November 5th 2011 Eastern on the Magic

[GreensboroKG]

Hello everyone! My name is Michael and after seeing many pages of posts (wow!) it looks like I’m joining the discussion a bit late.

On 11-11-11 I’ll be celebrating my 40th birthday at sea with my wife, son (8) and daughter (10). This is our first cruise, and we are all really excited! Does anyone else on this message board have kids of similar ages?

We signed up for Palo one night and swimming with the dolphins in St. Thomas.

We’re flying in from Michigan the morning of the cruise, and if all goes well Delta will have us there in plenty of time.

If you have any tips or recommendations for us first timers… or any must do activities for kids ages 8 & 10, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone… take care!

- Michael

Excellent, welcome aboard! Go Tigers! Go Lions! We are first time cruisers too, I think there are a few of us here. You'll find everyone is very friendly.

Scott

 

[LovesToRun]

Hello everyone! My name is Michael and after seeing many pages of posts (wow!) it looks like I’m joining the discussion a bit late.

On 11-11-11 I’ll be celebrating my 40th birthday at sea with my wife, son (8) and daughter (10). This is our first cruise, and we are all really excited! Does anyone else on this message board have kids of similar ages?

We signed up for Palo one night and swimming with the dolphins in St. Thomas.

We’re flying in from Michigan the morning of the cruise, and if all goes well Delta will have us there in plenty of time.

If you have any tips or recommendations for us first timers… or any must do activities for kids ages 8 & 10, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone… take care!

- Michael

Welcome, Michael!!

Hey, you and I are just 1 day apart in age!! I turn 40 on 11-10-11!! So, this is a birthday cruise for me, too! How exciting.

I have 2 boys who are close to your kid's ages. My oldest is turning 11 on Nov 3, so just before our cruise, and my youngest is 9 (he turned 9 in August).

You'll love Disney cruises, and just cruising in general! It's addictive, so be warned!

Looking forward to meeting you and your family in a few weeks!

Take care,
Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hello everyone! My name is Michael and after seeing many pages of posts (wow!) it looks like I’m joining the discussion a bit late.

On 11-11-11 I’ll be celebrating my 40th birthday at sea with my wife, son (8) and daughter (10). This is our first cruise, and we are all really excited! Does anyone else on this message board have kids of similar ages?

We signed up for Palo one night and swimming with the dolphins in St. Thomas.

We’re flying in from Michigan the morning of the cruise, and if all goes well Delta will have us there in plenty of time.

If you have any tips or recommendations for us first timers… or any must do activities for kids ages 8 & 10, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone… take care!

- Michael

WELCOME !!!

I am Kathy (there is another Kathy too) and Hubby is Greg.
Happy to have another family along.
We have several who are first time cruisers here and several with kids.

I have a list of everyone here and a kids list that I will be happy to send to you to help you get aquainted with everyone and make it easier to look of kids in the same age group as yours.
Please send me an e-mail at sixtoedfrog@yahoo.com and I will give you losts of information about our group and send you the list.

You dont have enough posts here for me to send you a PM yet, so please e-mail me. Just put the cruise date on the subject line so I wont delete you
When you e-mail me please give me all your first names and the ages of the kids again so I can add you to the list too. Your just in time since I was just about to send out the final copy of the lsit to everyone.
Now I will wait to add you to the list too.


The kids clubs will keep the kids busy with a huge variety of things to do.
Studio Sea will have family events during the week you can do with the kids if you want.
For adults I recommend attending the Art Of Entertaining series, they are interesting and lots of good samples to eat.

All the shows are great for all ages.
Be sure and read the Navigator each evening when its delivered to your cabin(its the paper that tells you all the days events on the ship). Mark anything you want to do and carry it with you so you dont forget what you wanted to do. It's so easy to get busy and miss events you wanted to do. So look at it often through out the day.

Also it doesnt tell you any where but late evening you can order warm cookies from Room service. They're are free. Plus you can get free ice cold milk from deck 9 drink station to have with those warm cookies.

This is a great friendly group, so dont be shy, just start posting and soon you'll be aquainted with everyone,

I will be watching for your e-mail,

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Ok, here's a question of the day:

What is one thing you are most looking forward to doing on the cruise that is hard for you to find time to at home (ie, just being able to relax and read a book, working on a hobby... knitting, scrapbooking, photography, exercising, watching movies, taking naps, etc. etc.)


For me, it is a few things:

1) I love to exercise, but sometimes it gets SO busy here at home that I can't get a workout in, or I do get a workout in, but it's super rushed and not really what I had hoped to do. So, on the ship, I can't wait to just go run on Deck 4, and not feel rushed, and I won't feel like there just isn't time to get a run in or get to the fitness center to workout in some way. So, I plan to do some sort of exercise every day of the cruise (run or lift weights... or the elliptical...).

