November 19, 2005 Thanksgiving Magic Cruise

[LAMPSKIES]

Doogie....I never get sick....Kim says "alcohol kills germs"! LOL May I "chime in" on travel insurance?? We WERE one of those "cancelled" Eastern sailors 11/02 with DCL. The rumblings are that DCL is "self insured". I heard horror stories of people that were at WDW when the sailing was cancelled. (We were notified the night before Thanksgiving) I think Momsgoofy will testify that DCL will do all in there power to "get you there". Remember "self insured" means miss the ship get a refund.....full refund. Yes, I'm sure they would do all in there power to get you there but how much easier would it be to say "call your insurance company for a reimbursement". All of our "replacement plans" resort and "replacement" sailing was "taken care of" by DCL. The only thing I waited for was my 50% credit back....it only took a few days. Insurance companies aren't in buisness to "pay claims".... right Willie? DCL IS in buisness to want to to come back........you know what MGM stands for right? Mckey's got you money!!! LOL

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? (From Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

Hello? Anyone in today besides me and Lamps?

Lamps, good points, yes Disney will take care of you. Sorry, but I'm frugal, always have been... always will be. DW and I save to spend

... I'm back editing this post as I checked if anyone else had posted. My DS(11) is with me. He made the remark, "I guess nobody has posted because everyone else is spending time with their kids." I'm outta here

 

[ohMom]

i'm here

i'm reading Trace by Patricia Cornwell and it's captured me this weekend

AND -- i was off meeting John "the Pengiun" Bingham -- you heard of him doogie? hope you are feeling better soon -- i'm back on Marathon for Mortals training program to powerwalk the Columbus 1/2

i for one am looking forward to my first Castaway Club member beach towel -- cheesy and proud of it! just ask my oldest, she attest to my state of uncoolness

my youngest is hounding, I mean, asking me to go play a board game. sorry doogie i'm outta here too
hope everyone had a great weekend

 

[KennyK]

Well,

I guess I'm still the only one still here . watching DHW'ves on TV. We have 2 towels so far this will be our 3rd (4th dcl cruise).

Fellow male "carbon units" don't forget Monday is Valentines Day .

Everyone Have a Happy Valentines Day.

Ken

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Hi everyone!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

We just returned from Colorado. Chuck and Mason had a great time!! In fact, Mason learned to ski so well that he was able to ski down larger hills than I was able to try.

I on the other hand, much rather spend my vacation in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops!! I am soooo looking forward to November 2005!!

 

[WMILLER86]

Hey Doogie, Re the trip insurance. I bought ours through Access America on the AAA rate and paid $123 for $7500 trip coverage, with medical coverage for the 5 of us included. The AAA rate was tons cheaper than the regular rate. The phone number for anyone interested is 1-866-346-9265.

I guess I am a believer in insurance. But you are right about some companies not really wanting to pay claims. I am an independent agent, and I mostly sell Progressive, or as there new name is "Drive Insurance" from Progressive. As an independent, I can choose who to sell. Progessive really is different regarding claims, than most companies. They take great care of my customers when they have a claim. The adjusters are graded by how fast they get the claim settled and the claimant taken care of, not by how much money they save the company. That really is not the way most companies do it. They may pay out a little too much sometimes, but by paying claims fast, they keep the lawyers out of it. (Sorry Ice!) The attorneys I know here in Texas very seldom have to get involved in a Progressive claim.
And if my customers are happy with their claim experience, that makes my job alot easier.
It is a really laid back company. No suits! I have met with the CEO, and almost all of the top "big wigs" at meetings, and the dress and atmosphere is very casual. I felt out of place in my dress shirt and tie!
I would encourage you guys to look for a local agent on driveinsurance.com and check them out.

Well enough selling!

Lampy, I heard your theme song on the radio this morning. It is a new country song called "I'm a beer man"

Willie

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I'm stayng with DCL insurance....just more convenient....hey Julia, Kim was asking how your first "fo" job went......she just painted our "poker area" in our lower level with "suade (sp?) paint". A Ralph Lauren type....it loks really cool with the poker bar stools and poker table....

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

What's a "fo" paint Lampy? Jackie's into the paint textures. We had our living area done in a Ralph Lauren "River Rock"... and yes the texture feels and looks like rock. My son's room was done with some sort of rag "thang". Looks like the walls have been finger painted with some sort of funky, halluncinegic design.

Willie, the 150 pt BWV contract I told you about was posted Saturday, it didn't last two hours this morning. It sounded good, but I think Jackie would shoot me if I bought more points.

Ice, glad to hear you had a nice vacation... but I'm still asking myself why would you choose a cold climate?

Kenny - Nope I didn't forget valentines day but we didn't exactly do anything romantic to celebrate either...

 

[the5J's]

Hello all
Just been peeking in
not much going on.
Too warm to ski at local hill
I would like to go to WV-Snoeshoe this weekend, but to reward DS like that.....umm do i go for my pleasure or his? We will be getting a tutor for him(again). This woman has worked with Jeff all of 7th grade. So besides a private school, i have to pay for a tutor, just for him to pass, Sigh!
They say the best gift you can give your children is an education!
I wonder if that applies to kids who don't apply themselves, oops wait a minute, that was me!

