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

[QueenGuinevere]

Only 6 days to go. Now every day I'm thinking..."this time next week I'll be..." These 6 days are going to go by VERY slowly! Already packed, ready 2go!!

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Only 6 days to go. Now every day I'm thinking..."this time next week I'll be..." These 6 days are going to go by VERY slowly! Already packed, ready 2go!!

I am almost packed, but keep on going through the luggage trying to downsize...ugh. I really hate the OCD thing, it is killing me.

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Sitting in the cruise terminal to board the Dream. Have a great week everyone.

Just watched the Dream Sail Away, took a couple of screen shots that I will post later.

 

[BigRed1]

Hey BigRed, have you heard about the mixology class?

Not a word. I will try to contact them tomorrow.

 

[QueenGuinevere]

I am almost packed, but keep on going through the luggage trying to downsize...ugh. I really hate the OCD thing, it is killing me.

Downsize? Lol I wish! I keep adding, and adding...

 

[BigRed1]

We are so excited to be on the cruise as well!! We are a part of a LARGE group...30 or so of us!! See you all soon...Happy sailing!

Aboard!!! If you by chance you will be in Port Canaveral Friday night, feel free to join us @ Fishlips @ 5pm for dinner!!

Facebook and Disboards meets​

Fri- Oct 5- Pre Cruise @ Port Canaveral

Place-Fishlips restaurant Time: 5:00PM- ?????


Sat-Oct 6- Day 1-EMBARKATION DAY

PLACE—Tables behind Nemo’s Reef - Deck 11
TIME: 3:00 PM


Mon- Oct 8- Day 3- At Sea Day

Possible Mixology Class – for the ones that signed up with Allen


Tues- Oct 9-Day 4- St Maarten- 8am-6:30pm

(Pirate photo op)
Place- - Atrium Deck 3 Time: 9:00PM


Thur- Oct 11- Day 6- At Sea Day

(Celebration of 10-11-12)
Place- Oh La La – Deck 4 Time: 9pm-11pm
You can pop in during the 2 hours so you don’t have to rush and get there I know there is some early birds and late owls


Fri – Oct 12- Day7 – Castaway Cay 9:45am- 4:30pm

(Beach Photo Op)
Place- Mt. Rustmore Time: 4:00pm

I didn't know how much everyone wanted to do. I thought this gives everyone a chance to be in at least one photo..
Julie

Great job Julie! Thanks!!

I am almost packed, but keep on going through the luggage trying to downsize...ugh. I really hate the OCD thing, it is killing me.

Got my gadget bag packed, carry on almost done. Still have the big one to go...

 

[TinkLoverSam]

About 90% packed... I still have toiletries and the carry-ons but I have almost all the clothes packed!

 

[Fºoºz]

We're here ... we're here ... we're here ...

Day 3 - about 2 hrs away from Grand Cayman (by tender ... I think we will skip it ... no biggie as we've been to all the ports before on this cruise) ... weather is clearing up as it was overcast earlier so it looks like it'll be a nice day.

Fantasy is absolutely beautiful ... attention to detail is fascinating! As this is our first cruise with DCL, it is quite a treat to see the difference in how Disney does cruising ... HINT: take a close look at the prints in the frames spread throughout the ship ... ingenious ...

This FE thing is absolutely a blast ... was concerned when at first we didn't see our box of goodies we sent from Canada ... but after dinner, it was in our stateroom ... a little bit worn but safe and sound. All of the FE gifts have been fun - there are some pretty ingenious people around that is for sure! Took a while to deliver our FE gifts but it was a great way to see and know your way around the ship ... and it took the place of my gym workout for the day. I know there is no steadfast rule about labelling who the FE gifts are from as we had several we don't know who they are from ... but it would be nice to know ...

... especially one of the FE gifts we got ... a plastic finger (and you know what finger that would be !!) with a screw top lid at the bottom of the digit! Did NOT know what to make of it at all ... until I decided the next day to open it ... I knew it was filled with some sort of fluid but what kind ... natural in my job to be suspicious so was leery ... but it was a bubble blower thingamajiggy ... funnniest thing ever!!!

