PreTrippie (aka King Charming Takes Hypermommy (and family) on another cruise)

[magic1bubbles]

that would just add to the magic of the trip!

 

[Hypermommy]

So since we're not doing excursions this time ... well, the boys might. We told them that if they wanted to do excursions they'd have to come up with their own money for it. I know... that sounds horribly mean. But remember that they'll be 16 and 14 at the time of the cruise. It's time for them to learn the value of a dollar for sure. And besides, if DS12 (now) ever learns to do his chores without being reminded then his allowance will be reinstated and he could save up to $300. And that's if he doesn't get any birthday or Christmas money at all (yeah.... that's gonna happen).

So, since we're not doing excursions this time, I'm starting to think about what I do want to do. I think I want to do the galley tour. That'd be kind of neat. I think I'm going to go through some old Navigators as well so I can see what kinds of things are offered.

I wonder how much the schedule changes week to week.

 

[dismom73]

I'm having fun reading this, mainly because I will be going a month and a half before you and I'm already jumping up and down excited. We have even made a count down chain, yep, only 393 days left!

 

[Hypermommy]

Hey, King Charming,

Think you'll make another stop by that "gentleman's club"? What was it called -- Cheaters?

Who'm I kidding? Is the Pope Catholic???? LOL

Just be careful... it'll be Friday the 13th, won't it?

Dismom... Love the idea of a countdown chain? Is it a paper chain? We did a countdown "advent" calendar on our back door before the last cruise but right now that'd be a bit much.... no place to put hundreds of mickey heads (although the house would look great with them up all over the place).

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Another KC and Hypermommy Cruise! I so enjoyed your last one and already looking forward to the next - although my cruise will be long gone away in the distance by the time you go!! Happy planning!

 

[dismom73]

Yes, it is a paper chain. It is a little out of control...393 chains left, but we had fun making it!

 

[Hypermommy]

Yes, it is a paper chain. It is a little out of control...393 chains left, but we had fun making it!

Sounds like fun! Where do you have it strung? Can you share a picture??

 

[dismom73]

Funny you should ask, I just learned how to post them this morning so I could post some on my cruise meet thread.

As you can see it is strung in our kitchen. We have started the habit of ripping one off each morning and reciting the phrase, "One day closer". The kids still look forward to it each morning, and we started with 450 days. We are now "down to" 393!

 

[Hypermommy]

Oh, yeah!!!! I'm all about doing one of these. Will have to get on it soon. Not sure where I'm going to put it becuase we live in a duplex but I guess that just means the Disney magic will be all over the place!!! Great idea!!!!

 

[King Charming]

As an active Castaway Club member (finally), there are many things I want to be sure to do again. In no particular order they are;

Staying at the 'resort at the port' the night before. The Radisson had no hidden charges. A free shuttle to the port, free parking during the week, a great pool and hot tub, landscaped nicely, and a good room. With taxes, less than $ 125.

Playing Bingo the final session. As a non Bingo player I don't have to worry about screwing up if I rent the handheld computer unit that plays multiple games automatically. The first 3 games average $1K jackpots, the final one $8-10K! It would be SO nice to pay for another cruise by winning that last one, and the odds are so much lower than the lottery, so why not. I'll be sure to get there early as they had a limited number of these handheld units (even at $99 for the unit that plays 72 cards each game).

Go to the port early. We got a #4 boarding pass last time, but there is always something to do or see in the terminal. Mr. & Mrs. big ears show up for photos, the scale ship model, or just hunting down fellow DIS'ers. The sooner you are sitting on deck with your favorite beverage, the happier everybody will be.

Use coins for tips. I brought along scores of dollar and half dollar coins to pass around. Their uniqueness almost made up for my cheapness, even though I gave away over $ 400.

Oh yeah, that place down the road for another nightcap. With a $7 cover charge and a couple of $ 7 shots (w/tip), it's a great place to kill an hour.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I'm on board for another fun TR!

Glad you rebooked....I enjoy your back and forth commentary! Love the tag team TR!

 

[laura001]

I too look forward to following your report, loved the last one! We sail on our first cruise in May of 2009 and hope we enjoy it as much as all of you have!

 

[Hypermommy]

Oh you will!!! You pretty much have to be dead not to enjoy the cruise!!! Are you going to write a trip report so we can live vicariously through you?

 

[King Charming]

I really had a good time last April, so of course there were alot of things worth repeating. Again, in no particular order:

Take a thousand digital photos. Since there is no photo processing fee, go ahead and take 8 or 10 pics of the sunset knowing you only want a couple.

