November 5th 2011 Eastern on the Magic

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Happy saturday everyone,
Its a beautiful sunny morning today but that will soon be spoiled by housework Made french toast for breakfast but no mickey face on it.
I have made pancakes, cookies and eggs shaped like Mickey's head with a metal Mickey cookie cutter.

Well off to get the laundry done this morning so I can enjoy the nice day today.
Hope someone stops by today and posts. I will check back around my lunch time.

Hope everyone is having an awesome day!!!

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Happy saturday everyone,
Its a beautiful sunny morning today but that will soon be spoiled by housework Made french toast for breakfast but no mickey face on it.
I have made pancakes, cookies and eggs shaped like Mickey's head with a metal Mickey cookie cutter.

Well off to get the laundry done this morning so I can enjoy the nice day today.
Hope someone stops by today and posts. I will check back around my lunch time.

Hope everyone is having an awesome day!!!

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

Yes, it is a beautiful sunny day here, too!! They are saying on the news that today will be the warmest day we've had so far this whole summer (should reach 85 degrees.... I know that is COLD for some of you who live in those states that have been having these crazy 100 degree + heat waves ), but for Seattle, 85 degrees is pretty darn awesome!!

Kathy (gma X4), I think the weather in Oregon is typically similar to the weather here in Seattle, so I'm guessing today where you live will a very nice and warm day, too!

I have lived in Seattle since 1990, and up until probably 2 - 2 1/2 weeks ago, this has been absolutely the worst summer I've ever experienced (weather-wise), so we are just LOVING these nice temps and blue skies we are having now!!

Kathy (gma X4), I noticed you said you used to live in Florida... where in Florida did you live? And, if you don't mind me asking, what brought you from Florida to Oregon?? That is a big move (both distance-wise, and weather-wise). Do you miss the warm weather and blue skies in Florida, and how do you like Oregon?

Oh, you had mentioned that one trip to Florida you guys did where it was colder there than it was home in Oregon.... I had a friend who went to WDW at that exact same time... she was emailing me telling me she had to go and buy a really warm jacket just to be at the parks. She said it was SOOOO cold.

That same thing happened to me. About 4 years ago, about 8 girlfriends and I who are all runners decided to do a fun girl's weekend in Phoenix, Arizona in January during the Phoenix Rock-n-Roll half-marathon, and we'd all run the half-marathon together, and then the rest of the weekend, just hang out at a nice resort hotel, go to the spa, and just have a super fun girl's weekend sitting out by the pool and getting some nice warmth in January when it's so cold in Seattle. But, this record breaking cold snap hit both the Pacific Northwest and Arizona... the entire 3 days we were in Arizona, the HIGH was 34 degrees!! When the sun went down, it was down to 15 degrees. We all had looked at the weather before we left, but I think all 8 of us girls were in denial that it was really that cold, so we did bring some cold weather clothes, but we still packed shorts, etc. And, for the race, I chose to pack just running shorts and a sports tank top.... that was a huge mistake because the start of the race was 19 degrees... .... and here I was in these running shorts and a tank top and FREEZING.... I ended up having to run faster than I normally do, and I remember not even feeling even a little bit warm until 5 miles into the race... ... by the time I finshed, I did feel warm (because I just was running much harder than normal just to stay warm), but I remember my skin felt SO cold! I was lucky I didn't get sick, but I got my very best half-marathon time, only because of the super cold temps and I had no choice but to run super fast to keep myself warm. I learned a lesson from that... even if it seems unbelievable, listen to the weather forcast!!

Anyway, my girlfriends and I STILL sat by the pool at the resort, but in jeans, sweatshirts, and the hotel gave us big blankets... haha. SOOOO funny! The one thing we were able to enjoy were the hot tubs at the outdoor pool...

Well, hopefully our November cruise will have normal temps and we will all be loving the nice hot weather!!

Hope everyone has a great day. Have fun doing housework, Kathy (gma X4). I always feel like that is a never ending job, especially having kids!

