October 17, 2009 Western

[kerickson]

Sorry about all the snow. We had a cold Dec out in in Cali, but the last few weeks have been pretty nice. But, spring is still a long ways off...

We've changed our plans a bit. We were going to hit WDW for 3 days before our cruise, but after my DD's kindergarten orientation, I don't feel right about taking her out of school another 3 days. Plus, we'll save $800 not buying WDW tickets, so I think that trip will have to wait for another time.
So now I think we'll fly into MCO Friday, arriving about 5:30pm. We'll then probably rent a car and stay at an airport Sheraton. We have car and hotel points, so that seems to make the most sense. We can then drive down to the Port on our own schedule. I'd like to get there pretty early so we can board early and start enjoying our vacation - I have a feeling I won't be able to relax until I'm settled in on the ship. I guess we'll then take a town car back to the airport after we disembark and head home.

What are your travel plans? How are you getting to the port if you are flying? How far in advance do you think we need to book hotels, rental car, transfers?

 

[yazee1]

I'd like to do a Southern itinerary, too. This upcoming cruise in October will be the third time we'd done the Western itinerary. Of course, any cruise is better than no cruise.

I feel your pain about the report. I have taught students of all ages how to write essays. The youngest students, even though their assignments are the shortest, are the hardest to teach. I take that back. A surly teenager girl is worse. Ten sentences is a lot of writing for a second grader. I hope the poor kid doesn't have to do that too often. He's going to hate writing by the time he's in 3rd grade.

Kerickson, I can't answer most of those question except for the hotel. There's no particular reason why, but I book our hotel about 4 or 5 months in advance. I don't think it's necessary to do it that soon when traveling off-season, I just like to get it out of the way.

 

[TigerLilly28]

Hi everyone! Im a single mom, considering taking my DS on this cruise for his 8th birthday. We go to WDW together about once a year, but have never been on a cruise. My question is this: It will be just the two of us... I'm a little worried that my DS will want to spend all of his time in the lab, leaving me cruising solo! I was considering a land/sea vacation, but the ports of call on the 3/4 night cruises just don't appeal to me... we both know we want to take a cruise, I'm just worried that the 7 night might be too long... is there enough to do on the ship, that if my son was only in the lab for a few hours, here and there, that he wouldn't be bored? Are there generally other single parents on board? I really want to book, but I'm just a little nervous! You guys are great, btw! I love reading all the trip reports, reviews, etc!

 

[shancan911]

Welcome, Tigerlilly28!
I can't personally comment on the single parent thing, but then again, I've never paid attention to that sort of thing, I'm sure there's plenty. Our DS will be 8 at sailing. He went with us on a cruise last February, and he didn't spend a ton of time in the kid's club. But, all kids are different. I read that some need to be dragged out, and I read that some need drug in. There's only 2 at sea days . So the rest are port days, so plenty to do off the ship. Personally, we like to rest a little during the day if possible to stay out later. There is the pool you guys can hang out together. There will be plenty of things, no boredom! As for you, catch up relaxation, I would imagine as a single mom, that's not something that's plentiful for you. Catch a massage while he's in the lab. I hope you join us, we're gonna have a great time. Hopefully others will give some DCL specific onboard activities for you guys. Lastly, NO cruise is too long. EVER.

 

[yazee1]

Lastly, NO cruise is too long. EVER. [/COLOR][/FONT]

Amen!


Well, I've never been a single mom, so I can't speak from personal experience and I don't know what you guys like to do for fun, but I can't imagine being bored on a Disney Cruise. Unless you and he are the most jaded of vacationers and you are a shy and unsociable person, you're going to have a great time and find even a week isn't enough. There are a lot of activities on the ship that a single parent (sans child) can enjoy besides the usual sunbathing and book reading on Deck 9, the spa, the gym, movies. Dh likes the beer tasting event, but I don't drink beer, so he goes alone. I opt for the galley tour or the cooking demonstrations which aren't his cup of tea. I made friends with a couple Disboard Thread Meet members, so when dh didn't want to go to bingo, I went alone but wound up sitting with them. I imagine, those are things a single person would also enjoy, too.

Our tablebemates on our first cruise were a single mom and her daughter. The mom traveled with her little daughter quite a bit. I think she would have actually liked her daughter to spend more time in the Club so she could be alone more.