Internet connection is absolutely Jurassic ... slowest on any cruise ship I've been on ... so won't be spending too much time other than a quick download of emails etc ... I see this thread has been busy but here goes ...

So how do you know when your room is ready? Are you locked out until after its cleaned? Are your bags put inside your room or left outside? Gotta love the newbies... Julie

If you mean the ship, they will generally open the room corridors between 1 & 1:30. If you are not in your room when your luggage is delivered, they will leave it in your room. If you are on a B2B like Fºoºz, you are allowed to go back to your room @ 11:30. At the resorts, they will text or call you when you room is ready.

Shulie13 All the entrances to the stateroom corridors on all the decks are "roped off" with a sign indicating that access to staterooms will commence at 1:30 pm. First time ever that we've encountered this on a cruise. Instead we found a nice couch area in Vista Lounge I think on deck 3 and crashed out there until 1:30. Went and brought some lunch back ... DW (and I) snoozed for a bit as we were absolutely exhausted from attending the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage the night before (RECOMMEND!).

I have to admit though that drop off and check-in was the smoothest and quickest in all the times we have been cruising!

BigRed1 ... Good to know we'll have earlier access to our stateroom on this upcoming cruise.

In the meantime, just find a lounge or go for lunch until 1:30 - no use hanging out on the by the elevators/stairs waiting for the rope to drop as EVERYONE is on the same ride ... or if you packed approp with your carry-ons, you can go dip into the pools etc ...

In regards to luggage, here is a few observations ...

• We were "missing" our fourth piece of luggage when we went off for dinner @ 5:45 pm ... still a no show when we returned to our stateroom. My DW was speaking to our stateroom attendant about the issue when I noticed the voice mail message indicator light flashing on our stateroom phone. There was a message from Guest Services indicating they had our missing piece of luggage. It was being held for pick-up at Guest Services but not before "confiscating" our travel iron that security had indicated was inside the suitcase. Totally had forgotten about it ... had packed it for our time before and after the cruise. No problem ... when I got down to GS, CM was super-polite ... opened the suitcase, handed in the iron ... she gave me a receipt ... will pick it up before we disembark next week.
  
• Our neighbours next door were not so fortunate ... after we picked up our suitcase, she popped her head out of her stateroom and asked if we had accidentally picked up her suitcase (as all luggage is left outside the stateroom for you to take in). They were missing one piece and it was an important one as it had her glasses/contacts in them - she said she wasn't looking forward to being "blind as a bat" for the cruise ... but most importantly it contained her husband's medication. I passed on our experience with GS and recommended she check with them.
  
• The next day, I ran into her and her family ... their missing suitcase mysteriously showed up outside their stateroom earlier that day ... everything was there EXCEPT for her husband's medication - narcotic painkillers! He can make do with other non-RX meds but ...
  
• Can't fault them at all regarding breaking the cardinal rule of putting all important items in your carry-on (in fact, the porter at the DCL terminal made specific mention of ensuring we had all our documentation etc with us before he took our luggage away!) Look at what happened to me when I thought I had left our driver's licences back home when we landed in Seattle on our way down here - and I missed the DIS meet for this group because I had left that information in one of the suitcases that was checked in! Things sometimes just doesn't go according to plan ...

One week from today, we will also be at MK, celebrating a birthday at MNSSHP. Many of you will be gathering at Fishlips, getting warmed up for all the fun to come. Wherever you may be next Friday night, here's wishing you all safe travels to the ship.

MNSSHP was a blast - have fun!

***REMINDER*** I will have a dry erase board on my door for any stateroom changes as well for any meets or notes. My stateroom number is 6508.

Beth

I am working on that right now... was trying to wait and hear if we were going to have anything from Disney about mixology class/ I also thought I would deliver it with FE gifts.. for those already there...I am posting it on Facebook and here. I will also have a dry board on my door 6050..

Have three pieces of luggage packed.. this is the most luggage I have packed in a long time.. hard to believe I can go to Europe with just a backpack for three week and for 12 days I have 4 suitcases and 2 carry on..

Julie

An absolute necessity ... thanks Beth!


Shulie13 Yes ... thanks for listing all the meets! I will certainly look at your board for any changes to the meets ... will definitely try and make it this time! ... I know the feeling about too much luggage ... but unbelievably, there is room underneath the bed for our four pieces of luggage, two carry-ons and my box of FE gifts!