Take care,
Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Kathy,

we moved to Florida from Oregon (born and raised here) for DH's work. Lived in Kissimee for about a year but his work was mostly in Poinciana so we bought a house there, then moved to the other side of Poinciana. After only 9 or 10 months they wanted to promote Greg but he turned it down as we just were getting our new house decorated like we wanted.

But after they kept insisting he take the promotion he did and we moved to Fruitland Park which is next to Leesburg. About an hour from Disney.
All of this was a 8 ot 9 year spam. Then when the recession hit we moved back to Oregon for work. Greg is in the home building and remodeling industry.

Yes we really miss Florida and all the nice weather but I don't miss the humdity of the summer. We are hoping to move back there in the next few months. Hoping to be in the Davenport or Haines city area this time. Thats closer to Disney. We would love to retire there in the winter and here in the summer to see family. We shall see how things go.

Best place we have ever lived. There was always something to do every weekend. Loved seeing St. Augustine and hope to get back there to see the rest of it someday.

Yes our weather is very similar to yours. I think in the winter you might get s bit more rain than we do. Although it rains here all winter long.

Kathy

 

[flygrl]

Hi Everyone....
Well it is hot here about 29 out... I burn so I will sit in the shade. Meghan's birthday today she turned 6, she had a party at the dance studio. Now I it is time to relax... Sorry not a runner either... I like to walk... Well hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Tanya

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Everyone....
Well it is hot here about 29 out... I burn so I will sit in the shade. Meghan's birthday today she turned 6, she had a party at the dance studio. Now I it is time to relax... Sorry not a runner either... I like to walk... Well hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Tanya

It's 29 outside huh?? Must be freezer burn you got

Tell Meghan HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Kathy

 

[GreensboroKG]

It was really HOT here. I spent the morning mowing out large lawn and was soaked by the end. Then we had some friends over and the kids watched Lion King, so a good time was had by all.

Mama x 4, Karen's e-mail is karenlg@triad.rr.com for the FE. We ordered ours today and will be participating. Everyone enjoy Sunday,

Scott

 

[GreensboroKG]

This is a test to see if the fancy countdown signature works . . . .

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

It was really HOT here. I spent the morning mowing out large lawn and was soaked by the end. Then we had some friends over and the kids watched Lion King, so a good time was had by all.

Mama x 4, Karen's e-mail is karenlg@triad.rr.com for the FE. We ordered ours today and will be participating. Everyone enjoy Sunday,

Scott

Thanks for the e-mail. When ever you know your cabin number please let me know so I can add it to the FE list.

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

FYI: I contact Bernards Tours on St. Maarten to inquire about a private tour for our family. I told him we definintely want to spend extra time at Maho Beach to watch the planes land and take off, and then we'll figure out what we want to do in the morning before Maho Beach.

He said it would be $350.00 for a 9 AM - 3:30 PM private tour, with a $50 deposit ($50 goes toward the $350.00). Then, I'm guessing you'd tip on top of that $350... So, it's pretty pricey. BUT, you get your own private driver for the whole day, and he provides unlimited amount of bottled water, pop, beer and rum punch.

I asked him if we could make the tour 9 AM - 4:30 PM (because a lot of the big planes land and take off between 1:00 - 4:30 PM, so we'd love to stay at Maho Beach until 4 PM (and maybe arrive at like 12:30 PM), and he said that'd be no problem... that they can be flexible with the private tour times. So, that is good.

We haven't booked yet, as my DH and I are still trying to decide if we want to spend the money on this private tour, or just do a cab (which I know obviously will be much cheaper, but with a cab, you don't have the freedom to just come and go as you please, plus I'd be worried about finding an available cab back to the ship in the afternoon). And, with a cab, we are pretty much stuck to only going to Maho Beach.

