September 22, 2007 -- WESTERN

[papa]

Digital is great for vacations, grandkids, family reunions and other events.

I take them to Walmart or Walgreens or upload some to photo sites. Very easy to get the ones you want printed. Mike

 

[scrapperjill]

For sure next time. I feel since it was my first cruise I wanted to save everything and be able to show it. Maybe for second cruise some of that feeling will be little less, <G> ummm with me I have to wonder LOL

Brady...Don't count on it I think my 2000+ photos this last cruise far surpassed my photo count from the first cruise.

Now for cruise #3 comming...I can't wait to take even more.

We tote our laptop along as well...to help cut back on downloading cost at shutters. We'll download our cards to our laptop..burn CD's daily as a back up....then once we get home upload them to Costco and only print the ones we want to us. I'm a scrapbooker (if you couldnt' tell)....so I end up using alot of them in my albums. I our first cruise album posted below in my sig if ya wanta take a peek. I'm still working on my second cruise album...with the goal of having it done and posted before cruise #3.

 

[brady961]

WOW great pics and what a nice looking family you have. thanks for sharing. hope to see more soon <G>

 

[papa]

Knock on wood there was no hurricanes last September. Mike

 

[eva]

Maybe we will luck out and there will be no hurricanes this coming September. But I am ready if they do redirect to other ports. I have the Caribbean ports of call book already in my suitcase. And no, I am not starting to pack already. Well, maybe I am, since that was the first item. But I swear I will wait until at least a month out before I put clothes in there. OK, maybe two months out. Does anyone else have this strange complusion to start packing months before the trip? When I buy clothes and other items for the cruise, I can't seem to stop myself from washing everything and starting to pack.

 

[CustardTart]

Hi everyone! Barbados was totally fantastic and even tho' I definitely didn't want to come home I'm excited to be back so I can properly focus on the cruise!

Hello Marsha! Lovely to have you onboard. Looks like you had a fab time on your first cruise - great photos. Love your Pal Mickey - where did you get all the wonderful outfits from? DD has one of the little guys and she got him a very cool safari outfit from AK last year...

Sadly I'm very hit and miss with photos - I upgraded my camera (I wanted to take better pics of the fireworks) but, as it's bigger than my old one, I find I just don't take it out and use it as much. Must try harder on the cruise! I bought a couple of scrapbooks in WDW last summer - did one for my niece within days of us being home but the one for us is still languishing in the cupboard. Spring project, maybe?!

Eva, I've just put the cases that we used for Barbados in the spare room - re-packed with washed and ironed holiday clothes, electrical adaptors AND the Frommer's Caribbean guide! So you could say I'm nearly ready to go...

 

[eva]

Karen, glad to have you back. Although I am sure that you wish you were still in Barbados. I checked the weather there a couple times and it looks like you had great temperatures. Did you do anything besides sit on the beach and sip tropical drinks with umbrellas? It sounds like you have my packing fetish.

 

[CustardTart]

The weather was wonderful, Eva - hot but not humid just a very warming, dry heat. We have great tans tho' I'm sure they'll fade quick enough! TBH we didn't do much as I was most concerned that DH relaxed properly - we were early to bed so he had circa 10 hours sleep every night (double what he gets in a working week) and the rays had such a positive effect on my skin (I have psoriasis) that we spent most days on the beach/by the pool. We hired a cab and went round the island - absolutely love the east coast. And we're planning to return next year for longer...

BTW, you'll be glad to know that I did try a BBC - pure heaven!

 

[eva]

Glad you enjoyed the BBC. I never thought to suggest you have one on your trip to Barbados. Happy that you thought of it. I hope it was as good as the ones we've had on the DCL and at OKW's pool bar. I also hope that we have weather like that on the cruise.

 

[papa]

Welcome home Karen. Glad that everyone had a great holiday in Barbados.

I take my digital slr with me when we cruise and the wife has a small point and shoot digital. Between us we get a lot of pictures. I was looking at our photos from the last cruise and saw the ones with our friend petting the monkey atop one of the highest points on the island of Barbados.

Not sure what we are going to do in Grand Cayman yet. Have been to Hell and saw the green turtle farm. Did the stingray excursion on our own. Since the birth of our second grand daughter I guess we will have to increase the tee shirt budget. We try to get the grand children a shirt from every island we visit. Locally made if possible. Is there an island on our cruise called China

Mike

 

[scrapperjill]

I too have the strong urge to pack and get thing ready. So far I've been able to hold off and not do anything...BUT now that 20007 is here the cruise is that much closer...I'm having a harder time not wanting to do something. I think I'm going to start with packing the travel stuff (travel size toothpaste...and so on) see what we have and what we'll need then start gathering. I think by doing that I'll be able to curb my urge enough to not actually "pack" for quite some time...PLUS by the time I do start packing I'll have all the little things gathered and ready.

