**@@** October 6th, 2007 Magic**@@**

[rdy2bpampered]

All,

Well, it's FINALLY official, we are booked for the October 06, 2007 voyage on the Disney Magic. We are gonna be staying in Cat11 6139, and look forward to meeting with the fellow DISers on board. We are so excited and it will be murder to wait 8 months, so I cant imagine what those of you who booked a year ago have been going through.

It will be our first cruise, and my first time on a plane, and we are:

(Ages at time of cruise)

Rick - 35
DW Stacey - 34
DS Josh - 8

Boy are we in the same boat...literally!! I have never flown and am a bit anxious about missing our flight. and... its our first cruise. Love these threads tho... such a wealth of info.

 

[MCKAMEYfam]

I admit that right now, I am not worried about the flight at all. I am just SO jazzed about going, and look forward to choosing our excursions. By the time we get ready to leave though, the family might have to do me like they did Mr T on the A Team, and tranquilize me. Thats fine, as long as it is done with Redstripe Hooray Beer !

 

[gouodux]

Don't know what happened to all our fellow cruiser's from Arizona. Haven't heard from any of them in awhile.

Well, after four years of trying, we have finally convinced more of our friends to join us. This will be their first Disney cruise (first cruise for that matter). They are from Eugene, Oregon and are fellow DUCKS!! They are:

Brad - 36
Tiffany - 36
Alex - 6
Jack - 5
Ryan - 3

They booked yesterday and are in room #8062.

This brings our little travel group to 16 people! It's going to be fun keeping everyone together!

 

[TiffJ]

Got room for a few more?!
I switched my 4 day Wonder cruise to a 7 day Magic Western this week!!!!! I would love to get to know some DISers before we cruise. I already have met several thru the WISH events board & have gotten to know them very well during marathon weekends & stuff. It is great going into something like this knowing some people.

Our cast:
Me 37
DH 42
DS 9 will be in 5th at time of sailing
DS 6 will be in 1st grade at time of sailing

We have done the 4 & 7 day before but it was before my youngest was born (in fact I was pregnant on our last cruise and boy will that make you want one of those yummy drinks!) We are big WDW fans & have been there many, many times. 3 last year and just got back from 2 weeks in January for marathon weekend.

Last week I told DS6 that I had cancelled our 4 day cruise he got all teary eyed & lips trimbled "but why?" then I told him it was because we were going on a 7 day He was so excited

I am now working on figuring out what excursions we are going to do. I am thinking about the Dolphin Discovery , pirate cruise. But still not 100% sure. I saw someone mention renting electric cars & going to southernmost point & going to aquarium in Key West. Can you give me more info on that? It sounds like something we would like to do.

We live in Huntsville, AL so we are very close to you Nashville & Chattanooga people (about 1 1/2 hrs or less).


I cant wait to get to know everyone & anticipate our wonderful voyage together!

 

[Rellyrooly]

Don't know what happened to all our fellow cruiser's from Arizona. Haven't heard from any of them in awhile.

I just posted a day or so ago! In fact, it was post #260. It explains why I hadn't posted in a while. I also asked for some recommendations and no replied.

As far as the rest of them, your right, haven't heard from them lately either. We are about to go into spring break here and I know Jen and Shirley work at schools so this is going to be a busy last week for them. As for everyone else? One thing I do know is that as we get closer, they will definitely check in here, they always do!

 

[BoosGram]

Welcome to all of our new shipmates. This is the best thing about the DIS boards: you know right off the bat that there will be people you know, instead of being "alone" among so many passengers.

 

[BoosGram]

I just posted a day or so ago! In fact, it was post #260. It explains why I hadn't posted in a while. I also asked for some recommendations and no replied.

As far as the rest of them, your right, haven't heard from them lately either. We are about to go into spring break here and I know Jen and Shirley work at schools so this is going to be a busy last week for them. As for everyone else? One thing I do know is that as we get closer, they will definitely check in here, they always do!

Rellyrooly,

Glad to hear that your new golf course is doing well.

Sorry, we have no experience w/the accommodations you need ; wish I could help, but I'll bet someone will. Maybe try the main board--bigger audience?

