Sailing the Ocean Blue...October 6, 2012 Eastern Fantasy

[BigRed1]

Afternoon .... room for another couple?

We (my fiance Mick and I) have just swapped from the Western in September to the Eastern in October and we'll be very happy to join you

It'll be our 6th Disney sailing and will complete our plan to do all 4 ships!
We're from Kent in the UK (south east of London) and I work for the Olympic Organising Committee so right now, we're hectic with 46 days to go!

The cruise will be pure relaxation, but after reading a report this morning about Maho Beach, I think we may have to pay it a visit .. if only to get blown away by the jet engines!!

Anyway, I'd love to join in with the FE's (Room 7538), but I'll have to limit how many I do as I won't have much time to make things between now and then!

I haven't read every page, so could someone let me know if a cocktail mixology class has been organised as we like them.

Thanks .. looking forward to meeting you all.

Joa and Mick

Aboard!! I haven't seen any discussion about it but I am interested in the mixology class. Maybe we can 'stir up' some interest!!

Me again (I really should read the whole thread before posting)!!

With your FE, are you saying that we should buy for every person in the stateroom? I only ask as I've never done it like that before ... I've always been told it's per stateroom and you don't need to cater for individual people.

I'm easily confused I must say as my brain is mush right now, so apologies if I've got that completely wrong!

Thanks for organising Beth.

All the FE's I have participated in, it was your choice how to do it. I am doing one per stateroom but, I am doing both groups.

 

[Fºoºz]

ok this is knowing we are starting to get close... my son's inlaws booked us 2 cabanas at Castaway!!!...of course they are platnium members but still....

LUCKY LUCKY YOU! Guess we all know who to cozy up to now

Thank You Sue, I am so happy that I got a pic of all of them together It was hard to pull Rory away from her brother and sister today, but it was an awesome day with them

Cute kids ...

Me again (I really should read the whole thread before posting)!!

With your FE, are you saying that we should buy for every person in the stateroom? I only ask as I've never done it like that before ... I've always been told it's per stateroom and you don't need to cater for individual people.

I'm easily confused I must say as my brain is mush right now, so apologies if I've got that completely wrong!

Thanks for organising Beth.

I believe that you can do one or the other or mix it up ... we will probably mix it up as we are doing B2B cruises so that is a lot of FE we will be participating in ... and since we are from Canada (Happy Queen's Diamond Jubilee by the way), I will likely ship all our FE trinkets ahead of time to my DW's sister in Houston who will then forward it on to be delivered to our cabin on the Fantasy.

I would like to ship it directly to the ship but since we are shipping into the US from outside the US, Customs and Duty taxes would apply so my SIL will be able to pay for it then. It would be too much to carry with us with our luggage as we need to pack enough to tide us over for the month that we are away celebrating our 20th and my big significant milestone birthday!

Looks like this is going to be a HUGE group ... so I better get start planning. And speaking of planning ...

THIS IS IN ADDITION OR SEPARATE FROM THE FISH EXTENDER EXCHANGE THAT BETH MADE FOR US....
I had read from Beth's email that some people wanted to be added to both lists. I am willing to exchange FE gifts with those who are on page 1 of the list if they would like to. If you would like to exchange with people not on your list (along with the people who are on your list) you can post that you would like to do that. I hope this is not confusing. For instance, Beth might pm me or post on here that she would like to exchange FE gifts with me. I would add her to my list I already have on page 2 and she would add me to her list that she already has on page 1. That way if more people want to exchange they can, and if they don't, they don't have to and there's no pressure. You only have to do what's on your list made by Beth. Anything you do extra would be between you and that person. I hope that makes sense. The best way would be to put yourself out there that you are willing if you are and then you can exchange with everyone that wants to or pick and choose by pm (don't want to hurt anyone's feelings) if there are certain people you would like to exchange with. Like I said, I'm interested in adding anyone to my list who would like to exchange. Just let me know.