2) I enjoy reading, so I can't wait to just sit and read!!! I just rarely have time at home to just sit and read.

3) Of course, I'm super excited to spend quality time with my two boys and DH all together... just the 4 of us, but I'm REALLY looking forward to putting the kids in the kids club and DH and I having just time to just hang out at the adult pool together or in a lounge together, or Palo.... just having like a "date" every single day! We have babysitters we use at home, but we don't get out enough just by ourselves, so I'm looking forward to that!

Kathy

Just wanted to add that my main answer to this question is pretty much the same answer all of you gave.... to not have to DO anything on this cruise... not make lunches, no housework, no cooking, no grocery shopping, no schedules, no cell phones, no computers, no phone calls, and the list goes on.... I just didn't say that as my answer because I figured that was a given. But, I'm right with all of you.... I'm ready for a week of no domestic responsibilities, technology, or people trying to get a hold of me!

 

[clj1410]

Happy Thursday everyone

I guess my daughter getting on the bus at 6:55 every morning has one advantage, I get to be the first on here everyone weekday morning to wish eveyone a good day

Be back later to see the question of the day

 

[wtgilligan]

I should be working right now, but I just don't quite feel like it so I figured I would jump on here and squander some time.

Warm cookies from room service? What else is good from room service? What should we avoid?

How soon can we order room service on the first day?

Is there anything on the ship that isn't worth our time in trying?

 

[flygrl]

I am looking forward to other people cleaning and cooking for me.

Also, my anniversary present came today!!

Awesome!!!
Tanya

 

[flygrl]

Happy Thursday!
Welcome Michael, I have a son who will just turn 9 on the cruise... We are first time crusiers ourselves....
I like the sound of warm cookies....

Tanya

 

[LovesToRun]

Good morning, everyone!!

I hope everyone has a good day... any upcoming plans for the weekend for anyone? For us, not much.... this is our last weekend without any big plans at all until our cruise, so we are laying low this weekend to enjoy not being busy! Well, the only thing I am doing is I'm taking my close friend out to dinner for her birthday on Friday night. She is a single mom, and so DH and my boys are taking care of her 2 year old son while we go out to dinner. So, that'll be fun!

Ok, here is a question of the day!

What made you decide to book or go on your very first Disney Cruise (some of you, that is this Nov 5-12 cruise!). And, for those of you who have cruised on Disney before, was your very first cruise better than you expected, just what you expected, or not what you expected?

For us, we love being around or on the water.... it's just in our blood. So, every vacation (or almost) we book, it has something to do with water (whether it's staying on the beach, or being near a lake, etc). I had been on Princess Cruises before, and DH and I had been on a Celebrity cruise before. Both were good experiences, but I wouldn't say they were just "out of this world".

My brother had finally convinced us to try a Disney cruise, and the idea of going on a cruise REALLY appealed to us, but we weren't sure if it's be TOO much Disney. But, finally, back in 2009, we decided to just give it a try (7-day Western)... we knew if anything, we'd love being on a ship on the water, and we were certain our kids would love it given the Disney theme. But, DH and I went in with the expectation that by the 3rd day we might be really sick of Disney 24-7 (just assuming that "it's a small world" would be piped into our stateroom, or Mickey Mouse would be right outside our stateroom door every time we opened it, etc)... not that we don't like Disney, because we did, but just not 24/7!

So, for us it was one hundred-thousand times BETTER than we expected!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, SO much better than Celebrity or Princess... just amazing! We were so surprised at how MUCH better it was than we had expected!

That is when we were hooked, and booked our 2nd cruise on that cruise... and here we are 3 years later about to do our 4th Disney Cruise... at this point, it's the only cruiseline I'll go on, unless another line just has an itinerary/deal that it just too good to pass up, but that'd have to be a REALLLY great itinerary with a REALLY great price at the perfect time of year!

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

I should be working right now, but I just don't quite feel like it so I figured I would jump on here and squander some time.

Warm cookies from room service? What else is good from room service? What should we avoid?

How soon can we order room service on the first day?

Is there anything on the ship that isn't worth our time in trying?

My favorite thing to order is this thing called, "All Hands On Deck", and it's a cheese and cracker plate, with some fruit (usually grapes). Here is a tip, though... the usually give you more cheese than crackers, so I always ask for extra crackers when I order the plate.

I think you can start using room service after dinner on the first night, I think. It might be earlier, though. I've never used it on the first day, but I think I remember seeing a note saying room service won't start until later. Kathy (gma) might know better than me.