About photos, go ahead and budget for buying some of the Shutters pictures. With cool borders and great backdrops, these will become the most personalized souvenirs you could ever want. (Besides, don't those folks look good?)

Stay out of the room, unless it is your honeymoon. Sure you can have a good time there , buy that's not why you came. Get up on deck, to the shows, the ports, the pools, the people, the food, you get the drift.

The sailaway party is a must. Such a high energy get together with a thousand or so of your best friends. An excellent way to start the cruise.

The pirate party was pretty good also, but add in the fireworks and the buffet and you can be sure I'll be there again.

Indulge yourself. For me it was a night of champagne and Cuban cigars. Are you really going to be on the ship so often that you can't use this as THE reason for doing it your way?

Hit the laundry room/ironing early in the day. Not only will your stuff be where you left it, but the improperly vented room will be cooler.

Swim later in the day. Seems most everybody starts with a dip in the pool, then gets on with the day. We were on a full ship but deck chairs were available throughout the day and there were noticeably less folks/kids in the pools.

Go ahead and over pack. The first time you have to buy something in the ship's shop and pay 2, 3, or 4 times what it's worth, you'll remember this advice. Besides, the porters handle most of the luggage anyway.

Get involved in your pre cruise meet thread. Knowing peolpe you can wave at or chat with WILL make the journey more enjoyable.

 

[Hypermommy]

Okay, time to start some planning. It's only 14 months and 2 weeks out so it's time to get serious, right?

Actually, today I did find time to go through some recent Navigators to see the activities. I want to do all I can, but here's what I found that I really, really want to do. Don't know if I'll get to do it all, but here's the plan.

Character pictures (lots of them but in particular Sorcerer Mickey & Cap'n Jack Sparrow)

Trivia games (I love trivia - just ask KC and he'll tell you that my head is full of useless information ). So I'll do PubQuest, Magic Quest, Mickey Mania Game Show, Think You Know Your Music, Cruisin' for Trivia, Disney Tune Trivia (thanks to listening to dtuneslive every day I should know a few ), Who Wants to be a Mousketeer, Pirate Trivia Quest, and Pub Master Challenge

I'd like to do Match Your Mate, but I know enough about KC to know he's not going to do that. Even though we have a GREAT answer to "where's the most interesting place you've ever 'discovered the magic'?"

Also along the lines of trivia, I'll attend these presentations that sound like they could be interesting (if they still have them): Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour, Behind the Scenes: An Inside Look, Stageworks (the working of the theater), Behind the Scenes: Tokyo Disney Sea, Walking Ship Tour

Shows - I won't go see Twice Charmed again. It was okay but it was too much like that video Twist in Time or whatever that they have out. I want to see something different so I'll go to the Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams and I'll probably make time for the Remember the Magic show too.

I also want to learn to do a few new things, such as Art of Entertaining: Appetizer, Origami Flowers, Art of Entertaining: Napkin Folding, Latin Dance Class, Towel Folding class

Of course we will play bingo on the last day

And because I'm such an introvert (cough, cough, sputter, sputter) I'll see about trying out Disney Kareoke

I want to play Wii games in Diversions. It's the only video game system out right now wherein the controller doesn't confuse me. Whatever happened to a joystick and a button?

Beer Tasting

Comedy & Caberet Acts

Of course, the Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party and Buffett will not be missed this time

Serenity Bay, Serenity Bay, Serenity Bay, Serenity Bay, Serenity Bay ... guess where you'll find me on Castaway Cay days

The treasure hunt on CC sounds like it could be fun

Finally, I hope that we book another cruise online. I know it'll be quite some time before we can take the cruise but I know folks in the past that have booked online but then moved it out. I know Disney did some changes to what you can do with that in re moving it out but I want to find out for sure what my options are before I go.

Will I be able to do all of this? Oh, I doubt it. But this gives me a pretty good list to start with. But I still probably need to pare it down. And that's where I need audience participation. I need you guys that are reading this to chime in if you've done any of the stuff I mentioned. Let me know if you liked it or not and if you'd do it again or not and why? Looking forward to reading your thoughts on any and all of this.