 

[Selket]

Hello everyone - I'm new here to the DCL board anyway - been to WDW many times. We have never cruised before so this is all such a mystery to me! I am still hammering out a few details - making sure I can get trip insurance for my 5 yr old a with a pre-exisiting medical condition (type 1 diabetes) and that I can pull the kids out of school! If anyone is a travel insurance specialist feel free to PM me - this is my biggest sticking point at the moment!

Cast:

Me - 43
DH - 49 (not a big WDW fan but tolerates it!)
DS - 9 - in 5th grade when we go
DS - 5 - in kindergarten when we go

I am holding a cat 12 ressie - which folks tell me we will automatically be put in at least cat 11 because there are no 4 person rooms in cat 12. I don't know why they let you reserve it. It looks like at this point I cannot pick a room for cat 11 - not sure why. You guys will still talk to me if I'm in the basement of the ship right?

Hope I can join you!

 

[lenzs4]

Hello again!! I guess I better check in! It is benchmark testing week at the schools here in Chandler and I am the testing coordinator so I am very busy. But Friday is our last day of school and then off to Disneyland we go!!! YEA!!! I have not starting thinking out the cruise plans yet. It is to many vacations away LOL.
I booked Sept. 27 2008 - the double dip Costa Maya cruise already. If you have not done this on board like we did - I suggest it. We booked Oct 6 07 and Dec 07 while on board last time. We are using the Oct 6 cruise date but I transferred the Dec. cruise to Oct 08 and it was much cheaper!!! As a matter of fact we got a cat 6 for 4 people for $3300.00!!!! It felt even better because I had put the down payment down so long ago - it seems like it only cost me $2000!!!!! I owe less for the 08 cruise than I do the 07 cruise!!!! No each year, I will rebook a fake date and transfer it when the new prices come out and save money over booking the next years cruise on board!!!

I have been reading all the posts but I have no info to add. I have a room for the week before the cruise - a timeshare off property at WDW. I think we will fly home after the cruise.
As far as excursion, I think I am going to go it without Disney. Electric rentals on Key West, and little tours guide that are rented by the ship on the other islands! Maybe a beach - there is enough info on the cruise thread to help me decide for sure. Maybe I will start researching soon!!!
Talk soon,
Shirley

 

[gouodux]

We are going to Alaska on Princess in June so our Disney cruise is somewhat put on the back burner. We also need to decide where we want to stay before the DCL cruise. We decided on the DBC (Disney Beach Club)for after so before we thought we would try Sea World for before. Anyone have any good recommendations for a hotel near there? My kids want the Nickelodeon Hotel. It looks really cute but is about 6 miles away from Sea World.

Have a great day all!

Sorry missed this somehow. We too are busy planning for our Princess cruise in two weeks for Spring Break. Headed to Belize, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Honduras. Scared that the kids will freak out when they don't have all the characters. It will be fun anyway. I guess we all don't have the same Spring Break as we do next Fall Break here in Arizona.

As far as hotels - we love BC. We have stayed at the BCV twice and it seems hard to beat. Have looked around at others on property, but our girls just love the pool at BC, oh, and the character breakfast!!

For this cruise we are going to stay at the Nickelodeon Hotel before, arriving on Thursday night. With adding the WB Repo cruise in May, we don't have time to add any extra days. We will have to fly home after the cruise on Saturday. Can't afford Jenna missing any days of school with her missing two weeks in May.

 

[Rellyrooly]

For this cruise we are going to stay at the Nickelodeon Hotel before, arriving on Thursday night.

Are you staying at the Nick Hotel before your Princess cruise or before the Disney Cruise? If you are staying there for the cruise coming up, I'd love to hear how your stay goes and if you recommend the Nick Hotel. Also, does the BC have their own character breakfast? I guess I didn't know if they do.

Will WDW have the halloween party going on after we return from the cruise? I tried to find info on it on the web but they don't have the schedule up yet. That is also something we have not done yet and need to try. I can't believe that there is always more to do that is new to us!

 

[gouodux]

Yeah, guess that was confusing. Can't type as fast as I think. We are staying at the Nick Hotel before the October 6th cruise. The Princess cruise is out of Galveston, TX.

They do have a character breakfast at the BC. I believe the name of the place is Cape May. Not positive, but it is right of the lobby. Kind of behind the bell desk.

 

[Laurabearz]

TO Answer some questions..


