October 16, 2008 3 night

[brucechase]

New to the boards here, and a first time cruiser. Booked the 3 night cruise for October 16, 2008 a few weeks ago. Couldn't find anything on it anywhere in here, but it is kind of hard to find things. Trying to figure out exactly what to do and how to do it all. Going with my wife and 2 daughters (9 and 11). Any pointers on where to start looking for information would be greatly appreciated.


Cast of Characters
brucechase
Me(43) DW(41) MIL(XX) DD(11) DD(9)

friend
DH(xx) DW(XX) DS(9)

Nelsongaidola
DH(xx) DW(xx) DD(7) DS(5)
Sister Husband child1 child2
Friend Wife DD(x) DD(x)

butterx3
Me(38) DS (13) DD(9) DS(6)

zulaya
me(xx) DH(xx) DD(11) DS(12)

rosieposie
me(xx) DH (XX) DS(4)

Crazy4Disney06
Me(28) DH(29) DS(6)

Smiley22
Me(xx) DH(xx) - 22nd anniversary

ndepaola
DW(XX) DH(XX)

Kyneburg
Me(XX) DN(13)

Farscape
DH(52) DW(47)

livinthedisneydream
DH(XX) DW(39) - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

952LisaR
DW(XX) DH(XX) DD(7) DD(6)

gillenfamily
DH(47) DW(46) DS(13) DS(11)

2Princes2Princesses
DW Steph (35) DH John (36) Mom Lil (72) Sister Avis (42) DD(15) DS(13) DD(5) DS(3)

gatorcruiser
me (38) DD(12)

eeyoresmountainpals
DW (XX) DS(14)

 

[brucechase]

I guess I'm the only one here going?!?!? I figured I would have lots of company based on other threads . Or maybe someone is telling me something.

What's that saying - I'd be paranoid if everyone wasn't really out to get me!

 

[brucechase]

Sorry for the double post, hit submit twice and both showed up and I don't know how to delete a post.

That's 6!

 

[brucechase]

OK, does this mean that we'll have the whole ship to ourselves or did I make a big mistake and book some kind of wierd cruise????

No replies and other posts. I'm feeling a little lonely over here.


7!!!!!

 

[Nelsongaidola]

Hi bruce, we're also going on that cruise with our two kids.My daughter is turning 7 on the ship and my son is turning 5 on the 14th so this is a surprise birthday present but I think I'm as excited as they will be.

 

[brucechase]

I'm glad we won't be alone. I've actually changed our plans a little when I found out the MIL wants to go. We now have Me, Wife, DD9, DD11, and MIL(xx) - don't want to get in trouble. I changed our reservation to 2 Cat 12 rooms from 1 Cat 11. I am hoping for an upgrade since they are GTY and all sold out on the Cat 12 but I will be happy no matter what. I really don't plan on spending much time in the room anyway.

With that I finally hit 10 posts and I can officially ask for this to be included on the main page.

 

[Butterx3]

Hi there, I will also be sailing on this cruise. I was glad to see there is finally a cruise meet. There wasn't one last time I looked.

Our group includes, Myself (38), DS (13), DD(9) and DS(6). I have not told my kids about the cruise yet, as I want to suprise them. Any suggestions would be great on how to surprise them. I will wait until September to let them know I think. My husband and I seperated last year and are going though a divorce, so this is a well deserved cruise for my great kids who have had a lot of adjusting to deal with. Nice to meet all of you!

 

[brucechase]

Well at least there are 3 of us now. As for your surprise, I let my kids in on it rather quickly because I actually got everyone passports. I know that you don't have to have a passport, but several things made me get one just in case. Since this will be during a hurricane season, any unexpected stops "MIGHT" require one if you have to get off the ship. In addition, if there was any kind of emergency, I thought it would help out. I looked at this as "insurance".

As for surprising, I would suggest a couple of things. Go to the disney website and order the dvd (it's free), then get a small model of a cruise ship. Print out a picture of everyone and put mouse ears on all. Then put this all on the table one Saturday morning. When they get up, let them figure it out. Or better yet, put all this in a favorite cereal box and let them find it when they try to pour out the cereal. You could also pack similar stuff (like towels, sunglasses, disposable cameras, etc) up in a box and address it to each of your children. Have it waiting for them one day (don't even have to mail it) and let them open the surprise.

Anyone else have similar suggestions? Try to post a topic on the main site and see what everyone else suggests. I'm sure you will get quite a few answers.

As for HSM3, all we can do is hope that they have a sneak preview on the ship.

 

[Butterx3]

Those are great ideas. I was thinking of a scavenger hunt with clues and little items at each spot. I did that one Christmas when my oldest child got a dirtbike and there was no way to wrap it, and I didn't just want it sitting by the tree when they woke up. So we hid the (main, favorite, asked for gift) for each child and put the clue at the bottom of each one's stocking, and sent them on a wild goose chase. It was great.

