September 3, 2005 --- Who is going?

[pogopossum]

how does the internet hookup work, not sure if i would even have the time to use it enough to justify paying for the service.

i agree with you whole heartedly dr. after all the hoops that we jumped through, we did end up having a great three days at sea with family and friends. not all could be blamed on frances, but the crew on the ship did all they could to make things right. having been on the second ever 7 day cruise which was diverted to cozumel because of debby, and we enjoyed the trip and an extra day at cc to boot. i recommend planning for a fun trip no matter which way the ship goes. but i am a true believer and look forward to sailing into st maarten and st thomas before heading back for a fun day at cc. a bad day at sea on a disney ship beats any good day at work.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

a bad day at sea on a disney ship beats any good day at work.

I have to second that!

 

[lisa702]

52 days!!!!!!!!

 

[pogopossum]

i would even amend my statement to say is there really such a thing as a bad day at sea on a disney cruise?

 

[captaincrash]

Bob -

- we just have Lisa - DDJax - Sally and my famiily. I can say right now that my spouse and I are extreme nite owls and we hail from the west coast - so when it's 1-2AM on the ship - THAT is when we will be seeking most of our access - and even so just an estimated 3-6 times late nite (probably). AND - maybe a couple times during the day if a juicy Ebay auction is noted as closing mid-day. As for everyone else - that leaves 3 families accessing the account during normal hours (assumed). We are all on vacation - and I estimate there is a remote chance we will not hook up with ONE (or more) famiilies for one reason or another.

On our last cruise we had a little internet deal going but the hurricane reduced our sailing to 4 days and by the time I started thinking about it we decided to just skip the internet thing - it was pretty disruptive for all of us as far as I could figure. Yeah we had a great time in the end - but things sure were scrambled to an unconventional condition. So we were guilty of not seeking out our little cadre of internet account sharing companions. We were mildly wacked for a couple of days before we regained our wits.

So - I think it would probably be OK to add you Bob if you're OK with joining our little gathering. And I must say that you would be the final party to join our little circle. If we gain other parties expressing interest then it makes good sense to form another group Bob - as the money saved is fair enough with just ONE other party sharing, eh? = especially if you envision a significant amount of online usage all by yourself. I have a couple of kids - one is under 2 so she stays with us virtually all of the time - and from past experience we know our potential usage is anticipated to be fairly modest.

Please consider yourself welcome Bob - and it would be fine to depart our gathering if one or more others step forward to share an account.

At any rate - to Lisa, DDJax, Sally & Bob - I propose we sort of check in once aboard (if you would privately email or message me with your cabin numbers or real names) then I can reply with mine - and I will open an account and contact everyone with the password and such. Then we can meet at lunch TIME ON THE FIRST DAY AT SEA - and settle $ - or folks can swing by my cabin to slip an envelope under my door - as I am not planning on chasing folks down for a few dollars. I have no problem with volunteering the access numbers up front - and then trusting folks to pay later after they establish it is working properly - plus I envision needing a little time to get settled once aboard - and I assume most folks want to get settled and RELAX on the embarkation day!

Please plan on sending a representative to the ICE CREAM line area up on deck at 12 noon. I will probably be in front of it at the nearest table having lunch and ice cream with my family - 2 kids - one 4 and the other 2. Easy to spot unless the older one is the kids' club - then there will just be 3 of us. We'll be there from just before 12 noon until probably 12:40PM. My spouse and I are in our low 40s - and we are Chinese - so we should be easy to spot. If no one shows up or contributes then I reserve the right to change the password on the account I figure we're all the neighborly sort - this being a DIsney cruise and all!

I plan on boarding early - and will be accessable via cell phone IN PORT - if necessary to contact that way. So if you board early and want to hook up with us we can probably be cornered BEFORE we embark - BUT.... if you board in the afternoon - we don't want to impose on you and you should have a chance to get "settled".... eh?

Adios !

 

[captaincrash]

Pogo....