Custard Tart....Glad to hear you had a nice, relaxing holiday

 

[Marshmelo]

Welcome back Karen! Glad you had a good time Hello everyone else...not much going on here, just thought I'd say hi. I'm very excited to be taking my first cruise with a DIGITAL camera. I love taking pictures, but sometimes DH and I would find ourselves trying to conserve, afraid we would run out of film. It will be so nice to have a digital this time. I'm sure I will take pictures of EVERYTHING! You guys are making me want to start packing!

 

[brady961]

Does anyone else have this strange complusion to start packing months before the trip? When I buy clothes and other items for the cruise, I can't seem to stop myself from washing everything and starting to pack.

i put my clothes for me in hanging garment bags in back of closest. that way i don't wear them or get them messed up with my everyday wearing clothes.

for last cruise, yes I had major compulsionto start packing months before. well it seems i actually did some. like for Pal Mickey each time I go something for him it went in the suitcase. Or I bought something for me (other than clothes) it went into the suitcase, clothes into the garment bags.

months before the cruise when I had everything like for Pal Mickey, my toiletries or those misc thing I had them packed. Month or more before cruise I had everything packed except my clothes.

Then several times in those months before the cruise I unpacked to repack, trying out different suitcases, see if could pack better, etc...

So I am guilty of packing early, practicing in packing, and putting a bag in the corner to drop things in as those last minute items i remember. then take that everything in that bag and find a way for those things to fit in a suitcase..

I join the club of overpacking, and packing way in advance

 

[brady961]

Hello Marsha! Lovely to have you onboard. Looks like you had a fab time on your first cruise - great photos. Love your Pal Mickey - where did you get all the wonderful outfits from? DD has one of the little guys and she got him a very cool safari outfit from AK last year...

QUOTE]

It was a great tiime. I love little Pal Mickey as you could probably see in pics. The outfits come from anywhere I can find what may fit him. Like Michaels Craft store, or i may see a stuff animal at Walmart with outfit on. I buy that stuffy give clothes to Pal. Build a Bear clothes are too big but I have several outfits that I just "make" fit LOL. I use to buy clothes for a 18 inch doll they sold at Target which fit nicely except being too long. Target doesn't seem to be selling those dolls or outfits much anymore. A few outfits ppl have made for my Pal. Others I bought online hoping they would fit, and if didn't use hem iron on tape to make altererations since i can't sew a button

WDW does have I think now 6 official outfits: four that came out last year or year before: pin trading, rain poncho, mickey mouse club and safari. right before Christmas last year they came out with two more, Christmas Mickey and Pirate Capt Mickey.

For now Pal Mickey and his outfits will be traveling with me, if you guys decide to bring yours I am sure my Pal would love to meet

 

[eva]

Ok, I don't feel so bad. It appears that there are a number of us with the early and over packing compulsion. I am a plan-aholic too. I am already starting to plan our Alaska cruise for 2008. I just wish the rates would come out. I need to get the reservations made and then I can concentrate solely on the DCL cruise until October. Who am I kidding, I am usually planning anywhere from 3 to 5 different trips at a time. We already know that we are taking the entire family to WDW for two weeks to stay in a grand villa in May of 2009. This will be our grand daughter's first trip to WDW. She will be 3-1/2. And then DH's family is having me start to look into the next trip for 2010 too. We are planning on the UK for that one.

 

[papa]

We have a cruise box started with stuff that we need to take with us.

One thing that we take with us is two small oscillating electric fans as we like the air stirring and the white noise. Also pack a few extension cords just in case. Mike

 

[CustardTart]

Ok, I don't feel so bad. It appears that there are a number of us with the early and over packing compulsion. I am a plan-aholic too. I am already starting to plan our Alaska cruise for 2008. I just wish the rates would come out. I need to get the reservations made and then I can concentrate solely on the DCL cruise until October. Who am I kidding, I am usually planning anywhere from 3 to 5 different trips at a time. .

I know that feeling! I've currently got 5 trips in the pipeline tho' TBH I find we have to plan well in advance to get the flights we want. So I'll be looking at flights to Barbados for March 2008 and Orlando for May 2008 as soon as they become available - after that I'll be all about the cruise...

