October 16, 2008 3 night

[rosieposie]

Glad to see someone finally posted! Kept looking for this thread and never found one. Seemed like every other date in 2008 was out there except 10/16! This is our first cruise. We're celebrating our 10yr. anniv so we're going all out! We're doing a 4 day at the Polynesian Resort then the 3 day cruise. Can't wait! It will be myself, DH and our 4 yr old son.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Whoo finally at thread for our cruise! My family (dh, me and our ds) will be sailing on the Disney Wonder October 16th to 19th~! We are doing a land/sea package with 4 nights at CBR prior to the cruise! This is our first cruise as well and we are really excited!! Gald to finally see others are going on this cruise as well!!

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

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.

I did not buy the sheets. Just printed on card stock and bought a roll of magnetic tape at Walmart. Much less expensive.



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.

DH went to Atlantis last time and bough DS an $8 hot dog which he didn't eat. We are either going to rent a room (if we figure out the deal) or stay on the boat.


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.

We started bringing our own because it was not much more ($10 or so) to buy a set at Sam's Club. The gear is much better than what you can rent and is sized to pack (short fins). We are now using our gear for the third year and it is great. The kids use it in the pool at home.



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.

We drive down (coming from GA) and stay at Disney. I am not familiar with local hotels.



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.

Wow. Where did you book your trip? Also, the prices and categories change often. I check often and was able to save $1000 last year on a 7 day by catching a discount after we booked. I book with DCL directly.


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.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that the Space Shuttle might be launching while you are in the area. Check out NASA's site, I think it will be STS125.

 

[brucechase]

The space shuttle launch has been moved to a different date. The previous mission (STS124) launches Oct 8 and is scheduled to land on Oct 19. Maybe we'll see something.

For some reason, this just didn't work out. I was kinda looking forward to this since I worked at Kennedy Space Center (85-87) and also for Disney (80-83) and this would have jsut tied everything together. I guess its more nostalgia than anything else. Oh well, just gives me more time to do things on the ship instead of watching the skys.


By the way, I added everyone's names on the front page. If you don't like it or want it off, let me know and I'll take care of it immediately. I just thought it would be a good reference to see other children's ages. Maybe they can start talking so they will have someone close to their age on the ship that they know to hang out with.

 

[Butterx3]

It's so exciting to see new names added to the threads.

Zulaya, I live in the St. Michael/Albertville area. How about you?

SeaSickPsycho~ I seriously thought of doing your cruise also, as we would for sure get to see HSM3 and the Halloween part was a perk also. Much more pleasant to trick or treat in the Carribean than in Minnesota! But my kids would miss more school if we went then. This way they only miss 3 days, and having a middle schooler, that is about my limit.

I think when we go into Nassau we are going to do the Pirate Museum. My boys are into pirates. When we went in 2006 our kids stayed on the ship and my DH and I explored the island. We got beeped by our daughter after about 2 hours, so we didn't see much. However we experienced the taxi ride offers, hair braiding offers and were asked quite a bit if we wanted to buy drugs. I hope the drug offers won't be there when it's just my kids and I.

How do you make magnets and Fish extenders? Can you buy them on E~bay? I am pretty technologically illeterate, so if it is something you do with a computer I am out of the loop. HAHA.

We stayed at the Radisson last time we cruised. It was nice, the pool was nice and they provided a shuttle to the port. Very convenient. I hope to do that again. We went on January 19th 2006 and it was so cool we saw a space shuttle launch from our verandah. We took pictures, I guess that made it worth the extra cost of the verandah. It was something they sent to Pluto that will be back in 2009. I can't remember the name, but my kids probably would.

 

[zulaya]

Butterx3, I'm in southeast corner of Blaine that's right next to Circle Pines and Lino Lakes. Are you flying out on Oct 15 or will you be at WDW before the cruise?

I have a ressie at the Radisson already. I like CI&S, but the kids liked the look of the pool at the Radisson.

I'm so bummed that the shuttle launch got moved. That would have been sweet to see that from the ship. It was supposed to be an 8pm launch originally.

Now with it scheduled for Oct 8...they'd have to have a pretty long string of bad weather for us to have a chance to see it...bummers.

 

[Butterx3]

I know where that is. I have cousins who lived in Lino Lakes. Boy Blaine sure has had a growth spurt!

So did everyone catch Camp Rock this weekend? We did 3 times to be exact!

 

[zulaya]

I'm right off 35W and Lexington. Just south and east a bit from there. Blaine sure has grown! I like that there is SO much shopping close by. I remember when there was nothing up here and having to drive to Rosedale if you wanted to shop for anything.

My only wish now is that we would get a Barnes & Noble or a Borders up here. Then I pretty much have everything I need to shop for locally within a couple of miles. Sure saves on the gas.