Nice idea MickieMinnieMelanie ... still working on what all our FE "trinkets" would be but I'm sure we will have extras ... if so, I would love just giving them away to others not on our list ... it's just so much fun giving than receiving ... and who can't have fun when you're immersed in the Disney experience

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Afternoon .... room for another couple?

We (my fiance Mick and I) have just swapped from the Western in September to the Eastern in October and we'll be very happy to join you

It'll be our 6th Disney sailing and will complete our plan to do all 4 ships!
We're from Kent in the UK (south east of London) and I work for the Olympic Organising Committee so right now, we're hectic with 46 days to go!

The cruise will be pure relaxation, but after reading a report this morning about Maho Beach, I think we may have to pay it a visit .. if only to get blown away by the jet engines!!

Anyway, I'd love to join in with the FE's (Room 7538), but I'll have to limit how many I do as I won't have much time to make things between now and then!

I haven't read every page, so could someone let me know if a cocktail mixology class has been organised as we like them.

Thanks .. looking forward to meeting you all.

Joa and Mick

Aboard Joa

Glad that you will "Sailing the Ocean Blue" with us.

Here is a link to the Roll Call Page with all the information that you may need for our cruise: http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42164177&postcount=63

If you are interested in the FE please click on the FE Form link and fill out the necessary information.

As for as the FE goes. Your Stateroom provides a gift for everybody in the participating Stateroom, that is why everybody had a pocket on their FE Extender. I will add you group two of the FE list, since group 1 is so large, I am adding any new cruisers to group two.

Again, Welcome Aboard. Cannot wait to meet you and your fiance on our cruise

Beth

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

From recent comments that I have read, I have noticed that some Participants in the FE Exchange are only doing one gift per Stateroom. Please inform if you plan on doing this type of exchange, this way I can notify the other participants so they are aware they will be receiving only one gift from your Stateroom.

Thank you,

Beth

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Cute kids ...

Thank you

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

From what I understood, I am doing individual gifts for each person in the stateroom that I have on my list and maybe a family stateroom gift as well (haven't decided yet). We don't have that many in our group. I am also going to give gifts to the ones in the other group as well with anyone who wants to participate? I am also personalizing some of my FE gifts so if ya'll will read your private messages and respond I would appreciate it so I can get started.
Thanks.
Welcome Joa and Mick!

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Found out my other daughter is having a girl

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

How exciting! When is she due? Does this make #4? How many other children do you have?

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

How exciting! When is she due? Does this make #4? How many other children do you have?

She is due November 10th, I have a son, who is my eldest and he states he never moving lol even in front of he gf, so I am not expecting any com him in the near future

 

[Georgia3]

From recent comments that I have read, I have noticed that some Participants in the FE Exchange are only doing one gift per Stateroom. Please inform if you plan on doing this type of exchange, this way I can notify the other participants so they are aware they will be receiving only one gift from your Stateroom.

Thank you,

Beth

Beth,
In the past my family has received both family and individual gifts being part of the FE exchange. The Fish Extender are special surprise gifts from other families. The only known in any of the FE's I have participated in is which cabin to deliver your gift to.
Our last FE gift was a journal made specifically for the Magical cruise we were on and a customized pen to journal with. I had many people comment on the ease of journaling since it guided us thru each destination. I could not afford to have one made for each person. As I think having more then one it would have not been used.
My point is the FE is a surprise - having people tell you what to expect takes away from the unknown.
Thanks again for organizing this -
Tracy

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Beth,
In the past my family has received both family and individual gifts being part of the FE exchange. The Fish Extender are special surprise gifts from other families. The only known in any of the FE's I have participated in is which cabin to deliver your gift to.
Our last FE gift was a journal made specifically for the Magical cruise we were on and a customized pen to journal with. I had many people comment on the ease of journaling since it guided us thru each destination. I could not afford to have one made for each person. As I think having more then one it would have not been used.
My point is the FE is a surprise - having people tell you what to expect takes away from the unknown.
Thanks again for organizing this -
Tracy

I just think it would be fair to let others know if they are receiving a gift for the stateroom and not each individual, this way if they wish to only give one gift per person to those staterooms, it evens everything out.

