October 22, 2005 Roll call

[scrapperjill]

Hey there...It does sound like were going to have alot of scrappers onboard....But that just means the photo swap will be that much better. I can't wait. I loved doing it this last cruise....We all got so many more photos..and were able to share and see what we all did....plus there is always the "I wish I would have taken a photo of..." with doing the photo swap...most of those were taken care of by someone. I do still wish I would have taken more pics aroud CC... Well I guess I did get a TON in the water...but I would have liked to get more around the beaches and stuff. I'm going to have to stock up on batterys for the camera...for this trip. I just didn't realize using the digital underwater was going to use up the batteries sooo fast....Now I know. I kept wanting to take some time on the ship and wonder around and just take pics....but I kept putting it off...thinking..I have all week...I'll do it tomarrow. Well now i know...There's to much to do so If i'm wanting pics around the ship...I just need to go out and get them....

Well I've gotta get going...Need to head to Starbucks for my daily fix.

 

[pdarrah]

Hi ScrapperJill - could you tell me more about the "digital underwater" and why it ate batteries? We have a canon digital camera and received the "underwater case" for xmas - I have just assumed that it would use batteries at its usual rate underwater.... Was your's this type of thing or a separate camera that you only use for underwater?

Hi Afoss - We stayed at the Radisson at the port - it wasn't exactly "cheap", but it still cost us less than Disney transfers by doing that and renting a car. Also the peace of mind that we wouldn't miss our cruise was great. I believe there are other hotels near the port and some people have gotten real deals using priceline (I'm just an obsessive planner and can't cope with the idea that I'm not choosing my own hotel...) On the other hand, last October with Port Canaveral getting smashed twice before we arrived - many of the other hotels were closed and the Radisson came through pretty much unscathed.

This year, we will probably stay near or at WDW for a day or two before the cruise and just get up early and drive over the morning of the cruise. It is an easy drive (only about 1 hour or so) and the rental car places all run shuttles to the terminal.

So why am I still sitting at my computer at nearly 11:00pm? Aargh - I'm addicted to the DisBoard!!

Pamela

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Afoss,

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard last September. It was $75.00/night for a king room. There was also shuttle service available for $3.00/per person to the terminal, and since we drove to Fla, we were able to leave our car there for free all week....sure beats the cost of parking it at the terminal! We had originally planned on staying at the Quality Suites, but due to Hurricane Ivan, it was closed. We were actually very lucky to find a room at all, and were very pleased with the Marriott.

I have also heard about people getting great deals thru Priceline....like $25 or $30 per night! But I, too, am a compulsive planner and could not be suprised about my hotel!

On a sad note , it turns out that the scuba dive excursion that we found online is an OLD excursion that used to be offered but is no longer. I guess we happened upon an outdated web site. Oh well!

Stacy

 

[afoss]

Thanks for all the hotel advice. Sounds like we should get a decent deal at some hotels near the Port. This is the time I wish I was still in the hotel industry for employee discounts.

I read somewhere that someone had rented a car and it "came" with a car seat. I think it was from Budget. Anyone ever heard of this? We'd love to rent a car to save some $ but not excited about lugging 2 car seats around for a week. We have been to all the ports before so not doing any excursions that would require us needing them for a cab ride.

Sometimes I wonder if the Disney transport is worth the extra cost because everything is done for you and there are no worries.

We have only snorkeled, never scuba dived but if I hear of any good places/deals at any of the ports, I'll post them. I really enjoyed Stingray City at Grand Cayman and eating Key Lime Pie at "Kelly's" in Key West. I actually called them to make sure they would be open in Oct. They close in the fall to do repairs/remodeling, etc so the last 2 times we have been there, they were closed. Yep, they will be opened this year! YEAH!~

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Afoss,

Maybe one of those vans that have the built-in car seats? I've never heard of a car rental co. not charging for car seat rental. I understand what you're saying about not dragging the seats around all week. What a hassle! Our DD is 7, so she's only required to be in a booster seat, which is really just a car seat without the back. MUCH easier to transport.

I'm glad you mentioned "Kelly's" for Key Lime Pie....DH is a Key Lime Pie freak and since we didn't get to stop at Key West last time, he got none. Now I have an idea where to take him.

Awaiting winter storm #2 tonight....keeping our fingers crossed that it misses us!