Disney_Alli and I just walked the CIBC Run for the Cure 5k this morning... It has convinced me that with 7 straight park days after the cruise I probably should not do the CC5K my ankle is pretty sore and I need to be able to get around the parks with as little pain as possible.

Highly recommend renting a scooter for the parks ... had one for my DW and it was a god-send! We had one you could break-down and put in the back of the SUV we rented as wanted to bypass the Disney resort transpo and the time waiting for the buses etc ... if you are taking advantage of Disney transpo though, then go for a regular scooter. I think I can't mention any of the companies but if you google scooter rentals for the orlando area, there is one company that is advertising a special for rentals. We're going with that company for when we get back from the cruises and head over to Universal. If you never have been to WDW before, trust me, a scooter is essential if you are disabled or have mobility/stamina issues.

Aboard!!! If you by chance you will be in Port Canaveral Friday night, feel free to join us @ Fishlips @ 5pm for dinner!!


Great job Julie! Thanks!!



Got my gadget bag packed, carry on almost done. Still have the big one to go...

BigRed1 We cruised by it on our way out to sea! It looks like a great place ... my mind is soo old though, I couldn't remember which cruise the Fishlips meet was for

Is there a formal night AND a semi-formal night on this cruise? I'm trying to scale back on the packing & might have to relegate one sport coat for my DH to cover all dress-up nights including Palo. And he might have to carry THAT on the plane! We're old, so no one will be looking at us anyway

Shulie-
They will not put your bags in your room- they will be left outside your door.

Formal and semi formal- I typically bring my dak navy suit and wear it formal night. Then I wear my suit jacket with a tie and slacks on semi formal night. I also am able to use my suit jacket over a dress shirt in Palo. Nothing as versatile as a navy suit!

carolinadj ... there is a FORMAL and a SEMI-FORMAL night ... last night was formal ... I was very surprised ... thinking that it being a Disney Cruise and a lot of families, I was blown away by how many people wore their "Sunday best." We were so busy checking out the spa etc, that when we went to the Royal Court for dinner, I realized that I needed to change out of my shorts and t-shirt for the night! It was like being on a regular cruise ... and the number of little girls dressed up as princesses etc was quite a sight!

And there is a TON of character meets aboard ... there was certainly lot of line-ups on formal night as everyone wanted to get pictures with the characters in their formal wear ... especially for the kids ... then the kids and the parents together ... and then pictures with their own camera ... and then another camera ... but wait ... let's take another picture just in case the first one wasn't good ... and the time it takes to get the kids to pose for the pictures ... so even though the lines weren't long, the time it takes can be a few minutes ... but who am I kidding ... I GOT MY PICTURE WITH SNOW

I decided to pick up a sport coat in Orlando instead of bringing one with me and that is perfectly fine as we are also dining in Palo and Remy on this cruise.

I am trying to cancel my port excursions but the website won't let me. What am I doing wrong?

With so much planning for this month-long holiday, I obviously missed a few things with all the details that I was looking after ... such as ...

• Was not aware of on-line check-in for the resorts!
• You have to cancel shore-excursions TWO days before your cruise departs. Afterwards they are NON-REFUNDABLE.

For this cruise, I had managed at the last-minute to get an adult cabana ... so I thought I would cancel the Watercraft Doubles Adventure and the Parasailing as DW's stamina and mobility has taken quite a beating in the beautiful sunny AND humid Orlando weather and make the most of the cabana ... I tried cancelling the night before when we were at Port Orleans but I could not make any changes to my reservation so I thought I would wait till I got onboard. It wasn't until we checked in and I took a look at the shore excursion tickets that were in our stateroom that we couldn't cancel! This is a first for us as the other cruise lines we've been on before allowed cancellations on-board within a certain time-frame.

This is one area that I will comment upon with DCL. The reason the CM gave is understandable in that the companies conducting the shore excursions have to plan ahead but if the other cruise lines allow changes to be done ...

