*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 4

[liesbeth1012]

Thanks so much for the info.... just typical.... we have been waiting so long too book

The one thing that is good, that I don't get up so early.

I am feeling pleased with myself today... I have now managed to lose 1 st 2lbs .... but it's taken me over 2 mths to do so. But I just bet it won't take me that long to put it back on once I'm on the cruise. Never mind will just have to keep trying to lose some more sometimes ladies life is just one long diet.... or that's what it feels like !

margaret

Good work. it is better to loose weight slowly than quick. Than it last longer.
I would that I can tell the same, but ...... I am still trying.

 

[hazelandannie]

I am feeling pleased with myself today... I have now managed to lose 1 st 2lbs .... but it's taken me over 2 mths to do so. But I just bet it won't take me that long to put it back on once I'm on the cruise. Never mind will just have to keep trying to lose some more sometimes ladies life is just one long diet.... or that's what it feels like !

margaret

Well done margaret on your weight loss. Thats really good loss!
We are re joining Slimming World again tomorrow as we need to loose as much as we can in the 2 months that are left!

 

[Disneynut64]

Do we know if Chris and Jeremy are still putting together a tour in St. Maartin for the Catamarin tour. By Captain Alan?

 

[poohluv2u]

It's very quiet here in my house today........I've lost my voice.

I guess Lee's birthday wish came a day early.

Sorry Claire, I had that last week, I would say I passed it to you, but you live too far from me

You can post a lot on the boards, where your voice is always heard

*getting a whip of bananasmell into my nose which reminds me, the bananas should be overripe enough tomorrow to make a new batch of Parrot Cays bananabread. *

Sounds good .. do you have a recipe for that?

What is everyone up to today?

Later we're going to Best Buy. We decided last night to get Magic Jack for the phone, Netflix and Hulu for the tv and something else that allows us to watch those things on the tv not just on the computer, and we're going wireless and cancelling our cable & phone service. Whew! It sounds like a lot but its mostly my husband's doing. I'm just excited that I can stream some Disney movies on Netflix!!

We switched to Netflix streaming a year ago, and love it. We almost never watch straight TV anymore. I'd love to hear how the wireless situation works out, I am tired of our cable bill being so high when we mostly just use it for internet.

 

[poohluv2u]

Congrats on the weight loss Margaret, that is great

We are starting on the Bread for Life diet tomorrow. We are such Carb lovers so it sounds like a good plan ... have to stick with the complex carbs though

 

[hazelandannie]

Another question for previous cruisers.......

I was reading through some old posts and some people dont get their luggage delivered to their cabins until after dinner in the evening, so my question is, Is this normal procedure?

If so is it better to put things for the afternoon/evening in a carry on bag so that you have things with you when boarding?
having never cruised before this is all completely new to us so want to make sure we know whats what before hand!!!

Also for people who have stayed in inside cabins before, are there any tips for helping with the complete lack of natural light in the room?? Or is it something you get used to after a little while?

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Well done on the weightloss Margaret! Don't be so hard on yourself, it's a great result and you should see it as nothing else.

Sounds good .. do you have a recipe for that?

Actually ended up making 2 big breads this afternoon. Bananas were riper than I realised, they split open on me when I was trying to replace them. So bakingtime it obviously was.

There's a thread here on the DIS with recipies from all kinds of scrumptious stuff from both WDW and DCL where I copied it from. To go directly to this recipe; http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24274617&postcount=1986
And the index for all of the recipes so one can easily find them looking for by restaurant and/or name; http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1777635

You'll want to follow the cooknotes, for instance about not cutting it while still warm. Obviously it's even more scrumptious while warm, but that can easily be taken care of by giving a slice a round in the microwave before eating it. It's very easy and quick to make, holds up well in the freezer, perfect! Only thing missing in the recipe was the bakingtime, for me 40-45 minutes works perfectly.

We are starting on the Bread for Life diet tomorrow. We are such Carb lovers so it sounds like a good plan ... have to stick with the complex carbs though

Oh hun, do yourself the best favor you could ever do; stop the dieting. Any diet will fail, sooner or later. Diets all are based on "allowed" and "not allowed" and aren't lifelong plans. Which will always end up with relapsing into old habits, having huge cravings for "not allowed" and what not. Doesn't sounds very appealing, but the only thing that one can maintain is a lifelong change of what they eat, when, how much etc. Food is something so basic, don't waist any energy on diets that can't work for you for life. Ah well, I'll stop the preaching before I get beyond too annoying.

