September 22, 2007 -- WESTERN

[brady961]

OFF TOPIC: is anyone on the cruise live in the Alabama area where tornado's are hitting today? Or anyone in any of the areas receiving severe weather last night, or today (ice/snow storms, tornado's etc..)

if so hope all is well. you are safe. and that can check in letting us all know when possible you are ok.

everyone be safe during this what seems to be severe weather hitting in so many areas.

 

[scrapperjill]

Papa...from the sounds of it your wife shouldn't need to many bags ...after all...how many bottles of lotion will she need? Just kidding.

Back to the topic. I'm a "what if" packer...which also means pertty much everything but the kitchen sink. We have tended to WAY overpack. But I'm not one to use my vaction time on the ship in the laundry room...I'd rather tote extra stuff onboard. Now thing about DCL that I like is they don't really have a "limit" on how much you can bring. It's just a matter of how much space you have left in your statroom.

Both cruises we have managed to MAX out our luggage limits (what the airline will allow) so we've EACH had 2 suitcases, 1 carry-on and 1 personal item...plus sometimes a purse . That adds up to 8 suitcases (rangeing from XXL to a Large med) 4 carry-ons (small rolling suitcases) and 4+ personal items like a laptop. It's alot of CRAP and at times can be hard to manage. Mostly when were transfering from one area to another where we have to lug everything with us...not to mention the more stuff you bring the more work you have to do on Friday night.

To break it down we have

1 bag for the snorkel gear
2 garment bags with our formal wear and semi formal wear
1 bag with misc items like pillow cases, glow sticks and 'suprise' goodies for the girls.
4 bag for each of our clothes and shoes.
One carry on with camera gear,
the laptop as a carry-on
A tote bag carry on with misc items (books, travle docs etc)
A carry on bag for each of the girls with stuff to keep them busy on the 6 hour flight (DVD player, Gameboys, movies, CD player/Mp3 player, color books etc...)

Anyhow...I SWEAR this time we will cut back and take less. We've found that on both cruises we tend to wear our favorites more than anything else... Our girls will wear their swimsuits just about everyday...so I figure 2-3 swimsuits and some cover-ups will pertty much be all they need for daily wear. I'm sure I can come up with evening wear to mix/match to cut back on how much we bring.

Anyhow..I'd love to learn the trick of packing ONE bag each Now that would be CRAZY-COOL!!!

 

[scrapperjill]

No sever weather up here in Washington. We did get non-stop snow just about all weekend...BUT it melted as it hit the ground so there's nothing there now. It's nice and sunny here...only 44 degrees out but the sun is shinning. Oh...earler today we had some small snow flurries (not even sure if they'd be called t hat)....it was very weird because the sun was still shining...and big snow flakes were drifing down slowly.

 

[eva]

Well, no tornados here. But it sure did rain this morning and the wind is really kicking up right now. I just looked at weather.com and we are having 35 mph winds with gusts up to 43. It sounds crazy out there.

 

[brady961]

Well, no tornados here. But it sure did rain this morning and the wind is really kicking up right now. I just looked at weather.com and we are having 35 mph winds with gusts up to 43. It sounds crazy out there.

yeah watching weather channel, and cable news seems several states are really getting hit hard today with storms, tornado's.

they just put all of central florida under a tornado watch until 2am. Seems the potential is there for our area (orlando) but looking at radar its clear for most part. i guess putting the watch out now is more in hoping ppl will be aware we could have severe weather tonight esp since area has gotten hit at night and ppl never knew it was coming.

So stay safe all.

 

[American Scrapper]

Brady, if you have not already done so, I would call DCL and let them know that you would like to do the snorkeling on Castaway Cay. I think they would probably be able to come up with an idea of how you can get out to the water. I am sure that they have had this come up before. I would hate to see you miss out on the snorkeling just because it is a challenge to get out into the water. Too bad the Banana Boat ride is not near the snorkeling area, you could go on that and then jump off! LOL!!

Weather has been pretty wet here. Lots of rain over the weekend with slush and rain again today. Spring is coming soon though! My DS10 had baseball tryouts over the weekend for the summer Part Time Travel and made the "A" team. I was very excited for him.

One more week until VEGAS!!

Kathy

 

[brady961]

Brady, if you have not already done so, I would call DCL and let them know that you would like to do the snorkeling on Castaway Cay. I think they would probably be able to come up with an idea of how you can get out to the water. I am sure that they have had this come up before. I would hate to see you miss out on the snorkeling just because it is a challenge to get out into the water. Too bad the Banana Boat ride is not near the snorkeling area, you could go on that and then jump off! LOL!!