As for plane arrivals and take off times, I got the smart idea to get on Expedia and look at arrival and take off times of planes going in and out of St. Maarten on Tuesday Nov 8. Of course, I realize flight times can change/cancel, etc, but most likely what is on Expedia right now in August will probably stay that way in November.

That said, just the few I found, I saw that at 12:40 PM, a KLM 747 is arriving (which would be super cool.... we really want to see the BIG ones!), then at 1:40 PM, that KLM 747 is taking off (again very cool to watch and experience). Then, between 2:45 - 3:45, there is an Airbus 340 (large "heavy" jet), and Airbus 320, a Boeing 757, and a Boeing 737-800 arriving.

All of these will be taking off again sometime between 4:00PM - 5:00PM.

Then, all throughout the day are small island hopper planes, or small jets.

So, for those of you wanting to go to Maho Beach, this is what I've found...

So, DH and I are now just trying to decide if we want to spend $350 (and then we'll have to get food in there sometime, so we'll be spending over $400 ). That is a LOT!

My DH is leaning toward a cab now (just staying around in port until like 11:00 AM and then taking a cab to Maho Beach and gettign there by noon, and then catching a cab back around 4:00 - 4:30 (we might be able to get a round trip cab, but I don't know how reliable that is... like if they'd show up!) We have to be on the ship BY 6:30, and from what I've read, to plan on1 hour or longer after 4 PM to get back to the ship because of traffic, and there is a draw bridge in the middle of the island, and if that opens, it's even more time because you have to sit and wait.

But, Bernards Tours does sound nice, convient, guarenteed, we can see and do more on the island, and it's also a safe place we can keep our belongings when we are not in the van. But, this all comes at a high cost.

Oh, decisions, decisions!

Anyway, just wanted to share what I found out for those who were interested in the hearing about the private tours with Bernards Tours.

-Kathy

ps. If you go to Tripadvisor.com and search on Bernards Tours, you will see he gets excellent reviews across the board on all his tours (both private and public tours). Plus, I asked about this a couple months ago on the main Dis Boards, and I got a ton of responses saying Bernards Tours is the way to go, if you are willing to spend the money. Anyway, just wanted to say that in case anyone here is considering this and wants to know more about this company.

 

[LovesToRun]

FYI: I contact Bernards Tours on St. Maarten to inquire about a private tour for our family. I told him we definintely want to spend extra time at Maho Beach to watch the planes land and take off, and then we'll figure out what we want to do in the morning before Maho Beach.

He said it would be $350.00 for a 9 AM - 3:30 PM private tour, with a $50 deposit ($50 goes toward the $350.00). Then, I'm guessing you'd tip on top of that $350... So, it's pretty pricey. BUT, you get your own private driver for the whole day, and he provides unlimited amount of bottled water, pop, beer and rum punch.

I asked him if we could make the tour 9 AM - 4:30 PM (because a lot of the big planes land and take off between 1:00 - 4:30 PM, so we'd love to stay at Maho Beach until 4 PM (and maybe arrive at like 12:30 PM), and he said that'd be no problem... that they can be flexible with the private tour times. So, that is good.

We haven't booked yet, as my DH and I are still trying to decide if we want to spend the money on this private tour, or just do a cab (which I know obviously will be much cheaper, but with a cab, you don't have the freedom to just come and go as you please, plus I'd be worried about finding an available cab back to the ship in the afternoon). And, with a cab, we are pretty much stuck to only going to Maho Beach.

As for plane arrivals and take off times, I got the smart idea to get on Expedia and look at arrival and take off times of planes going in and out of St. Maarten on Tuesday Nov 8. Of course, I realize flight times can change/cancel, etc, but most likely what is on Expedia right now in August will probably stay that way in November.

That said, just the few I found, I saw that at 12:40 PM, a KLM 747 is arriving (which would be super cool.... we really want to see the BIG ones!), then at 1:40 PM, that KLM 747 is taking off (again very cool to watch and experience). Then, between 2:45 - 3:45, there is an Airbus 340 (large "heavy" jet), and Airbus 320, a Boeing 757, and a Boeing 737-800 arriving.