TTFN

Stacy

 

[pdarrah]

Afoss: We were also able to use a booster seat for DS5. Depending on the size of your DD4, you may be able to do that for her - we bought a basic one for travel at Walmart and I think it was only about $20. We just use it for trips and when he has field trips at school (I don't think it would be too comfortable for him to ride in all the time.) The advantage for travel is that it is small and easy to just strap onto one of the suitcases. For flying, we just packed the cushion and they taped the luggage tag right to the plastic. At the port, we used a piggy-back strap from one of the suitcases and connected it to the case and it came through OK. In the stateroom, we stuck it under the bed for the week.

Another option if you don't need a seat for getting from home to the airport, is that FL laws are much looser than IL. "All children 5 years of age or younger must be properly restrained no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. (FL Statute 316.613)." Therefore, legally, your DD4 could just use the seatbelt in the car for the trip from Orlando to the port.

Of course, you would still have to lug a regular seat for your other DD or arrange to rent one with the car, but at least it would only be one!

Pdarrah

 

[afoss]

Hey...good info to know. I'll see about renting a car seat from the rental company and then using the seatbelt for DD4. If not, at least one seat to carry is better than one.

The Kelly's restaurant is owned by the actress Kelly McGillis (I can only remember her from Top Gun). She was actually there once working the bar.

Hope the winter storm misses you. It's suppose to warm up some here (low 40s).
We always get a couple of bad snow storms in Feb and one in March. The ground hog saw his shadow so looks like we are all in for a few more winter weeks.

 

[scrapperjill]

pdarrah...Our digital camera is a Sony DSC-T1. Love the camera...and normally it dose just fine with the batteries... We also got the underwater marine pack/case to hold it. Let me say I was more than a little nervious to take it underwater...but it worked wonderfully. The problem with the batteries was with the case on...you couldn't "shut the lense"...to turn off the camera between shots. They make a power on/off button for this reason on the camera..and it works just fine with the case in place...but with the reflection of the water, camera, and case...it was hard to tell if the camera was on/off. So as it turned out I kept the camera on (most of the time)when we were out snorkling. My camera dosn't have a viewfinder...just the LCD screen...it got to the point with the reflection of everything...I couldn't see anything on the screen...and just did point-n-shoot takes... and hope I got a shot.


afoss...have you looked into getting a towncar for your transportation? It would be more than a rental car...but they do have car seats and boosters available at no additional cost. Also once aranged...they pick you up and drop you off at the terminal doors...no worries about getting the car back to the rental company. You could also stay at a hotel closer to the airport...which I think is cheeper...then be picked up first thing Saturday and taken to the port. That's what we did...we stayed at Embassy Suites near MCO....they have a shuttle that will pick you up at the airport. They also have a managers reception every evening with FREE drinks, soda, mixed drinks and beer. Tne in the morning they have a FREE cook to serve breakfast. I don't remember for sure what we paid...but it was under $50...for the four of us. And since it's a Embassy Suites...all the rooms are suites...which worked out great for getting the girls to bed in the bedroom...as we (DH and I) stayed up repacking our bags. But anyways...we had the car pick us up after breakfast and take us right to the port. Just an idea I wanted to mention. Also alot of the cars that the rental companies have do have the built in carseats...so you may want to ask. The only thing....most rental companys WON'T gaurentee what car you get. Oh...another thing about the towncars... depending on how many people you have with you it is usually or can be cheeper to get the towncar service than the disney transfers. I think any more than 3 or 4 passangers it ends up being just as much or cheeper....and you tell them when you want picked up...so you don't have to wait on someone elses schedule.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Where did you guys get your underwater boxes for your digital cameras? Sandi -- I loved how your underwater photos turned out (SO much better than those disposable underwater 35 mm cameras), so we're definitely wanting to get one to use in October.

Stacy

 

[rocadonismom]

Wow, I finally made it back onto the boards. Hope all are doing well - ThreeSmiths, did you get hit with the latest storm? I just got internet access back yesterday. We lost power here on January 9th due to a nasty ice storm and were without power for 9 days. Since everything was so wrecked it has taken a long time for the various service companies to get to everyone and my internet cable had been laying in my neighbor's front yard. Anyway... it's back up and I can once again be a part of the outside world!

I'm so excited to hear that the are other scrappers going on this cruise. I love to collect supplies and make paper piecings. Unfortunately my ambition stops there and I have tons of photos that need to make it into the albums. Maybe that can be my goal for the year. I purchased the coloring books on my last cruise to use as paper piecing patterns.