Weather has been pretty wet here. Lots of rain over the weekend with slush and rain again today. Spring is coming soon though! My DS10 had baseball tryouts over the weekend for the summer Part Time Travel and made the "A" team. I was very excited for him.

One more week until VEGAS!!

Kathy

LOL I actually like the idea of jumping off the banana boat

I will be talking with DCL, actually i have a specific contact person and her direct phone line for any questions, concerns, etc... Last time she was great in getting info for me in what excursions I could or couldn't do at ports i.e. tour/trolley's. I definitely plan on talking to her as we get closer to cruise time. She even called me after going on the 7 night western to let me know what had changed i.e. they were docking at cozumel which meant i could go,

She was great esp since it was my first cruise and I was a little nervous not knowing anything about to handle it with a mobility issue, power chair, etc... She would call me every now and then to check in and see if had any other questions or concerns. Thankfully she put most if not all my concerns to rest prior to cruising, and helped me just look forward to a good time.

We are under a tornado watch until 2am mainly because there is the potential. we have no bad weather now not even rain. i think the climate is favorable though to the storms. also think they put us under the watch since the last tornado's hit during the night and ppl didn't know what was coming. so they are at least getting ppl to be aware rough weather is possible tonight.

it's been in the 80's here last couple days and humidity is returning grrrr. I have the air conditioning on, ceiling fans and a tower fan running tonight.

this weekend though they say rain and high's in 60's. but you can feel here that spring/summer is around the corner as the humidity and temps are already getting in the 80's.

Vegas????? Are you going to Vegas???? not fair.

have fun. hey if you win the jackpot are you going to give us all here on this thread/cruise a free cruise?????

later gators

 

[brady961]

Just a reminder that this year change our clocks in the spring and fall will be different then before.


Beginning in 2007, most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time.

In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the EU, all time zones change at the same moment.

2007
United States: March 11 and November 4

European Union March 25 and October 28

 

[Bareacuda]

Im a true Over Packer! I swear it's my middle name!

A day trip to Vegas(like Saturday) I'll bring all my make up and hair stuff and an extra pair of shoes!

Packing for this vacation will be a real test for me! I'll probably bring 5 or 6 pairs of shoes, 2 or 3 swim suites...

Roll what you can and wrinkle the rest

 

[CustardTart]

...Anyhow..I'd love to learn the trick of packing ONE bag each Now that would be CRAZY-COOL!!!

That's all I allow as I am a very strict packer - one medium case and one piece of hand luggage! I work out all my outfits well in advance and make sure they mix and match well. I do panic a little at the last minute and start throwing in random bits but generally I stick to the program. Toiletries annoy me as they always seem to take up way too much room but what can you do..?

 

[CustardTart]

...We are under a tornado watch until 2am mainly because there is the potential. we have no bad weather now not even rain. i think the climate is favorable though to the storms. also think they put us under the watch since the last tornado's hit during the night and ppl didn't know what was coming. so they are at least getting ppl to be aware rough weather is possible tonight...

Your take on this really put my mind at ease, Marsha, so thank you! I only read about this earlier and got a little stressed as DH is in Orlando but your post made me feel OK...

 

[eva]

Karen, I've always been regulated to one bag too. So I went out and found the largest suitcase I could. Unfortunately, when I fly I usually have to pay extra to get that bag on. It normally weighs about 70 pounds when it is filled with clothes. It irritates me that I will get charged for one suitcase at 70 pounds, but someone else can take 2 - 45 pound suitcases with no problem. I think that it should be totatl weight. But it sure it easier to have only one bag to pull behind you. I also start off like you and try to mix and match and calculate what outfits I will wear each day, but then I get out of hand and start throwing anything in the bag.

I hope that everyone is safe after all the weather yesterday. It is terrible about the storms in Alabama.

 

[CustardTart]

Karen, I've always been regulated to one bag too. So I went out and found the largest suitcase I could. Unfortunately, when I fly I usually have to pay extra to get that bag on. It normally weighs about 70 pounds when it is filled with clothes. It irritates me that I will get charged for one suitcase at 70 pounds, but someone else can take 2 - 45 pound suitcases with no problem. I think that it should be totatl weight. But it sure it easier to have only one bag to pull behind you. I also start off like you and try to mix and match and calculate what outfits I will wear each day, but then I get out of hand and start throwing anything in the bag...