 

[binkytell]

I am feeling pleased with myself today... I have now managed to lose 1 st 2lbs .... but it's taken me over 2 mths to do so. But I just bet it won't take me that long to put it back on once I'm on the cruise. Never mind will just have to keep trying to lose some more sometimes ladies life is just one long diet.... or that's what it feels like !

margaret

Well done margaret on your weight loss. Thats really good loss!
We are re joining Slimming World again tomorrow as we need to loose as much as we can in the 2 months that are left!

good job margaret aim for your 20 next week


im half lb from my stone award was gutted last week when i was only the half off , im doing slimming world too, i find it so easy, and its a healthy eating plan

 

[granmaz]

We are starting on the Bread for Life diet tomorrow. We are such Carb lovers so it sounds like a good plan ... have to stick with the complex carbs though

My favourite diet ever was a high carb and low fat one which I followed and enjoyed some 35 years ago, and it was a successful one too.

Another question for previous cruisers.......

I was reading through some old posts and some people dont get their luggage delivered to their cabins until after dinner in the evening, so my question is, Is this normal procedure?

If so is it better to put things for the afternoon/evening in a carry on bag so that you have things with you when boarding?
having never cruised before this is all completely new to us so want to make sure we know whats what before hand!!!

Also for people who have stayed in inside cabins before, are there any tips for helping with the complete lack of natural light in the room?? Or is it something you get used to after a little while?

In 7 cruises we have always got our bags soon after getting to our room and always before first dinner sitting. However last September they were very slow and in the end we and another couple went to the door where they were coming out of to ask. Our own host just kept saying we had to wait till they sent them up, but another host had a look round and found our 2 remaining bags behind the door! With the longer cruises there are many more bags to be sorted and delivered. However, I wouldn't worry.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Another question for previous cruisers.......

I was reading through some old posts and some people dont get their luggage delivered to their cabins until after dinner in the evening, so my question is, Is this normal procedure?

No. It can definately happen and does, but those are the minority. Most will have their bags in enough time to prep before dinner, incl. the early rotation. We got ours around 3 pm or so, boarded around 2.15 pm. Hallway was just overflowing with bags between 3 and 4.

If so is it better to put things for the afternoon/evening in a carry on bag so that you have things with you when boarding?
having never cruised before this is all completely new to us so want to make sure we know whats what before hand!!!

DCL is not that uptight and fellow cruisers can understand that first day can be a bit hectic. Esp. when having early dining. If something does happen, c'est la vie and just join the diningroom as you are. Anything that you can't be without; keep it with you!!!!!!!!!!! While odds are very very small, with those things you don't want to run any risks. You could perhaps have a change of clothes in your carry on when for instance flying in transatlantic on that same day (could so understand wanting to freshen up and not wearing those travelclothes to dinner), but I wouldn't be that worried about perfect attire for that first night. And that's coming from somebody that very much values dresscode and sticking to them.

Also for people who have stayed in inside cabins before, are there any tips for helping with the complete lack of natural light in the room?? Or is it something you get used to after a little while?

Had a verandah on our previous cruise, but there have been many topics on this on the main DCL board. Very common tip; have a small flashlight or something nearby in case one of you needs to use the bathroom during the night and not wanting to light up the entire room. It is dark!

If you are the type of person that wakes better with natural light; turn your tv onto the channel that shows you the cam on the bridge. It'll broadcast the sunrise and lighten up the room naturally.

As it's dark; you want some way to tell time when waking up. Consider a small light up travelalarm or flashy light to use to be able to actually see your watch.

Do you happen to be very very sensitive to natural lighting, 24/7? You could even go as far as taking along a natural light lamp. While designed as an alarmclock to waken up those that do well with being waken up by morning light, some come with an option of being able to use it 24/7 as a more natural way of lighting instead of regular lights would be. According to my brother it really can make a difference.

The dark is lovely for napping. Oh you, totally relax on your vacation. Just be aware of the risk and do not fall into the trap of drifting of in the early afternoon to find yourself not waking up until 10 pm or so, having missed all of the fun and now being wide awake at night. Oops. I've even seen some people do this on our cruise with verandah staterooms. Set an alarm "just in case" if you are the type that might drift off so you don't nap too long or miss that much anticipated activity.

You might want to do a search for threads with more tips, there are amazing threads about this with the most handy, farfetched and everything in between on tips.

 

[auntlynne]

Hi All,

My DH tweaked Lynne's design to match the beer one. Vistaprint is having a weekend sale and I just uploaded this design and it is $10.49, if people want to order their own. I have not worked with Vistaprint, so if someone knows how to make this available for people to buy, let me know, but on your own it is much cheaper than say Zazzle or CafePress.