We went on a Disney cruise in 2006 and the family we met there was from Augusta Georgia. Seems like a nice city. I would love to live in Georgia. We almost moved to Kennesaw when my ex husband had a job offer there. But for some reason we stayed in the frigid state of Minnesota! We have neighbors who moved to Minnesota from Augusta too, and I love how the children call me "Miss Jaycie". So sweet and proper.

Hopefully more people will find this meet now that it exists!

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

We just booked this cruise and we're really excited. I need a rest.

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

We booked two cat 12 rooms last December and ended up in cat 7 rooms!

All would have been great except for the tropical depression we sailed through, thirty foot plus waves.

We have booked cat 12 rooms for this trip as well. We have four in our cabin and think there are no cat 12 rooms which sleep 4 so an automatic upgrade! Do you know when room assignments will be released, I can't remember but we did know about the upgrade before we left.

I'm glad we won't be alone. I've actually changed our plans a little when I found out the MIL wants to go. We now have Me, Wife, DD9, DD11, and MIL(xx) - don't want to get in trouble. I changed our reservation to 2 Cat 12 rooms from 1 Cat 11. I am hoping for an upgrade since they are GTY and all sold out on the Cat 12 but I will be happy no matter what. I really don't plan on spending much time in the room anyway.

With that I finally hit 10 posts and I can officially ask for this to be included on the main page.

 

[Nelsongaidola]

I'm starting to think we're not the only ones going on this cruise.The more the merrier. My sister and brother in law are coming with their two kids as well as one of my friends & wife with their two girls so we're looking to have a great time.That makes 12 all together. I see that butterx3 went on a disney cruise before. Do you have any suggestions as far as activities or just making things run smooth?

 

[brucechase]

We booked two cat 12 rooms last December and ended up in cat 7 rooms!

We have booked cat 12 rooms for this trip as well. We have four in our cabin and think there are no cat 12 rooms which sleep 4 so an automatic upgrade! Do you know when room assignments will be released, I can't remember but we did know about the upgrade before we left.

I'm way too new at this. I have no idea when room assignments are to be released. I would love to be upgraded since this is our first cruise. I've heard so many people talk about upgrading, but what I don't know is if these are return cruisers that Disney takes care of or if these are the first time cruisers that Disney is trying to impress (hoping for the latter).

 

[Butterx3]

I tried to book an GTY12 but they were out at the time, so I ended up with a 10 I think, and I got my room number when I booked. The last time we cruised we were a family of 5 so we had a Catagory 4 with Verandah, so having a 10 should be interesting. We didn't spend much time in the room though, had I known about the DIS back then, I would have probably done 2 connecting rooms. I don't know how they decide to give upgrades. It seems to be random. I would love one, but am not counting on it. I have cruised with Disney before, however, I feel like a new cruiser. Back in 2006, I planned what we did each day of the trip and what hotel and such we were going to stay at, but then I just sat back secure in the fact that my husband would get us to where we needed to be. So it was the same on the cruise, he and my older son seemed to know the ship well, so I just followed them everywhere not needing to know where anything was. So I can only tell ya that the pools are on deck 9! HAHA. I discovered the DIS once we came home and I was going through withdrawl, I wish I would have known about it before hand, as we would have done PALO last time. I don't think I will be doing it this time either since it is just the kids and I.

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are no longer sailing with you. What this means is that I let my cat 12 room go yesterday so it might be available for you. You can always keep checking and rebook your room to a lower category. If you have four guests and book a cat 12 you will automatically get a cat 11 or better. There are no cat 12 rooms which sleep four.

As for upgrades, it really is random. From my cruise in December 2007, those booked in cat 12 were most likely to get upgraded. Also, there were people who had cruised many times before and did not get an upgrade and some who did. Really random.

Good luck with the upgrades and have a very nice cruise.

I tried to book an GTY12 but they were out at the time, so I ended up with a 10 I think, and I got my room number when I booked. The last time we cruised we were a family of 5 so we had a Catagory 4 with Verandah, so having a 10 should be interesting. We didn't spend much time in the room though, had I known about the DIS back then, I would have probably done 2 connecting rooms. I don't know how they decide to give upgrades. It seems to be random. I would love one, but am not counting on it. I have cruised with Disney before, however, I feel like a new cruiser. Back in 2006, I planned what we did each day of the trip and what hotel and such we were going to stay at, but then I just sat back secure in the fact that my husband would get us to where we needed to be. So it was the same on the cruise, he and my older son seemed to know the ship well, so I just followed them everywhere not needing to know where anything was. So I can only tell ya that the pools are on deck 9! HAHA. I discovered the DIS once we came home and I was going through withdrawl, I wish I would have known about it before hand, as we would have done PALO last time. I don't think I will be doing it this time either since it is just the kids and I.

 

[Butterx3]

I am sorry to hear you are not going on this cruise. I hope you could re~schedule for another date.

 

[zulaya]

Hi all---

So glad this thread finally got stuck on the meets board!

I tried to get one posted twice before and gave up.

This is our first Disney cruise and it's me, DH, and DD11 and DS12. We're DVC members and hitting the parks after the cruise.

Butterx3 - where in the Twin Cities are you? We're in the northern suburbs and are flying out on Oct 15!