We don't have cable so we didn't catch Camp Rock. Was it good?

 

[Butterx3]

We had cousins when we were little that lived in Blaine and it was country. I can't believe there are no bookstores. They must all be in Coon Rapids. They have tons of shopping too. When we built our first house in Albertville it was this cute little hick town, and now with the outlet mall it is nuts. I miss that small town feel.

Camp Rock was okay. I don't think it is of the HSM caliber. But that just may me. You could have caught it on CBS on Saturday night. We were suprised, they played it on Disney Channel Friday night, then CBS Saturday and then the Family Channel on Cable Sunday again. I am one of those geek moms that gets into all of the Disney Musical movies.

My Ex DH took my boys to Iowa Speedway this weekend for Indy Races, so that left my DD and I on our own, so we started our girls weekend off with Camp Rock, then hit Valley fair (Kinda like a Six Flags) Saturday. We have decided we are not thrill ride girls. We are Disney World people. We won't be going back to Valley Fair again. My oldest DS stated, "Mom the Indy was just as great as the Disney Cruise we went on, I guess it ranked right up there". So I can't wait to suprise them with the upcoming cruise. I will wait unitl September though, as that will be my incentive for them to keep their grades up!

 

[brucechase]

We are also going down on Wed and staying at either CIS or the Rad. I haven't made the reservations yet because I'm not sure which one to stay at. The pool looks great at the Rad, but we probably won't get there until around 8:00pm. Might be too cool for the pool. I'm so glad both have a shuttle.

I am considering a suggestion from another thread. They said to drop everyone off at the port at 10:30 in the am (with my passport) and then for one person (me?) to go back to the hotel and jump on the shuttle. That makes it much eaiser than family of 5 with luggage fighting for room to get on the shuttle.

Also, I am not sure about Nassau. In the main forum there is talk from people who rent a hotel across from Atlantis that gives you full access to their stuff. This is something my DD11 would love to do, but my DD9 is not a "thrill" ride person either and I don't think she would like some of their water slides. Has anyone here done the Atlantis thing by renting the room? Or should we just save up for CC?????

Time is moving quickly, will be looking for packing lists soon.

 

[zulaya]

I have ZERO interest in getting off the ship in Nassau.

The whole bargaining with people, them coming up to you wanting to sell you stuff...I had that on one trip to Mexico and I couldn't hack it. I may get off the ship to say I've had my feet on the Bahamas, but that's it.

As far as Atlantis...my kids would love it, but I do not want to pay what Atlantis is charging for the privilege nor get myself to wherever the Comfort Inn is to make it happen.

I'm planning for us to just enjoy the near empty ship and we'll hit the beach at CC.

As far as the drop off...I've heard that, too...drop people off, go back and then take the shuttle yourself. Not really happening for us. I always drive the rental car. Now I could drop DH and the kids off, but really DH is the kind to mess things up even though he doesn't try to. As far as him driving...he gets lost easily if he hasn't been somewhere first. This is our first cruise, so he won't know where he's going. I don't want to be checked in and wondering where the heck he is if he's driving. So for us, we're just taking the shuttle all together. I've already reserved our place on the first shuttle at the Rad.

 

[Butterx3]

I didn't know CI&S had a shuttle too. We have already done the Raddison, maybe we will try the other. I haven't decided on that yet. I am hoping to fly down on 10/13 and spend a few days at Disney or Universal. This is really odd for me, as I tend to have things planned better by now. But just booking the cruise was a whim, dance season for my DD just ended, so once baseball is done, I will start to plan better.

Since I have no other parent with me, we will all take the shuttle together. We went on a pretty empty shuttle last time, I think it was the 10:30 one. But we also sailed in January, so maybe there aren't as many cruise passengers then. Plus we had no idea what we were doing and maybe had just gotten lucky. Who knows.

I think of Nassau as kind of dirty too. But since my kids didn't get off the ship last time I know my DS 13 wants to for sure this time. Maybe the other two will want to stay in the clubs. Last time my kids weren't huge club fans, but I think we checked them in too late. They had missed the evening when you just check the clubs out and meet the other kids. My daugther met a little girl on the cruise and she was fine in the clubs if the other little girl went too. My kids are homebodies at home though too, so maybe they just aren't clun kids. I think my DS 13 wants to do the bike/canoe/whatever thing on CC this time though.

 

[zulaya]

As for shuttles...just be aware that while Radisson is free, other hotels charge for it on a per person basis.

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

We are also going down on Wed and staying at either CIS or the Rad. I haven't made the reservations yet because I'm not sure which one to stay at. The pool looks great at the Rad, but we probably won't get there until around 8:00pm. Might be too cool for the pool. I'm so glad both have a shuttle.