Because we are in Skopje, I cannot send anything to you all, but I offer the image and you can make your own.

Because of the size needed for shirt printing, I cannot upload it here, but you can look and download it here:

http://i.imgur.com/bcApu.png

I can also PM it to you. You can upload it right to Vista Print and pay and all that good stuff.

Amanda

I put her DH's graphic on photobucket. What a fun twist on the original beer version:

 

[MandyGirl]

WHAT

I have been waiting to do this for WEEKS and now I can finally book and they are doing maintenance!! So tomorrow I have a one hour window to get my kids ready and off to school, get myself ready and off to work, and book all my cruise stuff!!! HOW FRUSTRATING

Just taken this off of the Disney cruise line site, looks like they want us to wait a little longer to make our reservations


Planned Website Maintenance
Sunday, June 26, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), through Monday, June 27, 2011, at approximately 7:00 a.m. (Eastern Time)
Guests will be unable to price a cruise, make a reservation, check in online or reserve cruise activities during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to having you sail with us very soon.

Ditto! How many emails, flyers to the house, etc have we had letting us know when we can start booking... and how many emails to say "ooops, sorry, no can do". However, it is good they will hopefully be getting the fixes done to the website. Every company seems to have some sort of issues... like one that doesn't update inventory when you order a product, and weeks later you find out they were sold out although your credit card was charged with your confirmed order. Hopefully DCL will have those glitches worked out. And hopefully I can coerce Curt into waking up with a list of things to try to book since I have bootcamp during that timeframe.

What is everyone up to today?

We are doing some light cleaning now - hopefully done in about 45 minutes! And then I'm going to make some blueberry jam. Its my first time doing canning, so I hope it works out okay, I'm a little nervous about it.

Yay for canning! My grandmother still does it, and I love eating from her stock. We have a light day... just home from church and mission trip meeting, hubby at work now, and I have no appointments for my job today. Plus both girls are napping.

I am feeling pleased with myself today... I have now managed to lose 1 st 2lbs .... but it's taken me over 2 mths to do so. But I just bet it won't take me that long to put it back on once I'm on the cruise. Never mind will just have to keep trying to lose some more sometimes ladies life is just one long diet.... or that's what it feels like !

margaret

Congrats on the weight loss, Margaret!! Each pound is a success!!! I've been losing inches and bodyfat percentage, but not so much in pounds... however, my clothes are fitting better and I FEEL much better! Every little bit helps.

DCL is not that uptight and fellow cruisers can understand that first day can be a bit hectic. Esp. when having early dining. If something does happen, c'est la vie and just join the diningroom as you are. Anything that you can't be without; keep it with you!!!!!!!!!!! While odds are very very small, with those things you don't want to run any risks. You could perhaps have a change of clothes in your carry on when for instance flying in transatlantic on that same day (could so understand wanting to freshen up and not wearing those travelclothes to dinner), but I wouldn't be that worried about perfect attire for that first night. And that's coming from somebody that very much values dresscode and sticking to them.




Had a verandah on our previous cruise, but there have been many topics on this on the main DCL board. Very common tip; have a small flashlight or something nearby in case one of you needs to use the bathroom during the night and not wanting to light up the entire room. It is dark!

If you are the type of person that wakes better with natural light; turn your tv onto the channel that shows you the cam on the bridge. It'll broadcast the sunrise and lighten up the room naturally.

As it's dark; you want some way to tell time when waking up. Consider a small light up travelalarm or flashy light to use to be able to actually see your watch.

The dark is lovely for napping. Oh you, totally relax on your vacation. Just be aware of the risk and do not fall into the trap of drifting of in the early afternoon to find yourself not waking up until 10 pm or so, having missed all of the fun and now being wide awake at night. Oops. I've even seen some people do this on our cruise with verandah staterooms. Set an alarm "just in case" if you are the type that might drift off so you don't nap too long or miss that much anticipated activity.

I second the nightlights, especially if you have kids. We gave up our verandah for this cruise and downgraded Inside... which is what Curt loves much better because of the total darkness. He thinks it will be easier for us ALL to have an afternoon nap for evening activities in an inside cabin. (I think he was pointing his finger towards me when saying that... it's hard for me to sit still, especially if I know the sun is up....) On the flipside though, we had an aft verandah for an Alaska cruise where the sun was up LONG hours. I spent hours upon hours out there.

We will definitely have a carryon to keep with us... diapers, swimsuit for our older daughter, meds, change of clothes, etc. I'm sure once the Mickey slide comes into sight, our older one will be ready to GO!