All of these will be taking off again sometime between 4:00PM - 5:00PM.

Then, all throughout the day are small island hopper planes, or small jets.

So, for those of you wanting to go to Maho Beach, this is what I've found...

So, DH and I are now just trying to decide if we want to spend $350 (and then we'll have to get food in there sometime, so we'll be spending over $400 ). That is a LOT!

My DH is leaning toward a cab now (just staying around in port until like 11:00 AM and then taking a cab to Maho Beach and gettign there by noon, and then catching a cab back around 4:00 - 4:30 (we might be able to get a round trip cab, but I don't know how reliable that is... like if they'd show up!) We have to be on the ship BY 6:30, and from what I've read, to plan on1 hour or longer after 4 PM to get back to the ship because of traffic, and there is a draw bridge in the middle of the island, and if that opens, it's even more time because you have to sit and wait.

But, Bernards Tours does sound nice, convient, guarenteed, we can see and do more on the island, and it's also a safe place we can keep our belongings when we are not in the van. But, this all comes at a high cost.

Oh, decisions, decisions!

Anyway, just wanted to share what I found out for those who were interested in the hearing about the private tours with Bernards Tours.

-Kathy

I have two questions, if anyone knows the answers:

1. I know on our Panama Canal cruise at a couple Mexico Ports, we got off the ship a few hours after it arrived at port (so got off well after most other passengers got off), and went to get a cab, only to find there were NO cabs available because they had all been taken! So, we ended up walking a LONG way to the beach area.

Do you know if this sort of thing happens at St. Maarten... the ship arrives at 8 AM, if we got off the ship at like 10:30 -11:00 to try to get a cab, would all the cabs be taken, and it'd be hard to find a cab?

This is my one major concern about taking a cab to Maho Beach... I'm so afraid that we'll go to get a cab around 11 AM only to find there aren't any available... we'd be terribly dissapointed if we didn't make it to Maho Beach in time for the big ones to land (especially the 747). This is one reason i'm thinking the Bernard's Tours is worth it... just for the security and guarentee that we can see and do what we want.

2. I swear I read on the Dis Boards once upon a time that if you request it, DCL will make a picnic lunch for you on a port day to take with you.... but you have to request it, and they don't advertise it. Has any experienced cruisers ever heard this? I was thinking if they will do this, then if we did the Bernard's Tours, and could get a picnic lunch made, then that would save us $$ on buying lunch on the island.

Thanks!
Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Not sure about the picnic lunch. It does sound familar. It might help if you ask about the lunch on the main forum board. Thousands of repeat cruisers surf that board so you should get several answers.

On St. Maartin at the end of the pier on the right side are tour buses and several taxi's.
I can't promise there will be taxi's but as i recall I saw them there even in the afternoon. We got back off the ship in the afternoon with family and did a few photos around that area and i think there were cabs there. I know you can call and get a cab too.
But the cruise ships bring in big $$ for cabbies, so they do hang around the port areas most of the day.

Yes your tour driver will expect a tip but so will the cab drivers you get to take you both directions. Tipping cabs both directions will probably add up to a single tip for a tour driver.

I will try to e-mail a couple friends who have cruised many times to see if they have heard about the picnic lunches. They dont scan your bags going off the ship but they do coming back on board. We often take fruit with us to eat on the islands. But NEVER try to bring it back on board, it is illegal.

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Not sure about the picnic lunch. It does sound familar. It might help if you ask about the lunch on the main forum board. Thousands of repeat cruisers surf that board so you should get several answers.

On St. Maartin at the end of the pier on the right side are tour buses and several taxi's.
I can't promise there will be taxi's but as i recall I saw them there even in the afternoon. We got back off the ship in the afternoon with family and did a few photos around that area and i think there were cabs there. I know you can call and get a cab too.
But the cruise ships bring in big $$ for cabbies, so they do hang around the port areas most of the day.