As for key lime pie at Key West... we went and had frozen, chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick at Kermit's (?). I'll have to look through my papers and find out the name. It was quite good.

 

[Timon]

So...
I have a question about the photo swap thing. Do you just swap the generic type photos like photos of the ship etc or do you swap ALL your photos?

The reason I am asking is because I take a LOT of photos. Last year, we were in WDW for one week and on a RCCL cruise for one week and I took well over 2500 digital photos and then on top of that, I had 3 underwater cameras and two disposable cameras. So I can't see anyone wanting all 2500+ of my photos.

Plus I plan on getting my Canon Digital Rebel before our trip, so of course, being the shutterbug that I am, I will easily take more than 2500 photos since, well...because I can

So how does that work?

 

[pdarrah]

Hi ThreeSmiths,

I put the waterproof box for my canon camera on my Amazon wishlist before Christmas (after our October cruise) and didn't really expect anyone to buy it, but I was trying to have a wide assortment (from about $5 to close to $200!) Well, my MIL hadn't come up with anything to give us for our 15th wedding anniversary last June, so she decided to go all out on our Xmas gifts. She gave us the box as a joint gift (along with a few individual gifts each)!

Our is made by canon specifically for our model (and a couple others that have the same dimensions) but I know that there are some "generic" ones out there also. Since I didn't really expect to get it, I really didn't do much research. I am looking forward to using it - but I am a little nervous about it also!

Pdarrah

 

[scrapperjill]

Timon...I was just looking and doing research on getting the Cannon Digital Rebel . I want it soooo bad. I was soooo tempted to get it in January. One of the shops here had a $50 instant rebate...and their web site had an additional $100 mail in rebate. Unfortunetly it ended on the 31st.

The photo swap...ThreeSmiths, American Scrapper, and myself swapped photos or should I say CD's burned with our photos with one another. I also took a TON of photos, if I remember right had to send 3 CD's each...just to fit all the pics. I sent pretty much all my pics...It seemed to take me sooo long to get things organized when we came back from the cruise...I didn't want to keep putting off burning the photo cd's and ended up just selecting all rather than going through and picking this one or that. It was so nice to view each others photos. We all spent time together durring the evenings...but with the photos we could actually see what we all did and where we went. So it's up to who ever is swapping as to what they want to send...all or selected photos. There was one other gal who particapated in the photo swap on our last cruise. She sent only generic photos of the ship and around. Only one pic included her daughter...and I think she only sent that one because my daughter was in the photo also..other than that no one from their family was in any of the pics for the swap. Which was her choice...and it was still great to get more photos...and to see things from someone elses point of view.

ThreeSmiths...We ordered our waterproof camera box direct from Sony...since our camera is a Sony. When we got the camera it came with a list of additional acessories... that's where we learned about the marine pack and got the idea to get it for the cruise. Jesse and I figured if we wanted to get it we better go with the one that was made for our camera...from the same company rather than a generic. The camera was sooo new on the market at that time i also don't think anyone else was making one at that point. We also felt more assured it would hold up and keep the water out. Like I said I was VERY nervious to take it under the first time. It's turned out to be real handy though...we took it up snowboarding with us both times the mountian was open this year...and were able to get some great shots in the snow...and while in action. I figured after taking it down the water slides at Atlantis...going down the slopes should be just fine also.

Timon... "I will easily take more than 2500 photos since, well...because I can " I just wanted to say...I love it . My thoughts exactly.

 

[Timon]

Scrapperjill,

Yeah, I've had my eye on the Rebel for awhile. I love my digital but I HATE the lag it comes with!! I have missed so many great photos because of that lag!!!!

I think hubby is trying to get it for me for my b-day in March but I don't know if we will be able to afford it then. After buying the camera itself then you need an extra battery, a case, high speed flash cards and then some lenses!!!
But I WILL have it before our cruise ...hopefully

On our last trip to WDW, I was using 3 256MB flashcards that I would fill and take to Walgreens every 2-3 days to D/L onto CD. Most of the time one flashcard would fit onto one CD but sometimes, there would be 2 CD's.

When I came home I had 12 envelopes of CD's, some with 1, some with 2 CD's.

It was only $4 to D/L onto CD at Walgreens, so that was great. But on the cruise, they charge you $15, so I might invest/borrow/beg/steal in bringing along with me a lot of CF memory.