 

[brady961]

. I am a plan-aholic too. .

Maybe we should start a 12 step program for us that are plan aholic's

I am such a planner and really hate when something comes up that I have to get done, go etc... at the last minute without time to actual plan.

for our Sept cruise i have things from the last cruise in the DCL excursion duffle bag that I bought in it already. I think already mentioned my clothes are together in garments bags, other items in bags hanging in the hanger of garment bag. Each time I think of something i go ahead and put it with the cruise stuff.

by July or Aug I will most likely have a large plastic bag sitting in corner of room to drop things in.

I will practice packing, unpacking, repacking several times between Aug and cruise time to see which suitcases to use, what fits best where, how to pack and where etc.... Even the friday before I will unpack and repack to make sure I have all I want or need, make sure using the best packing and suitcases.

i make a list of things to take as well. then check it off when its packed.

I don't just do this for cruising but also for work since I travel about every other week out of town. I do keep one suitcase (duffle bag style) with everything I take for work except for clothes. This way by not unpacking the bag is ready all I do is throw in clean clothes and off I go.

What about planning on how things will go into the car/van etc...?

I do this too.


So the first step in the 12 step program for plan aholics is to admit.....

ummm am I ready to admit, yeah guess so but probably not ready for the next step <G>

 

[brady961]

For you that have taken a Disney cruise before this is something you probably already know. I had been told that at night they possibly dropped the amps/volts in the room as a friend of mine her clock lost 15 mins at night.

I was having trouble getting my travel chair to fully charge with the outlet at the desk. So i changed to using the one behind the TV. But still it was difficult to get a full charge.

I mentioned this to an officer and was informed that each outlet in the rooms have different amps/volts to reduce fire and safety issues. That the outlets in the rooms don't have the full amps/volts like I have here at home. The outlets in the hall have more and was told I could use one of them at night. But I didn't want to leave my travel chair in the hall.

Thankfully I kept enough charge that I never had to worry about running out. Plus sometimes I plugged in outlets in the Atruim, or other places outside the stateroom. Again I never ran completely out of charge and had enough to do what i wanted when I wanted. Just had to get use to the room outlets that a full night plugged may not give a full charge by the morning. I also if went into stateroom for a rest, to change clothes, shower, etc.... I plugged in the charger each time. easy enough to do, so kept me rolling as long as I could keep my head up <G>

 

[scrapperjill]

Brady... I don't remember how the stateroom doors are....and I don't know how you have to plug your scooter in..but could you bring an extention cord and plug it into the hall out let...but have the scooter in your room? Just an idea. Not sure that it would actually work...really depends on 1) if the door would allow for a cord under it. 2) if your scooter can be charged while pluged into an extention cord and 3) if it's okay with DCL. (I'd guess....if they said you could plug it in..in the hall then it should be a big deal. But who knows).


Step one of the 12 step PAA (plan aholic anonymous) Confess.

I've been an over planner for many years now. It started out simple enough with a small list but now it's progressed from a small list to many lists about lists. I too will pack, repack and pack again many times between now and the actuall cruise date. I'll search for the perfect traveling bags in an atempt to make the whole process smoother. I'll think and plot out the best schedule of events...any where from dinner at Palo to what to do in Key West. I have a special calander counting down the days to departure....and special notes of what pre trip tasks need to be done and when. The hardest part of being a plan aholic for me is deciding what to take. It'll start sometime this summer....It'll start first in my head trying to decide what outfits would be the best to bring...then the list in my head will find it's way to paper....where I'll sketch out complete outfits (well not actually sketch...but jot down).... Then I'll see what can be mixed/matched...what can be left out or what needs to be added.

By the time the vacation comes around...I need it BADLY just to unwind from the months of planning

Okay....I'm ready for step 2

Eva...I noticed a post of yours on another thread...about the REAS package or going ala' cart. I splurged on our first cruise on the REAS package...but that was before they did the robes and rainforest pass (they had the couples massages instead which IMO made the value of the package well worth it...btw it was under $300 at that time). Anyways... I've been thinking about adding it again but really wasn't sure if the value was worth it. After seeing your post with the breakdown of the package costs I'm leaning more towards going Ala' Cart. I really only want the robes Do you know if you purchase the 'gift basket' if they do indeed come with the robes? And are they worth the cost? The only other reall perk of the REAS package I can see is the ablity to book everything earler. BUT we didn't last time...and didn't have any problems getting what we wanted so I don't think it's that big of a deal....at least not going during this time of year (maybe it'd be more worth it if we were traveling during a more peak season.)