Yes your tour driver will expect a tip but so will the cab drivers you get to take you both directions. Tipping cabs both directions will probably add up to a single tip for a tour driver.

I will try to e-mail a couple friends who have cruised many times to see if they have heard about the picnic lunches. They dont scan your bags going off the ship but they do coming back on board. We often take fruit with us to eat on the islands. But NEVER try to bring it back on board, it is illegal.

Kathy

Thanks, Kathy.

I just posted a question on the main forum about picnic/sack lunches, so I'll see what answers, if any, I get. It might be I just thought I read that DCL does this, but they really don't.

Let me know what your friends say, if they know. Thanks!!

Thanks for the info on Taxi's... my DH and I are being so indecisive about if we should do a cab or Bernards tours at least we have time to figure it all out. But, we would like to go to another beach in the morning, so if we do that, plus Maho Beach, a cab may not work. Oh decisions, decisions!! I've been doing a ton of research on all of our options on the internet just trying to figure it all out and what makes the most sense....

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Kathy,
the lunches they packed were for all day excursions done through DCL. So your long excursion included lunch. Others you buy lunch where ever you go. That is what I was told. That does make sense.

Let me know if thats what people on the main forum say too.

Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Morning everyone,

We have a nice sunny morning. We has waffles this morning. I have a Mickey waffle iron but its packed unless we get company. But it did make me thing about the Mickey waffles on the ship.

No plans for today. Just a relaxing morning and afternoon.
Yesterday we watched a video we made from a 7 day Eastern we did on 2004 with our oldest daughter and her family. It was their first cruise. Watching that made us get really excited for another Eastern cruise

Have a great day everyone,

I will check back later,
Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Kathy,
the lunches they packed were for all day excursions done through DCL. So your long excursion included lunch. Others you buy lunch where ever you go. That is what I was told. That does make sense.

Let me know if thats what people on the main forum say too.

Kathy

Thanks for the info, Kathy. This makes sense what your friends told you, and especially if you're doing an all-day Disney excursion, it makes sense it includes lunch.

What people have written back on the main board so far is that DCL does not have a service where they will pack a picnic/sack lunch for you if you are asked, but what people have said they do is they bring ziploc baggies from home, those insulated cooler lunch bags from home, and then they order sandwiches from roomservice, and cookies, etc, and they just pack that in their stateroom as their lunch.

Other people have said that roomservice has those PB&J Uncrustable sandwiches that come in those individual wrappers for kids. These are not on the room service menu, but they have them if you ask for them. So, some people get some of those since they are already in wrappers, and then bring those in their day bags for snacks or lunch. But, one person wrote with the uncrustables, you have to request that they be brought sealed in their plastic bag because I guess normally room service takes them out of the bag and toasts them for you, which makes sense if you're going to eat it right there in your room.

So, those were some good ideas.... we are still trying to figure out what to do. But, the more DH and I are talking, we are now leaning toward spending the $$$ on Bernards because we want to go to another beach in the morning, and then maybe stop at the open air market just to see it (if we have time). Plus, with Bernards, we can securely leave any of our belongings in the van while we are at Maho Beach. What I've read about Maho Beach is when the planes take off, there is so much wind blast from the jets that everything gets blown everywhere, so at Maho Beach, it'd be so nice to just leave all our stuff in the van so we don't have to worry about things flying into the ocean!

So, it's a ton of money, but we are now leaning toward Bernards for the private day van. But, still thinking about it...

If we do Bernards, I'd definitely pack some food from Room Service (maybe just for snacks for the day), and Bernards has unlimited bottle water, soda, beer and rum punch as part of the tour, so we would not have to worry about bringing any drinks with us, which is nice. But, my DH really wants to eat lunch at the Sunset Bar which is the little restaurant at Maho Beach that is famous for that beach, so if we pack food from the ship, it'll be snacks (like fresh fruit easy to pack, crackers, maybe I'll get a couple of those uncrustables --- I don't really like that kind of pre-packaged stuff, but my kids might eat them --- etc.)