The Halloween party dates for 2007...
The dates for 2007 are: September 14, 21, 28, October 1, 4, 5,9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31


We are staying at the BCV's Before our trip... And Villa's of Wilderness Lodge after.

I have heard good things about the Nick Hotel and I know the kids squeal every time we drive by... http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/hifs/index.htm

There is a great fourm here for everything yu ever wanted to know about seaworld... http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32 they can prolly help with other hotels.

SO GLAD TO SEE NEW CRUISERS! Woot! I will update the list soon!

am holding a cat 12 ressie - which folks tell me we will automatically be put in at least cat 11 because there are no 4 person rooms in cat 12. I don't know why they let you reserve it. It looks like at this point I cannot pick a room for cat 11 - not sure why. You guys will still talk to me if I'm in the basement of the ship right?

Welcome! I beleive if you book a Cat 12 with 4, you wont know which Cat 11 you will have until closer to cruise time, DCL picks the cabin not you. But the good news is the ship is a great size and everything is a short walk

I am now working on figuring out what excursions we are going to do. I am thinking about the Dolphin Discovery , pirate cruise. But still not 100% sure. I saw someone mention renting electric cars & going to southernmost point & going to aquarium in Key West. Can you give me more info on that? It sounds like something we would like to do.

That was ME talking about all that well first if you Google key west electic cars you come up with a lot of companies. I havent checked them all out and we are a family of five and so far I have just found one company who fits 5...

The dolphin discovey in Cozumel and is at Chankannaab Park (which from now on we will refer to it as Chank Park ok? lol)

http://www.cozumelparks.org.mx/eng/parks-chankanaab.asp

I have done SNUBA there. It was fun and the DVD of it was wonderful!Now the last time was there (cozzumel) it was about 2 weeks before it was dystroyed with Hurricane Wilma was it?? But it was a wonderful place, with very freindly people. It was very easy to get there by taxi and I beleive much cheaper to book anything there directly as appose to thru disney. It's aobut 15-20 dollar cab ride and a 15-20 mintue ride.

The Valhalla in Grand Cayman... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1295891

Ok I think I hit everyone's big questions... I will add these links to the info post at the front for easy access I also found a great tip caculator!! Woot!



I CANT WAIT!!!

 

[TiffJ]

Selket-I did the same thing. I booked a gty 12 , but the good news it the cat 11's are on decks 5,6 & 7. Those are great decks. So I'll be happy with one of those (although I wont scoff at a balcony either ) My DS9 will also be in 5th grade when we cruise. My youngest will be in 1st.

 

[Selket]

Many thanks for the replies. Funny they let you book cat 12 with 4 people when they know you can't take it. I don't really get why they do that! I think it is $200 cheaper. I tried booking cat 11 online just to see if it would let me pick my room and it doesn't - so I figure I can't pick anyway so might as well save the $200.

Tiff - how old will your DS be on the cruise? My DS will be 9 still but within a month of his birthday. So I guess technically he can go into either age group for the kids club. I've looked at the activities a bit and I can't really tell which one he would prefer. He will be in 5th grade at that point too - like your DS I think!

So do we *have* to have passports? From what I've read it isn't required until 2008. I realize a passport is useful if you have a medical/family emergency and need to fly out of a port. I really don't want to spend the extra $300+ right now to get one though. Any thoughts on that? Anyone going without one?

 

[TiffJ]

Selket-sounds like we both have young 5th graders. Mine will still be 9 at time of cruise & wont be 10 until end of December. I havent even started looking at kids club activities yet. I may get flamed, but we are considering going without passports too. It would be around $400 & that is a lot of moula for something we will probably not need & wont be using again any time soon.

I am getting soooo excited about this cruise. I have been scouring cruise critic looking at info for excursions. May swim with dolphins but I also want to go to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. Ahhh, such tough decisions

 

[Selket]

Tiff - I asked my 9 yr old last night which kids club he thought he'd rather be in and he said the 8-9. Of course his idea of that might change by October. I noticed the 10-12 yr olds can check themselves out of the clubs - not sure if I'm ready for that!

I'm guessing the best idea is the passport cause of the risk of an emergency. I just wasn't sure what benefit there was beyond that. Of course I'd be hoping this wasn't our last cruise so I'd need a passport for the next one right? Just not sure if I want to shell out the money for it when it could mean the difference between us flying and driving down.