And if there are people in the stateroom that are not related and are guests of the family, they lose out on the FE gift. Not to mention that the kids look forward to getting the gifts and may not understand why they did not receive one.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

I have to say that I agree with both of you. However, I do see the issue with the children. I guess depending on what the family gift is depends on the children's reactions. Especially small children. Something that may be a wonderful FE gift for the family may not mean anything to the child and then they feel like only mom and dad got something and not them. You could do a family gift and then if the children were under a certain age?? give them a small gift as well (something inexpensive to go in their pocket). JMO

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

Beth,
In the past my family has received both family and individual gifts being part of the FE exchange. The Fish Extender are special surprise gifts from other families. The only known in any of the FE's I have participated in is which cabin to deliver your gift to.
Our last FE gift was a journal made specifically for the Magical cruise we were on and a customized pen to journal with. I had many people comment on the ease of journaling since it guided us thru each destination. I could not afford to have one made for each person. As I think having more then one it would have not been used.
My point is the FE is a surprise - having people tell you what to expect takes away from the unknown.
Thanks again for organizing this -
Tracy

Since FE's have multiple pockets, which pocket do you put them in?

 

[Georgia3]

Since FE's have multiple pockets, which pocket do you put them in?

Usually the top pocket.

 

[Georgia3]

I just think it would be fair to let others know if they are receiving a gift for the stateroom and not each individual, this way if they wish to only give one gift per person to those staterooms, it evens everything out.

And if there are people in the stateroom that are not related and are guests of the family, they lose out on the FE gift. Not to mention that the kids look forward to getting the gifts and may not understand why they did not receive one.

It is usually noted on the FE list if there is not a relative - friends sharing a cabin is an example and then 2 of the gift was given. Which I had in 2 cabins on the last cruise. No one expects anything -getting a surprise is the fun of the experience.
As some people let you know who the gift is from some people some like to keep it a surprise. It should not matter the quantity of gifts, it is the thought that counts. My kids and any of the other family kids we have traveled with NEVER said how come I did not get something is my pocket? When we got a family gift we were just as excited cause it was something we can all enjoy together.
This is our third FE and I have never had to tell anyone what to expect. Like I said before it is a surprise. DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING! THEN YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!
In the end no one keeps a checklist of what they got from who, we do it to because we want to put a smile on someones face!

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

It is usually noted on the FE list if there is not a relative - friends sharing a cabin is an example and then 2 of the gift was given. Which I had in 2 cabins on the last cruise. No one expects anything -getting a surprise is the fun of the experience.
As some people let you know who the gift is from some people some like to keep it a surprise. It should not matter the quantity of gifts, it is the thought that counts. My kids and any of the other family kids we have traveled with NEVER said how come I did not get something is my pocket? When we got a family gift we were just as excited cause it was something we can all enjoy together.
This is our third FE and I have never had to tell anyone what to expect. Like I said before it is a surprise. DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING! THEN YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!
In the end no one keeps a checklist of what they got from who, we do it to because we want to put a smile on someones face!

Ok then the general feeling I am getting is like before, I do not know what I am doing, and I took over the FE Exchange because the original person who volunteered jumped ship and nobody else wanted to deal with it. From what I researched, from the general FE Exchange info, was that a stateroom provided a gift for everybody in each stateroom. If I am doing something so wrong, I will step down and somebody else can take over the FE Exchange, because to be honest it is getting too much like a job and not fun anymore. I think most do not think it is fair that somebody buys 4 gifts for one stateroom and then another stateroom only buys one gift for everybody in that stateroom. I know I am not that only one that feels this way. I do not mean to be rude, but if this is the way some people think, I am having second thoughts. I really thought that we were on the same page, providing a gift for everyone in a stateroom, this is why the FE Extenders have a pocket for everybody in the stateroom. Why should I give somebody four gifts if I my stateroom only getting one???? Seems like somebody is getting the better end of the deal.