 

[Tod&Copper]

Hi all who queried the prices, DH confirmed that it was approx €9 for a litre bottle of vodka, €7 for a bottle of cava and the wine prices started from €6 upwards. There was a good selection of wines and spirits.

I don't think these prices are too bad, it's only really enough to last a couple of days till we all get to morrisons

 

[Tod&Copper]

I was looking through my notes on my iPhone from our med cruise and forgot to mention, for the benefit of our repeat cruisers, that Peter was the cruise director and he told me that he would still be there for the WBTA. Brent was fantastic last year, we have done a few cruises with Peter, he is brilliant too

 

[hazelandannie]

I second the nightlights, especially if you have kids. We gave up our verandah for this cruise and downgraded Inside... which is what Curt loves much better because of the total darkness. He thinks it will be easier for us ALL to have an afternoon nap for evening activities in an inside cabin. (I think he was pointing his finger towards me when saying that... it's hard for me to sit still, especially if I know the sun is up....) On the flipside though, we had an aft verandah for an Alaska cruise where the sun was up LONG hours. I spent hours upon hours out there.O!

thanks for the tips! Will also take a look through main board.
The tv with bridge cam us very good idea will definitely try that.
I am liking the idea of nightlight. I have come across one of these natural wake up lights that simulates the sunrise so may look on eBay for second hand one of those!!

 

[Julie2009]

Thank you all for your support and understanding re the Gibraltar Dolphin tour. After reading all your comments I have decided that I really don't feel I could trust this company with a group booking and rely on them to deliver on the day, so to avoid any stress and disappointment, I am going to tell them we are cancelling the group booking. If anyone wishes to make their own arrangements then that is fine. Sorry about this, but they clearly do not want our business I will contact everyone who has signed up and remove the list from page 2.

Sarah you are doing the right thing. I wouldn't trust these people either. I'd just like to say thank you for all the work you've put in in trying to organise this excursion. It can't have been easy even without the recent events.

Thanks again

Julie xx

 

[Seraphine]

Another question for previous cruisers.......

Also for people who have stayed in inside cabins before, are there any tips for helping with the complete lack of natural light in the room?? Or is it something you get used to after a little while?

Had a verandah on our previous cruise, but there have been many topics on this on the main DCL board. Very common tip; have a small flashlight or something nearby in case one of you needs to use the bathroom during the night and not wanting to light up the entire room. It is dark!

If you are the type of person that wakes better with natural light; turn your tv onto the channel that shows you the cam on the bridge. It'll broadcast the sunrise and lighten up the room naturally.

As it's dark; you want some way to tell time when waking up. Consider a small light up travelalarm or flashy light to use to be able to actually see your watch.

Do you happen to be very very sensitive to natural lighting, 24/7? You could even go as far as taking along a natural light lamp. While designed as an alarmclock to waken up those that do well with being waken up by morning light, some come with an option of being able to use it 24/7 as a more natural way of lighting instead of regular lights would be. According to my brother it really can make a difference.

This is what we do whenever we have an inside cabin (which is most of the time). Turn your tv onto the channel that shows the live camera at the front of the ship, and simply turn the sound off. When the sun comes up, it gradually lights up the screen, just like a window. Free, and works like a charm!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Well, my mom decided to spend a few days at WDW with two of my nieces, and since I didn't want to drive home by myself, I decided to look into flying home. For $400 I can get DCL transfers to MCO and a flight home on Southwest (2 bags apiece). This compares to $200 for the rental car, so I figured it was worth it to not have to deal with my luggage from Friday night until I arrive home on Saturday, not to mention driving 10 hours with my kids all antsy pantsy in the back seat!

 

[MandyGirl]

I am liking the idea of nightlight. I have come across one of these natural wake up lights that simulates the sunrise so may look on eBay for second hand one of those!!

We use one of those normally... except for this dang 5:30 AM exercise group I signed up for and hubby works nights... but when on a "normal" schedule, we love it! Just too bulky to bring. sigh.

This is what we do whenever we have an inside cabin (which is most of the time). Turn your tv onto the channel that shows the live camera at the front of the ship, and simply turn the sound off. When the sun comes up, it gradually lights up the screen, just like a window. Free, and works like a charm!

Now that is a great idea! I will have to try that... although I think Curt is looking forward to sleeping later. He forgets two little girls are our cabinmates!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Oh, and btw, when I just talked to DCL they told me they hadn't been told the system would be down tonight - that it was down last night and they were told that but they hadn't heard anything about tonight, so I'm going to try at midnight anyway, just in case.