 

[TigerLilly28]

Welcome, Tigerlilly28!
I can't personally comment on the single parent thing, but then again, I've never paid attention to that sort of thing, I'm sure there's plenty. Our DS will be 8 at sailing. He went with us on a cruise last February, and he didn't spend a ton of time in the kid's club. But, all kids are different. I read that some need to be dragged out, and I read that some need drug in. There's only 2 at sea days . So the rest are port days, so plenty to do off the ship. Personally, we like to rest a little during the day if possible to stay out later. There is the pool you guys can hang out together. There will be plenty of things, no boredom! As for you, catch up relaxation, I would imagine as a single mom, that's not something that's plentiful for you. Catch a massage while he's in the lab. I hope you join us, we're gonna have a great time. Hopefully others will give some DCL specific onboard activities for you guys. Lastly, NO cruise is too long. EVER.

Amen!


Well, I've never been a single mom, so I can't speak from personal experience and I don't know what you guys like to do for fun, but I can't imagine being bored on a Disney Cruise. Unless you and he are the most jaded of vacationers and you are a shy and unsociable person, you're going to have a great time and find even a week isn't enough. There are a lot of activities on the ship that a single parent (sans child) can enjoy besides the usual sunbathing and book reading on Deck 9, the spa, the gym, movies. Dh likes the beer tasting event, but I don't drink beer, so he goes alone. I opt for the galley tour or the cooking demonstrations which aren't his cup of tea. I made friends with a couple Disboard Thread Meet members, so when dh didn't want to go to bingo, I went alone but wound up sitting with them. I imagine, those are things a single person would also enjoy, too.

Our tablebemates on our first cruise were a single mom and her daughter. The mom traveled with her little daughter quite a bit. I think she would have actually liked her daughter to spend more time in the Club so she could be alone more.

Thank you guys, so much, for your input! We have been on many vacations by ourselves, and we always have a blast! The last word you could use to describe either of us is shy! We always enjoy making new friends during our travels! We've just never been on a cruise before, so committing to 7 days at sea is a little nervewracking! We did 10 days at WDW in June, and we were practically in tears when it was time to go home! I love taking him on trips- such a great bonding experience. Im leaning towards the 3 nights land/4 nights sea trip, even though the ports of call on the Western are of much more interest to both of us, only because I can't imagine going to Florida without a few days in the World! I could always downgrade cabins and do a few days at the world AND the Western... with only one big vacation a year, I just can't make up my mind! You guys are great- I appreciate all of your trip reports, reviews and input! I spend WAY too much time on this site!

 

[yazee1]

I spend WAY too much time on this site!

I hear you. I have a new distraction now, but I used to pop in on this board every chance I could which was several times a day! Before we went on our first Disney Cruise, I studied my Passporter's Guide and this website like I was cramming for the boards.

If we had the money and dh had enough leave time, we'd definitely do the 7-day with a few WDW days tacked on. Last September, dh and I did a four-day and it was just too short. Looking at the fact that you're flying all the way from Ohio, don't you think you should make the most of the trek to Florida?

 

[shancan911]

Whoa...found us down near the bottom of page 4...
Hope everyone is doing well, and having a wonderful Valentine's Day. DH and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary on Wednesday. We're not real big on the Valentine's Day thing, mainly cuz of the crowds at restaurants and such. DS has a couple of buddies spending the night, so their parents could have a night out. I set up the tent in our basement, and they're watching TV on the "movie screen". DH is a bit of a techie geek, and has a 100" screen set up downstairs with a projection TV. The kids love it. Wii is pretty fun down there, too
As I type this, I am feeling a cold coming on. Hooray. Shouldn't complain, tho, I've made it this far into the season avoiding all bugs. DH has had a couple of colds, and DS has had a cold and a stomach thing So, I will embrace my runny nose for the time being. Just wanted to check in and make sure everyone is doing well. Chat soon!

 

[ImagineerM]

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Things have been crazy here where we are -- I don't know if you heard about the ice storm that swept through Kentucky at the end on January, but we were right in the middle of it. Ended up missing 5 straight days of school (I'm a teacher -- that puts us at finishing the second week of June!) We were without power for a couple of days in freezing cold temperatures. My parents were without power for over a week -- they stayed with us! It made for a crazy January!

Things are finally getting back to normal. My parents bought some supplies to make their fish extender for the cruise! We also just got our DCL DVD in the mail!

Hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy the Presidents' Day Weekend! I'm looking forward to the day off on Monday!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[wendym]

Hi all! We've had some snow but our school never closes unfortunately. Been fighting a cold since New Year which is annoying the heck out of me!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Wendy

 

[kerickson]

We've hit the 8mo mark!

I can't believe I have 2 DLR trips between now and our cruise, it makes it seem so far away! (we have APs this year so we are trying to make the most of them). Hopefully planning those trips will help the time until Oct go by faster.

Happy Monday!

