gal. It's an all girls trip. We will be there for 3 days. Anyone else planning on being in the parks 5/30-6/1 to meet up for some dessert? Sorry about the late notice. I've been very busy lately trying to launch a new website. Luckily, my programmer left on vacation Saturday and I have a short break from work Anyway, if there is someone, PM me and I will get the message and we'll meet up this week!

Hope everyone is doing well and has a great week.
Linda