When you ask if there is anything on the ship that isn't worth your time in trying, do you mean food, or activities?? Hmmm.... if it's food, that is a hard one to answer since everyone has different likes and dislikes. As for activities, when I think back on our first cruise, I don't think there was one thing that we didn't enjoy goign to or seeing or doing! It was all just so exciting!!! Now, we have done so many things on the ship, there are some things where we are like, "been there, done that", and we skip it. But, the things we skip now on the ship are things I'd never recommend skipping for a first time cruiser because I think you should try everything.... and just keep in mind, you can always leave anything you go to. If you are not into the show, just leave in the middle, or a certain activity, just leave in the middle if it's not what you thought or expected.

I do know that in Studio Sea, there are always really fun family activities and games shows!!!! You should definitely try doing a game show at some point... it's really fun!!! They are all listed in your navigator!

Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

I should be working right now, but I just don't quite feel like it so I figured I would jump on here and squander some time.

Warm cookies from room service? What else is good from room service? What should we avoid?

How soon can we order room service on the first day?

Is there anything on the ship that isn't worth our time in trying?

I think the first day room service doesn't start until early evening. Probably because everyone goes for lunch when they board up to 3 p.m. at either the buffet on deck 9 or Parrot Cay (deck 3) also a buffet the first day for lunch. Plus there are different food venues open on deck 9 around the pool areas.
So there is no lack of free food the first day without room service. But once it starts its 24 hour service for the rest of the trip.

We always brign a few ones to stick in the drawer for room service tips.
Most room service foods are free although they do have a menu where they charge for items too. so read it carefully.
If we know were going to use room service, one of us orders while the other gos to deck 9 for free milk, coffee, tea or pop and is back about the time room service arrives because they charge for beverages.

I guess I should remind all new crusiers. Non alcoholic drinks are free in the restaurants and at the drink station on deck 9 (open 24 hours). How ever if you order a pop or coffee from any bar, or roaming waiter you are charged for it plus an automatic gratuity. So grab your drinks at the dirnk station to take with you to the shows or movies or for just sitting around the pool area. It will save you a fortune.

If your kids are going to the movies, instead of buying their expensive goodies by the door there, stop by the hamburger or pizza place on deck 9. Pizza or a hot dog or just grab a couple bags of chips or a couple orders of fries. Kids are usually thrilled and saves you more $$ for something else.

If you do order something that needs to be paid for, jus thand them your room card, it will be charged to your account. Sometimes they ask your room number to verify your ID. You can go to guest services anytime to get a total of what you've spent . It adds up fast, so keep tabs on what you spend.
You dont want a nasty surprize bill the last night of your cruise.

Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Well for us, we had just moved to Florida a short time ago and we got annual passes for the parks and we really loved going there every weekend.
I had heard about the cruise line and mentioned to Greg I thought that sounded like fun.

Next thing I knew my wonderful husband said I have booked us on a 4 day cruise on Disney. He did 4 day in case we didn't like it. Me not like something Disney, like that would really happen

It was so awesome that by the 2nd day we were planning on how to afford to being out our other kids and grandkids from Oregon so they could have this magical experience too. Which we did a few times over the years.

I have always been afraid of the water (cant swim) so I got teased about the size of the ship. It is massive in size but when I looked at it and thought about the ocean I wasnt sure if it was big enough. I guess my husband was worried the entire time that I would get sea sick but it never crossed my mind. I was too busy exploring the ship and doing every event I could squeeze in and having a blast .

We knew 4 days was not enough time. So we kept booking 7 day cruises. Now and then Greg could get an extra week day off work and we would do a 3 day cruise just to get away for the weekend. Florida resident rates were great. Got some cruises almost half off. Thats how we got so many cruises done.


That was our first time. A gift from my husband.

Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Michael,
Got your e-mail. Thanks.
I sent you back a letter, but at that time my internet kept kicking me off. So if you didnt get an e-mail from me, please let me know.

Hopefully it made it ok.

Kathy

 

[wtgilligan]

For the things to try I meant anything activities, food, etc...

Thanks for the tips.

I choose disney because as a kid my wife went to the parks every year with her family. and when I started seminary my wife made me promise her a cruise for all that I put her through. She earned that cruise and then some!

We picked Disney cruise because my wife has always loved Disney and I had no clue how to book a cruise and Disney's website was the most helpful.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

For the things to try I meant anything activities, food, etc...

Thanks for the tips.

I choose disney because as a kid my wife went to the parks every year with her family. and when I started seminary my wife made me promise her a cruise for all that I put her through. She earned that cruise and then some!

We picked Disney cruise because my wife has always loved Disney and I had no clue how to book a cruise and Disney's website was the most helpful.

If you have the kids in the club or nursery for a bit I would suggest the Art of Entertaining series. The food demos are adult only. I believe the napkin and towel folding is any age. anyway they have good samples with the food and its fun to watch them make stuff.