I was excited about the Cozumel stop and the possibility of going to the ruins but reading one of the trip reports makes me reconsider - the trip sounded a bit like a forced march! And a long ferry ride where many got seasick.... I could not take my 5 yr old on that of course - wouldn't think of it. I'm not sure what to do with him that day. He would need a very easy day and little risk of catching any food bugs in Mexico.

 

[Rellyrooly]

Tiff - I asked my 9 yr old last night which kids club he thought he'd rather be in and he said the 8-9. Of course his idea of that might change by October. I noticed the 10-12 yr olds can check themselves out of the clubs - not sure if I'm ready for that!

I'm guessing the best idea is the passport cause of the risk of an emergency. I just wasn't sure what benefit there was beyond that. Of course I'd be hoping this wasn't our last cruise so I'd need a passport for the next one right? Just not sure if I want to shell out the money for it when it could mean the difference between us flying and driving down.

I was excited about the Cozumel stop and the possibility of going to the ruins but reading one of the trip reports makes me reconsider - the trip sounded a bit like a forced march! And a long ferry ride where many got seasick.... I could not take my 5 yr old on that of course - wouldn't think of it. I'm not sure what to do with him that day. He would need a very easy day and little risk of catching any food bugs in Mexico.

Selket-

My son was in the 8-9's last year and he was actually able to check himself in & out there too (as long as you set him up that way). I was very nervous at first (I swore I would NEVER let him do it) but we became very friendly with our next door neighbors who have a child the same age (So friendly in fact that we are traveling with them again this year). The boys were always buddies and never left without one another. They were only allowed to go back to one of our rooms (our rule) and had to page us to tell us they had left. It worked out nicely because they would go back and play games and they really earned our trust that they didn't mess around.

As far as the excursions...we have done the Tulum ruins before and loved them. We did it without kids however, and unless you have a kid who finds that kind of stuff interesting, I could see them being bored. It does get very hot there and there is a fair amount of walking. The boat ride is pretty short and wasn't bad; just goes across to Playa del Carmen. From there, you get on a bus (air-conditioned) to the Yucutan Peninsula. The ride is pretty long and boring as there really isn't much scenery. Tulum was absolutely incredible and fascinating and I am really glad we have done it. I just don't know if I would do it with kids. Don't get me wrong, there were kids there but I don't know how much they cared. I guess you know your child best as to what they are interested in and I think it is a very individual thing. Just wanted to let you know of our experience....

 

[Selket]

Relly - thanks for that info. I didn't know 9 yr olds could check themselves out too. I can see it o.k. for some things - especially if they have a buddy! Never having been on a ship before I really can't even begin to imagine what I'd do at this point. I guess the default is always no - LOL!

The whole Tulum thing sounded sort of dreadful from the TR I was reading - mostly the ferry part - and forced march part - and them taking you all these places to buy stuff you don't want. I think my 9 yr old would enjoy it actually as I had planned to get some stuff on the Mayans and so forth to watch with him beforehand. Perhaps make a school project of it as he is missing school that week. Guess I don't have to book it today!

I still have to put the deposit down on my trip! I'm doing that tonight - had one last ? for the travel agent. I have bothered her relentlessly it seems. The insurance thing has really conflubberated me.

Did I read another post somewhere correctly that MNSSHP at WDW is Oct 5th for one of the dates? Anyone thinking of doing that? Thought we might fly (or drive) in early to get that the night before. I'd love to do it!

 

[TiffJ]

Carol-DS9 is already bugging me about checking out without me. We have been before, but I just dont know if I could relax worrying about that. He is so excited that he can get "free pizza" by the pool whenever he wants. Yea, you mean that pizza we are paying $3000 for?! DS9 wants to do the Dolphin swim in Cozumel. It is very expensive so we'll have to wait & see. DS6 is not old enough to actually swim with them but he can do the encounter where he gets in the water (with a life vest & I think standing on a platform) and pet & kiss the dolphins. I am really hoping we can do this, it would be a once in a lifetime experience. I am also considering Paradise Beach. Looks relaxing & fun!

My parents have now booked so they are coming along. Now, just to figure out how to get my dad in a pirate costume without him knowing it