I am considering a suggestion from another thread. They said to drop everyone off at the port at 10:30 in the am (with my passport) and then for one person (me?) to go back to the hotel and jump on the shuttle. That makes it much eaiser than family of 5 with luggage fighting for room to get on the shuttle.

Also, I am not sure about Nassau. In the main forum there is talk from people who rent a hotel across from Atlantis that gives you full access to their stuff. This is something my DD11 would love to do, but my DD9 is not a "thrill" ride person either and I don't think she would like some of their water slides. Has anyone here done the Atlantis thing by renting the room? Or should we just save up for CC?????

Time is moving quickly, will be looking for packing lists soon.

My cruise thread is dead. I wonder if it has something to do with Halloween?

Can you give me more info about renting the room? Which hotel? Where is it on the boards? A friend told me about this and it sounds too good to be true.

I am sure you can find a great packing list. My list starts with Lysol and Duct tape. I sanitize our cabin at least twice a day (door handles). Also, if the seas are bad you may need to tape the closet doors shut. When I first read this I thought it was a joke. It is not, those doors are really loud when the ship is rocking. You would think they could put latches on them.

 

[brucechase]

Hate to hear about the dead thread. Maybe it will pick up soon.

As for booking a room, it is at the Comfort Suites right across the street. I understand that there are some long lines to check in though. The only bad thing that I noticed is now our time (and I assume everyone's time) in Nassau has been cut a little short. The ship leaves at 5:00 instead of 7:00. Look at these 2 threads for details and pictures.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1479022&page=2

or this one:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25841552#post25841552&highlight=


Never read the tip about duct tape. Sounds strange to me until you explained it. As for disinfecting, have you had a bad experience on a cruise? I never really gave it much thought. I've heard about people getting sick every once in a while, but I figured that there are probably 5,000 to 6,000 people cruising per week out of Port Canaveral and I rarely hear about problems. I hope that I just haven't missed the right places to look for that info.

Thanks for the info and tips.

 

[SeaSickPsycho]

Thank you for the info on the hotel. I hate standing in line.

We did have a sick Disney cruise and we got sick. DD (5) ended up in the hospital with an IV. The only plus is that it happened the last night of the cruise and DH had to pack our luggage.

You will know you are on a sick boat when a crew member starts serving drinks and icecream at the self help stands on the ship. There are other clues about knowing you are on a sick Disney ship but I don't remember them.

I did overhear a women telling someone not to take the sick child to the medical facility because they will quarentine everyone in the cabin on our last cruise.

There were lots of kids throwing up on the last cruise but I think it was due to the 30 foot waves.

I was fanatical about cleaning our cabin and got all the cleaning tips from the thread for the last cruise. I am not sure it worked but my mom had a very nasty cold and no one in my cabin got sick.

I cleaned the bathroom and Lysoled everything we touched.

We haven't been scared away and will return for the Halloween cruise with Lysol in hand. I took spray and wipes. No more hospital bills.

 

[Smiley22]

Hello everyone! Finally a site with some posts on it. I too am new to the discussion boards. I have tried to find others on the cruise with us on " another" site. My first mistake. Now I guess I am where I need to be. My husband and I are going on our first Disney cruise after going to WDW 25+ as a family. This time no children. Just us for our 22nd anniversary. I think my husband is trying to save me from going crazy as my baby goes to college this fall. What a better way to cheer me up then to spend time with the mouse. Any suggestions would be helpful. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.

 

[brucechase]

Well, there has been a person I worked with who has heard me talk up this trip so much (I still pretty excited) that he just signed up for it. It will be him, his wife and DS(8). He's been before, but doesn't remember much about it (it was right before his tour in Iraq 3 years ago).

I've told him about these boards so he can get up to speed.

 

[Smiley22]

I feel like a kid in a candy store. I am having so much fun and information overload with all of the different posts. I wish I had looked at these before. I am a bit of a planner as I want to get the most "magic" as possible. I am still trying to decide if we want to go into Nassau or just stay on the ship. I love to shop in the local markets so I am sure we will get off if even for a short time. We will fly down early morning on the 15th and plan on staying at the Cornado Springs for three days after the cruise. We have always stayed at either Carribean Beach or Port Orleans before. Want to try something new. Has anyone stayed there before? I have been looking at the door decorations etc. It is just a way to keep the excitement up until the cruise. I have to say I am kind of crafty but not on the computer so we will see how that goes.

Is anyone else as excited as me???? I cant stand it.

 

[Smiley22]

See what I mean about not good with computer extras. I thought I had the cruise clock thing right but guess not. I was looking forward to the countdown too

Any Idea what I did wrong.