Ice, send me some PICS of the mountains, glad you all had a great time!

Julia has been busy, she took a three day painting class last week.
"Faux" painting is spelled Faux, i know this because on Saturdays i watch "Horsepower TV" on "Spike" then all of the decorating shows on TLC
I think this is called "Yeng and Yang", a balance in life

If anyone is interested, PM with email address, and i'll send pics of some rooms and samples Julia has done

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Ya Doogie....that Ralph Lauren is all over our lower level. Almost complete though.....our furnature is to be shipped Feb. 25th (it's on back order) and carpet in the lower is to be installed next week! Kitchenette is complete.....now she is saying something about another bathroom redone.....it never ends......The hole to be dug for the pool is to be started April 1st. With all this rain it's going to be a mess.......

Can someone explain to me in english how these "points" work for the vacation club? The last time I checked into it it wasn't beneficial for cruisers only.....and we don't stay at the resorts other than a day or two earlier for sailing....But if it something I can pass on to the DDs later on for their use I'd consider it.........

 

[KennyK]

Lampy,

Unless you have a ton of points to burn it's not worth it in my book. The best value for your buck is to stay at a DVC resort at least 7-10 nites a yr. I'll post more later when I get home but for some fast infor go to wdwinfo.com and select DVC from the menu, there is aFAQ which explains alot. Oh yea, we're on wdwinfo so just go look at the faq's.

ken

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Thanks Ken, that is what I have seemed to gather from other posts.....if you sail "prime time" like we usually do it's not worth it. And WDW people we are not. 1 or two days prior to our sailing seems to be enough....last year DDs just wanted to hand out at the pool and beach at the BC.

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Kenny is correct. Points aren't worth it if you use them for crusing. However, I've heard since there's 90K+ DVC members that DVC is starting to have some clout w/ WDW Execs. The annual pass discount and the member cruise are the perfect examples. The "DVC dude" on our last cruise said he wouldn't be surprised if # of points for cruising were reduced. We'll seell

If you like WDW and staying at premuim resorts or have ambitions to travel elsewhere and exchange through Interval International, then it can be a great value. The way I look at is, I can't live in two homes at once, so I'll pay a fraction of the cost and be able to take advantage of some awsome lodging on our vacations. I've got more points than I have vacation time but have enough points for the winter months during retirement; I'd like to get just a smidgen' more.

At times I've thought about selling them all because the value is considerably more than what we've paid. The jury is still out.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

K Doogie, looks like I will just keep on "donating" my 10k a year to "the mouse"....LOL Speaking of 2 houses....looks like we are getting A LOT of action on the old one......anyone know how to "unstick" a winter pool cover that blew up and froze? LOL
Don't know 'bout you guys but the weather is getting NASTY!!! 52 and rainy today and now its 33 and sleeting.........but, tomorrow is the day off!!!! Think I'll turn the heat up in the garage and wax the car.....now the only thing better than that is a "cold one" on CC!!!!

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Hey how much money can we all scrape together??? Check out this link!!!

www.privateislandsonline.com

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Or we can all pitch in and rent this

http://www.turtlefiji.com/accom/island_rental.php

 

[Buddy Bear]

Last August we booked stateroom 6614 which is a connecting room to 6612. I just spoke to a DCL Rep and she said she was surprised that we had 6614 and no friends or family in 6612.

Apparently DCL likes to save the connecting rooms for large families who really need them. Since it doesn't matter to us, we would trade rooms with the folks in 6612 if they had another Cat 6 room on Deck 6 and wanted 6614.

It may be that the people who reserved 6612 don't even participate in this forum and won't ever see this message, but I thought it couldn't hurt to throw this one out there and see what happens.

Jeff

 

[KennyK]

Hi Buddy Bear,

Welcome to the Thanksgiving 2005 cruise meet board.

We have put together a web site and a spread sheet listing all the other Dis'ers on it, with names, state rooms, kids names etc. How many DCL cruisers you've experienced before, any special occasions and which dining you have, early or late.

If you would PM me with your email address, I'll send you a copy of the latest spread sheet. You can them email me back with your personal info so I can forward it out to the other members.

We are a happy bunch here. The list is made up of past Easter Bunny 04 crusiers, Thanksgiving 04 cruises and some newbies.

By the way, you have a lovely family.

Please join us.

Ken, aka Kennyk
Easter Bunny 04 cruiser & team leader

 

[silver7]

Good Gracious it is the famous Buddy Bear with the adorable family!!


Welcome!!

 

[the5J's]

Hey Lamps
now i know what to do when i win the lottery!
Problem is....i have to play it in order to win(lose)!

Weather.....
You people who live south of the Ohio river may not appreciate this, but....
Yesterday, Feb 15th, 65 sunny degrees out and i filled up the car, put the top down and went out on an errand!
wanna bet that i will have to wait another 30days before i can enjoy the top down again.

Spring is getting close, My Golf Club has open house March 12th!
The following week REO speedwagon and Styx are in town, Then the 23rd we will be at Universal-Portofino for one night two days, Gaylord Palms for the girls competition, then two nights at WDW! WOW what a March...In like a Lyon

I have to get Julia to read the thread to see what she wants to do about insurance. She takes care of that stuff

Welcome Buddy!

John