Try to make all the evening shows. Dont worry about kids making abit of noise, this is Disney and the audience is full of little kids. Its surprizing how when the shows start most kids stop chatting and watch. You can bring them snacks too if it will help to entertain them. All these shows are top notch entertainment.

I like all the trivia events, they are all ages welcome too. They do a variety of subjects.

We like the live music in the adult clubs. you would not be able to bring the kids for that. However in the Promenade Lounge (where our meet is) they have a duo performing most evenings, sometimes twice a night. So if you likelive music the entire family can drop by there. They have a small wooden dance floor which is often filled with kids bopping to the music.

Thats acouple of my favorite things to do, you might like those,

Kathy

 

[rob_jen]

Welcome, Michael!!

Hey, you and I are just 1 day apart in age!! I turn 40 on 11-10-11!! So, this is a birthday cruise for me, too! How exciting.

I have 2 boys who are close to your kid's ages. My oldest is turning 11 on Nov 3, so just before our cruise, and my youngest is 9 (he turned 9 in August).

You'll love Disney cruises, and just cruising in general! It's addictive, so be warned!

Looking forward to meeting you and your family in a few weeks!

Take care,
Kathy

This must be the turning 40 cruise. I turn 40 on 11-19-11 but who's counting.

Besides that - Whats going on everyone? We have been very busy and time if flying by - I hope it slows down during the cruise. We booked the rental car and still have to book the hotel for the night before. Maybe tonight we will get to that.

 

[LovesToRun]

This must be the turning 40 cruise. I turn 40 on 11-19-11 but who's counting.

Besides that - Whats going on everyone? We have been very busy and time if flying by - I hope it slows down during the cruise. We booked the rental car and still have to book the hotel for the night before. Maybe tonight we will get to that.

Looks like November of 1971 was a good month/year!

 

[LovesToRun]

Kathy (gma) you might be the best one to answer this, or anyone else who has cruised before and participated in an FE exchange. This is our first time to do the FE thing... I was reading on the main DIS boards, and I've read now a couple times that people bring zip ties to basically secure their FE to the fish hook outside their door so it can't be stolen.

This had never occurred to me... but is this really necessary?? Do people really steal the Fish Extenders? I can't imagine anyone would take ours since our names are on each of the pockets, unless there is a family on board that has the exact same names/spellings as our family... . So, I'm not too worried about our FE (although, the names on our FE pockets are actually just glitter sticker letters, so I guess they could very easily be taken off...). At any rate, the FE I made looks very homemade, so I guess if someone stole it, it'd be a compliment to me. But, I definitely would not want that to happen!!

Is this something most people worry about... making sure their FE is secured so it can't be stolen? Or, are the people who say they secure their FE's with zip ties people who are more overly paranoid, and just are making sure it won't get stolen?

Also, what about the gifts put in the FE's... have you ever experienced putting your gift in someone's FE only to find they never got it (ie, someone walking by just helped themselves to the gifts in someone's FE)? I actually have thought of this... I guess I tend to think people on the ship would not even consider doing something like this, but with 2,000 guests on board, I suppose there could be a few who could do something like this...

For those who have done FE exchanges before, what are your experiences with this, or the experiences of the people in our FE group??

Thanks,
Kathy

 

[mrp4352]

Kathy, We've never had a problem with our FE walking off. Now, whether things inside the pockets walked off, I'm afraid I'll never know - but I'd like to think they didn't!

For the question of the day - I was dragged kicking and screaming on my first cruise (which was Disney) 10 years ago. My girlfriends and I were going on a trip to celebrate my graduation, and the deal was that they would go to Disney for me if I would go on a cruise for them. After I got them to commit to at least taking me on a Disney cruise and booking the shortest one possible, I agreed to go. They literally dragged me off the ship kicking and screaming I had such a good time.

Michelle

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Kathy,
It is rare but yes a few (very few) have had their FE's or door signs taken during the night. Usually when this happens its all on one particular cruise to several people.

I dont want to blame a specific group but usually when this has happened people have heard teens running down the halls at night. The next day signs are gone.
Then you can go for 30 cruises without an incident.

So on the average its not a problem but for anyone who might worry about this just bring your FE and door signs in at night when you go to bed and put it back out the next morning.

Most gifts fit down in the pockets so it would be hard for people to see there is something there to take. We check our FE 2 or 3 times a day as we go to and from the cabin. If there is a gift there we bring the gift inside.

This will be #21 cruise and we have never had a door sign stolen or a FE taken. None of our friends have had a problem either.

I have read a couple trip reports where door signs were taken and put on someone elses door. The people had their cabin # on it so it got returned.

I really wouldnt worry about it. Hopefully we will cruise with a great group of people who have better things to do than bother peoples decorations.

Kathy