Take care,
Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Morning everyone,

We have a nice sunny morning. We has waffles this morning. I have a Mickey waffle iron but its packed unless we get company. But it did make me thing about the Mickey waffles on the ship.

No plans for today. Just a relaxing morning and afternoon.
Yesterday we watched a video we made from a 7 day Eastern we did on 2004 with our oldest daughter and her family. It was their first cruise. Watching that made us get really excited for another Eastern cruise

Have a great day everyone,

I will check back later,
Kathy

How cool you have a Mickey Waffle Maker!!! My kids would LOVE that! Where did you get it? (I'm guessing a Disney Store, or WDW?). Hmmmmm.... maybe something like that will be a Christmas present for my kids this year.

No big plans for us here today (except church this morning). But, it's so nice out we'll for sure be outside today. Probably walk to the park or something like that. We Seattle-ites have to take full advantage of the sun when it's here because once summer is over, our sun goes away for a long time (with the exception of a sunny cold winter day here and there).

But, I grew up in Alaska, so Seattle is truly an upgrade for me. Living for 18-20 years of your life with winters with tons of snow, 22 hours of dark, sub zero temps... rain, cloudy skies, and mid-30 temps are nothing.

So, that said, I still very much appreciate the sun when we have it, so on days like today, you will almost always find me outside! Oh, yesterday it was very warm (for us... about 85 degrees), and my boys decided to create a lemonade stand in our neighborhood!!! They had SO much fun, and they made $25.00!!!! Pretty good, huh? They were pretty excited. It was really cute.

Take care everyone....

OH, and Tanya (FlyGirl), Happy Birthday to Meghan!!! I bet the party and day was a blast!

Kathy

 

[flygrl]

Hi Everyone...
Thanks for the birthday wishes for Meghan. She had a great day dancing and hanging out with her friends.

That private trip to Maho sounds good... But expensive... My parents went there with the planes and they said they got blown away...LOL they thought it was funny... They weren't expecting that.

Tonight at midnight I will be on checking in... I am going to call Darcie a few minutes before hand and we are going to do it on the phone. It will be a late night for me and an early morning for her (6am).

Well off to watch Big Brother (I know its bad but I love it... LOL)

Have a great night and back to work tomorrow
Tanya

 

[GreensboroKG]

We're going to try and stay up to 12:01 am here; hoping to snag a Palo dinner and lunch, shore excursions, who knows?

 

[Daniellenbella]

Staying up late here too! We were camping all weekend (Fri-Sun) so I'm quite tired, not sure I'll make it to midnight, but I'm going to try!

MulanRocks--LOVE the pics! TFS! The engagement ring in the glass slipper is awesome!

FlyGrl--Happy Birthday to Meghan! Glad she had a great day! We are planning Bella's party, she'll be 7 in Sept. She is going to have a sleepover with 3 of her BFF's at our house.

LovestoRun--I am not a runner either, I tried it for a bit, but just don't enjoy it. My mom's DH is an extreme runner, he does 100 milers. Well, he did them, but was injured and has had a hard time getting back into that kind of shape. Then broke 3 ribs in a fall this summer (not while running) and that has slowed him down some more.

Ketwin--thanks for the dinner schedule! That will help with trying to book Palo reservations tonight!

wtgilligan--Welcome!

Gma Kathy--thanks again for all the help you've given all of us!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Good luck with your bookings. Remember that even if Palos is booked up they do save several ressies for on board bookings upon boarding. When Greg booked Palos last week (last minute decision) he said there were openings everyday still.

Kathy,
I don't know how you could stand all those years in Alaska. I love the beauty of the state but to me it would be depressing to live there due to the weather.
Off to do a few things including my dinner and dishes.

May check back once more tonight, if not will be back in the morning.

Kathy