Except KCs on rebooking.... I think I already know his thoughts on that ;-)

 

[magic1bubbles]

my thoughts exactly! i can't offer any ideas since this will be our first time, but i sure am learning thru u 2 & loving every minute of it

 

[King Charming]

So what do you post 14 months out in a ptr? Yeah, I've been scratching my head over that one for a week now. Sure, there are the general plans about what we'd like to do this time around, like making it over to Serenity Bay or seeing some shows, but not a lot of actual stuff needs to get done yet. I'm sure Mickey hasn't minded receiving payments, no matter how small they are; but I'm still juiced about the whole idea and don't mind writting the checks. I hope I still feel this way in February after I've continually given my money away to a dream I won't see for another 8 or 9 more months, but still have many, many more payments due.

One positive aspect of all this is that DW finally got around to completely emptying all the suitcases from last April. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff we came home with. Granted, we severely overpacked, taking half a medicine chest and everything else, but came home with WAY too much junk. From the Navigators to the napkins, drink of the day cups to DCL trinkets, it ALL came home. Then there was the expected shopping stuff, T-shirts, pins, photos, scrapbooks, etc. plus all the clutter we brought (sans booze), it's no wonder I ended up buying a rolling DCL tote bag to help us take everything home. I had expected the 2 rolling bags full of booze to be empty and useful in storing our new booty for the trip home, but it wasn't nearly enough room.

So with the suitcases empty, it was easy to see what stuff wouldn't be missed and could be packed away. Some of these items were purchased for the cruise and it will be darn useful for the next one. However, most of the stuff was any piece of paper that had DCL on it. 'It'll look good in the scrapbook' she repeated over and over again. One or two items would be a cool keepsake, but everything? Nobody prepared me for this phenomenon, so if you see yourself here, pack accordingly.

 

[Hypermommy]

Ahhhhhh, KC... I don't think you are capable of understanding. Nothing personal my darling, but you being a guy and NOT a packrat... just one of those things you won't "get". Ladies, especially those of you that scrapbook, do you see any problems with my thought processes? I didn't think so. KC, you'll just have to chalk that one up to all being part of the wonderful experience that is loving me. You lucky guy!

But that gets me to thinking.... I think I should start a packing list soon. I mean, we'll need the time to pare it down, right? I'm still taking half a medicine chest, if not the whole thing. There's no way I'm going to pay Disney prices for a Tylenol or Immodium or something like that.

Well, the big news today is that it's DS13's birthday. Yep, no more DS12... he's morphed. We've been having fun all week saying goodbye to version 12 because today's the day that version 13 moves in. We were also teasing him at the end of last week that we were going to give him a hurricane for his birthday but Ike had other plans.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hypermommy - I've been able to do quite a few of the things on your list and have to agree that as a 2nd-time cruiser, it's a great idea to make time for the non-port things that you missed the first time around. That is what is so great about DCL - there is always something to do either onboard or in port.

We did the galley tour and it was really interesting to see the inner-workings of how DCL serves about 2,700 guests plus 1,000+ crew three times a day every day (plus in-between meals). I think that the "nasty" guests in the dining room should be mandated to take the galley tour so they can appreciate how much choreography goes into the food experience on the ships. I know that it gave us a great perspective on how much work goes into making the meals the experience that they are, so while we're waiting at our table for our next course to come out, we know that our servers aren't just standing around in the kitchen

The Art of Entertainment series is interesting, too. They do it like a cooking show with the mirrors and everything... and you get to taste it afterwards (as well as a free sample of wine for those who want it).

Serenity Bay -- aaaahhhhhh........ enough said

The behind the scenes with the theater/stage is really interesting, too - and definitely gives one more appreciation for the performers who already do an outstanding job. To see the challenges they face by performing on the open seas vs on a land stage, well - it's really interesting. And an up-close look at some of the costumes was worth it to me.

Let's see, what else? I always like to go to the opening night show and the last night show. The first night sets the tone, and then the last night wraps things up like a big hug.

Our next trip is coming up soon (ssshhhh... it's still a secret at less than 100 days to go - and we booked in April 2007 so we'll have had more than 14 months to plan!) and my goal is to "eat my way around the ship" by exploring all the opportunities I've missed on our previous trips... like lunching at Serenity Bay, having a pastry at the Cove Cafe', or pre-dinner snacks in the Promenade Lounge, or fajitas from the Pirate buffet, or........... well, you get the idea!

 

[dismom73]

Reading your TR is making me feel more "sane". Our trip is 13 months out and every adult around me (my kids are always good fun in talking about what we will do when we first walk onto the ship)thinks I'm crazy for even mentioning a vacation that is a year and a month away. So I just back away slowly and log onto the disboards to get my fix.