As scrappers, you guys may appreciate all 2500+ of my photos, but still, that's a lot of photos, and you may get bored So perhaps I will go through them and sort them out before I send them out

 

[American Scrapper]

Timon,

I did sort out my pics, but sent most of what I took that looked good. I did not sent my pics of Castaway Cay with me in them! They all saw enough of me in my swimsuit and did not need to scare them anymore!

I see that I am not the only one with their heart set on the Rebel! It looks amazing and from the pics that I have seen taken with it - WOW!! I did not take as many photos as scrapperjill, even though I seemed to be always snapping away. I did have alot that I took that did not turn out due to the dark!

Kathy

 

[scrapperjill]

American Scrapper...Your looking at the Rebel? I want it sooo bad. I'm still laughing on your CC comment . Since I was the picture taker...I didn't end up in many of our pics... ...I'm sure if I did I would have pick out most of them...prior to sending.

I'm so kicking myself for not finding the $$$ some place in January and getting the deal with the $150 in rebates. It was a Rebel package deal that came with 2 batteries, a case, lense, and memory. I also found the memory cards on a super deal at Costco. 512mb for around $35.

We took 4 of the 256 cards and one small card on the trip and used our laptop to download each night....it worked out soooo good.

What kind of card do you use? I'm sure if your memory card work in our laptop...you could bring some cd's, and burn them off your cards with our laptop durring the cruise....that would save you a ton from what shutters charges. Did you end up going to shutters to make cd's durring your last cruise? Just wondering if you did...if they charged $15 per card...or was it per cd...and what if you had sooo many pics on a card it took more than one disk to empty?...do they charge you twice? Just wondering...I know you can fit a good amount onto a disk....and depending on what size card you have and what settings your using you can fit a range of pics per card.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

As for key lime pie at Key West... we went and had frozen, chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick at Kermit's (?). I'll have to look through my papers and find out the name. It was quite good.

OMG....that sounds like Heaven on a stick!! I'm so there!!!



Rocadonismom:

This time last Saturday we were pretty much housebound. I awoke that morning at about 8 a.m. to DD saying "mommy, it sounds like Pop Rocks outside!" She was referring to the ice and sleet hitting the house, trees and ground. (It was a pretty good analogy, because that's exactly what it sounded like!) So I threw on some clothes, went to the grocery store (like all good southern folk do when the snow comes) and got a couple essentials just in case. It took me about an hours to get three items because the checkout lines were crazy. The roads got pretty icy...lots of vehicle pile-ups on the highways...but by noon Sunday it was gone! We thought for sure that we'd lose power, but we never did, thank goodness.

I'm sorry to hear that you did not fare so well. I know how you feel, though. We've been without utilities for a few days before and it is miserable. Especially when you can't leave the house without risking your life!

Glad to have you back!

Stacy

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Thanks everyone for the info on the camera boxes. I will definitely look into Amazon and Cannon. I thought the photo swap was great! It was so interesting to see photos of things that we saw and places that we visited, only from another person's point of view. I must say that Sandi is an excellent photographer. There are some photos that I swear she should enter into a photo contest!

I would also like to report that while working at a Brownie Girl Scout food drive this morning, some other moms and I decided to get together for a Scrapbook club to meet on Friday nights. We will rotate houses and share equipment (which is good for a newbie like me so I can use things before I decide to purchase them). I'm so excited! The other moms have already been scrapbooking but all said they have a hard time motivating to do it. I think making a fun, social event out of it will be great. I will report back when I have actually started.

Kathy, I'm cracking up about the CC photos as well! Like Sandi, I was the one taking the photos, so my cellulite is not on film. If it were, I would not have sent you those photos either! However DH was a little unnerved when he found out that I sent photos of him on the beach! Awww, who cares! We're all friends, right?

Stacy (love that banana)

 

[scrapperjill]

Stacy...Thanks . (about the photo praise). I just love taking pictures...and would rather do that any time..than what I actually do.

That's so good about finding some other gals to scrap with...I'll be a ton of fun. I love getting together with others and scrap the day or evening away. It is such a nice social time. Plus you can get soooo many ideas from others. I'm sure you'll love it. And sharing tools...that's the way to go....then if you find a tool you just can't do with out you can add to your collection little by little.

 

[American Scrapper]

Staci,

It is great that you have found a group to meet with weekly. I am lucky to get together with someone every few months. We all have such different schedules that, while we mean well, we dont get together as often as we intend to.

I have to second your comment on Sandi's photos! She does take wonderful pictures. I am very excited about the photo swap!! I love looking at others photos and to see things in a different perspective than mine (or jims).

Kathy