I would like to know from everybody if you would like somebody else to do the FE before we get closer to the cruise. I will hand over the list and responsibility to somebody who can deal with some who do not want to do an actual FE Exchange and tailor the list to everybody needs.

 

[MissMet]

Add us to the list!

Me (lisa) 26
DH (Matt) will be 33 at sailing

We have a Cat 6 GTY booked.

We're newlyweds from NY & this will be Matt's first DCL cruise!! Really it will be like his first cruise period as he's only cruised once over 15 years ago & doesn't remember any of it. This is my 11th cruise but only 5th DCL cruise & first time on one of the new ships. So excited!

Would have joined sooner but the last year or so has been CRAZY for us. Now I'm back into full on DIS boards stalking, obsessive planning mode.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Beth, I think you are doing a wonderful job. On my only other cruise and only other FE I made stateroom gifts rather than one pp but added items for the kids in the cabins with kids. I made personalized tote bags and just couldn't afford to do one pp. I also have to fly this time all the way across the county plus down from over Montana to Orlando and luggage prices on airlines make it almost impossible for me to get something for each person. I do understand your point but I believe many who do gifts pp give smaller/cheaper gifts pp and those who give per stateroom usually give bigger/more expensive items I don't think anyone on our cruise felt gipped only getting one tote from us.

 

[Fºoºz]

Hi Everyone ...

TaTaForNow1968 (Beth) ... DW and I appreciate all the hard work you've put into maintaining the FE exchange for Sailing the Ocean Blue - THANKS!

Like you, this will be our first experience with the FE exchange process (well technically, it will be our 2nd as the 1st will be the Sept 29th Western Itinerary cruise just b4 this cruise ... we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary on the first cruise ... and my significant milestone birthday on this cruise). So I was absolutely clueless as to the etiquette regarding this whole process; type of FE gifts, what FE were and how to make one (or NOT - we are ordering ours as we are definitely not crafty people) ... and so forth. From what I can gather, like you, it is usually a small surprise for each person in the stateroom ...

However, we understand that going on a Disney cruise is not exactly inexpensive and with the current financial environment in this world it can be certainly hard to make ends meet. Like Tracy (Georgia3), we are of the belief that it is the thought that counts ... so for those out there, please do not feel precluded from participating in this wonderful activity if the pressure of providing a gift for each person is too difficult ...

I keep forgetting that Disney cruises will be different than other cruises as the ratio of families onboard will certainly be in the majority.

So I took a closer look at the FE list and had to go back through some of the stuff I already had set aside earlier this year. So far, I found that there was only one or two cabins from both cruises that we had gotten a single gift ... both were couples only ... and are celebrating an Anniversary. Still have a ton of work to do though as I hadn't done anything for the past few months

For the families, DW and I definitely got little surprises for each individual child ... if it was a couple or for parents though, we may look at possibly a gift for their house or something they could both share ... as it is harder to gauge what adults do or do not like as opposed to kids and teenagers!

Anyways I tend to ramble but want to reassure you Beth, that we certainly understand the pressures of what it is like to manage a large group ... and that overall your responsibility is to the group and to the task at hand. What is that old adage ... you can't please everyone all the time ...

So let's go have some fun ... and speaking of fun ... MickeyMinnieMelanie I didn't realize you are in the smaller group so you can count DW and I in as a participant in your cross-group exchange

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

*************************************************

“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today," said Pooh.

"There there," said Piglet. "I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

*************************************************

“Bouncy trouncy flouncy pouncy fun fun fun fun fun. The most wonderful thing about tiggers is I'm the only one!”
― A.A. Milne

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

I understand that there are limitations on money and space, I just wanted to give all participating to know who will be providing only one gift, this way they can decide if they would like to provide only one gift to that stateroom or provide a gift for everybody in it, just to be fair.