They were however able to accommodate a change as I switched us from a Watercraft Doubles to two Watercraft Singles so my DW can have her own ... but it was only later in the day that they could confirm because they had to contact the company. But as life has shown us, things in life doesn't always go according to plan ... in re: to the Parasailing, DW won't be able to go ... so I guess I'll take her time, unless I chicken out ... you see I have this thing about heights (and yet I've gone zip-lining, skydiving and experienced the Zero-Gravity flight adventure!)

BTW, for spa experiences, you have to cancel 72 hrs before embarkation to avoid a cancellation fee or 24 hrs if you book onboard.


Oops gotta go ... I'll copy this from MS word and then post it ... we've laid anchor ... AAARRR MATEY ... time to head top-side and check-out Grand Cayman or you'll be walking the plank ... (you can tell I had way too much fun on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks voyage )

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

Thanks for the report. See you Saturday

 

[mousemom218]

Ok group, how am I supposed to concentrate on work this week???

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Ok group, how am I supposed to concentrate on work this week???

Ditto :

 

[pumpkinkate]

Disney_Alli and I just walked the CIBC Run for the Cure 5k this morning... It has convinced me that with 7 straight park days after the cruise I probably should not do the CC5K my ankle is pretty sore and I need to be able to get around the parks with as little pain as possible.

I highly recommend the air cast! I hobbled around on my sprain for a week, then someone at work made me wear the air cast. (No joke brought it in sat me down and put it on me.) I thought this is silly, thinking it was over kill, but seriously it helped a ton! I was teaching so on my feet all day, a week later I did Disneyworld for 10 days with just an ankle brace. I was so glad she made me wear it! I know you can pick them up just about any where. If you do rent a scooter at Disney you'll get in the front of any line though...

 

[gallmcduck]

Great report to read from on board, thanks for posting. One last day at work then our holiday commences : )

 

[aafdmom]

Enjoyed reading your report of your cruise so far Fooz....enjoy the remaining days and we all look forward to joining you for the 2nd leg of your your back 2 back!!!

No real answer in how to be into working this week ~! Still in awe of how close we are now since waiting for this cruise for months and months!!

Hopefully tonight i finish up our door magnets!! Have majority of my clothes packed....

Can't find the cord to my camera tho, so am stressing about that...have the power pack that goes in the wall but not the cord must be around somewhere but where?!?!?

Sue

 

[T1nk3rb3ll99]

I am going to cancel my reservation for cabana 6 in the morning. We had an unexpected plumber bill of over $600. Not happy. I'll be happy to just see the Caribbean at this point. Stuck at work and it's very busy. See all of you soon (I hope).

 

[jjgarv]

Hi Fo0oz-

Who is the current Crusie Director? and do you know if they will be on next week as well?

Have you come across a head Serve Liam form Jamaica on Board? We have had him as a server several times before and are hoping to catch up with him.

Thanks!

 

[bats]

Morning all ... We arrived at SSR yesterday after our unexpected extra stay at Fairfield Inn (great cheaper hotel if you're looking at staying in Orlando on a budget).
Anyway, only a few more days and we'll be on that cruise, but we don't want to skip the week too quickly of course .... We have some chillaxing to do here first!

Weather has been great this past week, but it's a little cloudier today and we haven't ventured down to the pool like we normally would have done ... Will have our cup of Yorkshire tea (best tea bags in the world!) then see how much the sun is shining.

Hope you all have goods days, wherever you are!

Joa and Mick

 

[carolinadj]

We would like to take your cabana off your hands! We would also be willing to split it with another family, each taking half a day.

 

[BigRed1]

LAST CALL!!​

One last call for the Cocoa Beach meet @ Fishlips. If you will be at the Cape on Friday night, feel free to join us @ Fishlips. We will be there from 5pm until whenever. Just need to know how many! I have until Noon Friday to modify the reservation. Send me a PM or email me at jallenv@gmail.com. In case anyone might find the need to contact me regarding Fishlips or anything else this week, I posted my cell number on the Facebook page. If you don't Facebook and want my cell, send me a PM and I will glad to send it to you!

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

Only 6 days to go. Now every day I'm thinking..."this time next week I'll be..." These 6 days are going to go by VERY slowly! Already packed, ready 2go!!

I do this too!! My dd12 asked me the other day, "Are you going to do this ALL week"?