 

[yazee1]

We read about the ice storms and seen pictures in the news paper. I feel for you all down there going without electricity for days or weeks at a time. Aside from the inconvenience and discomfort derived from not having electricity, I'm sure it also reaps havoc on your everyday life. Especially, if school's are out but the parents still have to go to work. I think, because we live in the country and most everyone has a generator or an air compressor or some kind of alternative source of power along those lines, we don't suffer as much when there are outages. Between the ice and the wind this year, we've had several outages, but none lasted more than a day.

As for snow, we have yet to get a decent snow here-highly unusual. I'm guessing we'll get a nice big blizzard at the end of the month or the beginning of March. The kids are itching for it, that's for sure.

We had a good Valentine's Day. Dh and I made a surf (scallops) & turf (steak) dinner at home for the five of us. Based on my experience as a waitress (in my younger days), we never go out to eat on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Speaking of colds, I have one right now. First one all winter. I took some Niquil and I think it's kicking in! I'm suddenly very sleepy!

8 months to go Talk to you all later!

 

[TheDawnPatrol]

Hello All,

Hard too believe we are under the 8 month window. I know my whole group is looking forward to the cruise. For the short term, we are ready for winter to be over. Tired of the cold weather.

Regards,
Pete

 

[yazee1]

Hello All,

Hard too believe we are under the 8 month window. I know my whole group is looking forward to the cruise. For the short term, we are ready for winter to be over. Tired of the cold weather.

Regards,
Pete

Amen to that, Pete. This winter seems like the longest ever!

By the way, why is your name Dawn Patrol. The Jungle Book movie was my son's favorite when he was really little and we watched it a hundred times. I keep imagining you are a big, puffy, stuffy Englishman. Are you?

 

[strega7]

Hello all! My family and I will be joining you! I was supposed to be on the magic today, but a few weeks ago, my sister had a bad bicycle accident and had some head injuries (and yes she was wearing her helmet). Anyway, she is getting out of Rehab this week, and to celebrate, and escape from the depression of not being on the cruise right now, I booked this cruise! We are excited to join you.

marci

 

[TheDawnPatrol]

Amen to that, Pete. This winter seems like the longest ever!

By the way, why is your name Dawn Patrol. The Jungle Book movie was my son's favorite when he was really little and we watched it a hundred times. I keep imagining you are a big, puffy, stuffy Englishman. Are you?

LOL! Nope not a big puffy Englishman. The Jungle Book is my favorite Disney Movie, and my kids are all up at the crack of dawn tramping around the house like a bunch of elephants.

Regards,
Pete

 

[shancan911]

Welcome Marci! We're a fun bunch here, although most of us (me included) have been doing a fair amount of grumbling about the winter weather.

I had a fun weekend. I'm a scrapbooker, and I attended a weekend scrapbook retreat. They're a lot of fun. No bedtime, no kids. Just scrappin and havin fun with friends. I completed my album from our cruise last February, and worked a little on our 2006 WDW trip. I would like to have it completed before our cruise, along with catching up some with my son's photos.

Dale, where are you??? DFIL and DMIL have their house on the market. Guess that doesn't leave much time for the DISboards

Alrighty, need to figure out some dinner plans, catch ya'll later

 

[doberlady]

Hi )

Booked our air yesterday and now I am more excited then ever!!

 

[dcannon101]

Shannon -

Here I am. We have been busy packing up over 30 years worth of stuff as well as throwing some stuff. I found my tax reture from 1972 on Saturday so I guess it is even more than 30 years of stuff.

The house is on the market and we actually had someone look at it already. We can only hope!

I only have 4 more days to work before entering the fixed income category. Retirement here I come.

We are getting ready to go to WDW next month. We will be leavin on 3/14 and staying for almost 2 weeks.

I just saw on the news that the airlines have cut fares on flights out of Akron and Cleveland. Maybe there are some good deals for October!

Welcome to all the new cruisers. I am sure you will enjoy the fun time we ar egoing to have in less than 8 months.

 

[kerickson]

Shannon -

Here I am. We have been busy packing up over 30 years worth of stuff as well as throwing some stuff. I found my tax reture from 1972 on Saturday so I guess it is even more than 30 years of stuff.

The house is on the market and we actually had someone look at it already. We can only hope!

I only have 4 more days to work before entering the fixed income category. Retirement here I come.

We are getting ready to go to WDW next month. We will be leavin on 3/14 and staying for almost 2 weeks.

I just saw on the news that the airlines have cut fares on flights out of Akron and Cleveland. Maybe there are some good deals for October!

Welcome to all the new cruisers. I am sure you will enjoy the fun time we ar egoing to have in less than 8 months.

Congratulations on your retirement and enjoy WDW. I'm sure they are both well earned!