My DD told me last weekend (and I don't know if this is just a UK thing) that airlines are going to stop accepting 2+ bags per passenger, irrespective of weight, so I'm thinking I might upgrade to some larger luggage to be on the safe side! She bought some absolutely gorgeous Kipling luggage in Paris - I wanted it too but she saw it first so I behaved like a good mother and stepped aside...

...I hope that everyone is safe after all the weather yesterday. It is terrible about the storms in Alabama.

Me too.
I've been watching all about it on the CNN news - awful!

 

[eva]

Karen, I believe that the states have already gone to 2 bags per person. I guess I am lucky, because this year we are driving to Florida. We normally drive if we are staying at least 2 weeks. We are usually pretty tired the first day though, since it is a 19 hour drive to port.

 

[CustardTart]

Wow that's a very long drive, Eva! And we think the 8 hour round trip to see DH's family is a bit of a trek - but maybe that says more about his family than the journey... Still, you can bring any amount of luggage then - car space permitting.

We're arriving from London the previous day and staying overnight at the Hyatt in MCO before catching the early DCL transfer to the port. For a moment there it felt very real and exciting... I CANNOT WAIT!!!

BTW I read about the prospect of a zipline excursion in Cozumel - sounds v cool!

 

[brady961]

it is so sad about all the destruction and lives lost yesterday in the severe weather/tornado's.

I feel blessed that our area we didn't even get rain. But my heart, thoughts and prayers go to all those that were affected.

Ok suitcases and packing: Jan i took a 26 upright pullman, and a 24 duffle bag (not wheeled), and then my little duffle bag carry on. I am considering of getting a 28 or 29 for the Sept trip. What I took in Jan fit fine in the cases I took, then I had the extra DCL excursion bag to come home with items I bought on the trip. So really it all worked out ok. Tight but ok.

Just thinking of getting the 29 inch suitcase or rolled duffle for this next trip as I have this feeling am going to need it due to taking Minnie and her outfits/shoes <G> I know all my clothes/shoes fit in the 26 inch bag from last time. So then could use the 29 for Pal, Minnie, and all that extra "stuff" I plan on taking. Carry on will definitely have medications, toiletries, and one campshirt-tank top. I really plan on carrying on less this time so all I took last time in carry on will need in the 29 case (if i get one). But this another reason I thinking of getting the 29 as I will need more space for checked than for carry on.

Not sure what I was thinking in Jan regarding carry on. I had so much in that because of that "thinking" what if I need this or that before can get to room, or before luggage arrives etc.... Of course it was my first disney cruise. Now that I am "experiences" LOL, I feel comfortable taking less in carry on and checking more.

oh shoot no matter i will still overpack, change my mind what to take and what luggage i will use a thousand times before we cruise. I will pack and repack a hundreds times trying out every possible case I have, and even night before the cruise will repack to final decision of what luggage taking LOL

 

[CustardTart]

I currently have bright pink and lilac suitcases - I like to see 'em come around the airport carousel! In my defence, they were very cheap (off shopping tv) and will only last a couple more trips at most so I really need something bigger and better...

How about these cases?! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's luggage for me...

 

[papa]

Karen our friend that we cruise with made us some distinctive luggage tags. Red mouse ears, with a picture of Katie when she was a baby. Mike

 

[brady961]

Anyone that is on this cruise considering going in Sept 08? Double dip to CC, then includes Costa Maya and Cozumel?

I am considering since I like the idea of going each Sept to celebrate birthday.

Will check out booking while on board during our cruise, and guess continue dreaming that it will be possible for 08.

 

[scrapperjill]

I'd like to book on board for 08....but I don't know if DH will allow it. He said if we hold off and "save" we can book the new ships in 2011 AND 2012 So well see. We're also talking about trying another cruise line I know... BUT it'd be good to at least try something else. We watched a travel channel program with Samatha Brown on the Fredom of the Sea...and I have to say it looks like a COOL ship.

I think I should start thinking and "planing" what to wear, with alot of focus on planning lots of mix and match items. Then I should "pratice" packing my things to get them to fit into ONE suitcase. So far the problem has always ended up being the formal wear (It takes ALOT of space) and the snorkel gear....that alone takes one whole bag. OH...and the camera and laptop end up being two more bags. I better start planning NOW...so maybe by Sept I'll be ready.