 

[brucechase]

Wow, this is great! Even though one family had to cancel, more are joining in. Now I wonder what it will take to get to the thousands of posts I see on some of the other cruises. It looks like we all have children around the same ages. If anyone is interested, since I did the original post, I could put us all on the front page as a cast of characters or something.

Also is anyone intersted in looking into this fish extender thingy? Our first cruise so this is all new to me. I willing to do or try anything. I want this to be the best thing our family has ever done! I just have to get the wife and kids as excited as I am about this. Still trying to decide what to do in Nassau and CC. Any suggestions from the shipmates??

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

Wow, this is great! Even though one family had to cancel, more are joining in. Now I wonder what it will take to get to the thousands of posts I see on some of the other cruises. It looks like we all have children around the same ages. If anyone is interested, since I did the original post, I could put us all on the front page as a cast of characters or something.

Also is anyone intersted in looking into this fish extender thingy? Our first cruise so this is all new to me. I willing to do or try anything. I want this to be the best thing our family has ever done! I just have to get the wife and kids as excited as I am about this. Still trying to decide what to do in Nassau and CC. Any suggestions from the shipmates??

I am sorry that I am not traveling with this group because you are posting a lot more than the Oct 30th cruise we are taking. I was able to rebook get two cat 12 cabins, trick-or-treating on the ship, and HSM3. Just a better deal for my family. I think the cruise must be way underbooked because it still has cat 12 cabins.

One fun thing you can do is have a door decorating contest. The doors are metal and anything magnetic will work. There is a thread here with lots of ideas to get you started.

We did secret santa last December and used stockings/fish extenders. We had about 30 cabins participating.

As for the Bahamas, I'm not sure what we'll do this year. I have heard you can rent a room somewhere??? for the day and get free admission to Atlantis. I heard this is cheaper than just paying for the day and you have a room to change in, etc.

At CC, we always snorkle (bring our own gear bought at Sam's), do the treasure hunt, ride bikes, and mail some post cards home to the kids. The stamps sold at CC have the Disney ship on them and the postmark is cool. Also, it's fun for the kids to get mail a few weeks after we get back.

Also, it is really fun to get on the ship as early as possible on Thursday. Eat the buffet and let the kids swim while your room is getting ready.

One more thing, if you love the cruise and want to do it again. Plan on booking while you are on board. You will get a 20% discount and an onboard credit. You can always move the dates later if you like.

Have fun and let me know if you would like any more ideas since no one is posting on my cruise's thread.

Also, go ahead and start planning your pirate costumes. Lots and lots of cruisers dress up for pirate night.


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[brucechase]

One fun thing you can do is have a door decorating contest. The doors are metal and anything magnetic will work. There is a thread here with lots of ideas to get you started.

Great idea. I've seen the magnet thread and haven't looked at how expensive these magnet sheets are for home printing. I think I'll do it just so the kids can find the room easier.

We did secret santa last December and used stockings/fish extenders. We had about 30 cabins participating.

As for the Bahamas, I'm not sure what we'll do this year. I have heard you can rent a room somewhere??? for the day and get free admission to Atlantis. I heard this is cheaper than just paying for the day and you have a room to change in, etc.

Have you been to Atlantis? I've been debating on this or just walking around Nassau and spending most of the time at the ship. Especially since the next day is CC and everyone will be in the water until they look like prunes.

At CC, we always snorkle (bring our own gear bought at Sam's), do the treasure hunt, ride bikes, and mail some post cards home to the kids. The stamps sold at CC have the Disney ship on them and the postmark is cool. Also, it's fun for the kids to get mail a few weeks after we get back.

Bring your own snorkle gear???? Didn't know that was OK. Now I gotta go looking at equipment. Do you know the prices for renting at CC? It might not be worth getting gear since we don't normally use it.

Also, it is really fun to get on the ship as early as possible on Thursday. Eat the buffet and let the kids swim while your room is getting ready.

We are going down the night before. The kids get out of school on the 15th at noon and have off until the 20th. I figured a decent hotel (with pool) and maybe a place to park the car at for the cruise. I see there are other threads about this just haven't spent much time reading them. The Radisson looks like it has a great pool, but my wife love Country Inn and Suites.

One more thing, if you love the cruise and want to do it again. Plan on booking while you are on board. You will get a 20% discount and an onboard credit. You can always move the dates later if you like.

Is this really a good way to go? When I first booked a Cat11 room, it was around $1200 and DCL was at $1800. 20% doesn't quite equal out. Don't know if I found a great deal or if this is the norm. I will probably cruise again if this is successful (especially from what I've read on other trip reports). I'm sure the family will push me real hard.

Have fun and let me know if you would like any more ideas since no one is posting on my cruise's thread.

Also, go ahead and start planning your pirate costumes. Lots and lots of cruisers dress up for pirate night.

My 11YO was a pirate for Halloween last year. We'll have to get the stuff out and see if it still fits her. She's growing so fast that they need to make stretchable length clothes for her.

Thanks for the input. Either check back if your bored or I'll post questions for you in the Oct cruise thread.