The internet access is via the terminals in the computer center. They have a gyro stabilized dish that syncs with a satillite and the speeds are probably pretty fast on the download side - and uplink is of an unknown speed. When I tried it 2 years ago the speeds were quite good (on reception).

You cannot hook up your own computer the last time I did it (2 years ago) - but on other cruise lines (I think it might have been NCL or RCCL) we could buy WiFi access. This was available only around the central atrium and as I recall it was either $60 or $120.

Whether or not it is worth it is another matter. At $100+ for sigificant (or unlimited) access it is about triple what we pay for a month of cabel modem access - of course it is a recurring purchase. And if you NEED access for tracking your business or vital investments - then the $100+ is a no-brainer. I do NOT need access that bad - however - I would LIKE to have access - especially if it were $50 - $40 - $33 or $25. My spouse and I can easily rack up an hour a nite - but probably after 11 or 12PM ships' time since we are all nite owls and in the Eastern tie zone that suggests we might easily be awake at 2AM.

I do have business interests - but they will continue in my absence - and emails can wait - but I feel better remaining on top of matters. Plus we do a bunch of things for leisure - and news. We like the idea of looking up whats going on in our local newspaper while sailing.

Maybe some folks would NOT consider this to very vacation-like.... but we usually travel with a computer and hook up 90% of the time from our hotels.

On another note - I sure hope we can make it to at least one of our scheduled ports. We really would rather not go to anything western. And I am certain we will have better luck this time around. We've sailed many many times in hurricane season and only had a disruption last year - as such - it was rather interesting. AND we are going to HAVE A GREAT CRUISE - RighT!

At any rate - we have everything set except our hotels - as we usually hotwire it - and have not gotten around to doing that yet. We do have our rental cars lined up - and air fare was settled a long long time ago.

SO on another note - anyone have any preference for ships location to be on? I keep glancing at the ships diagram and I keep thinking I almost anywhere would be ok (except maybe the very FRONT of the ship where motion is most pronounced). We are currently on deck 2 (from the bottom) amidships with a window cabin (single large porthole) - and we are considering upgrading into a cat 6 veranda. Our TA wants $645 to change it for the 4 of us - which sounds cheap considering the brochure difference is a bit over 1000. My spouse has just voiced a concern that our youngest poses a slight hazard for climbing = and might be at risk to the ocean - I am leaning towards getting it anyway - even if we don't use it much. The times I will use it most may be to relax our baby with fresh air without having to trek out into public areas up on deck. Either way - we'll manage - as we've had both on DCL and on other cruise lines.

At any rate - have a great day !

Adios!

 

[lisa702]

Crash..........don't have a cabin # yet, we are a guar right now. I just plan on using the internet to keep in touch with my son who lives in Germany, and check my emails. We'll probably slip an envelope under your door or something.

I'm gonna go in a different direction now.......anybody plan on bringing a few good books to relax with? I'm planning on bringing something by Dan Brown but I'm also looking for a another good one to bring. Any suggestions?

 

[gdulaney]

I'm gonna go in a different direction now.......anybody plan on bringing a few good books to relax with? I'm planning on bringing something by Dan Brown but I'm also looking for a another good one to bring. Any suggestions?

Lisa,
I'm planning on bringing some reading material. Usually I bring a ton of magazines (easy to leave by the pool or in the Cove once I've finished) and then a healthy little stack of books (mainly paperbacks).

I've got a couple of Shopaholic books (by Sophie Kinsella), The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel, and if I can hold off --- the new Harry Potter book. I have a couple of Borders gift cards, so I'll probably look at getting a couple of new release paperbacks.

What kinds of books do you like to read?

Ginny

 

[pogopossum]

cc

we hav e a verandah room on deck 7 right near the midships elevator, my only worry is that it might be a little noisy. i would go for the change if i were you, it is not easy to climb on the verandah, and with three sea days it is so nice to have.

 

[captaincrash]

thanx fer the encouragement Bob....

.... our 1st DCL cruise was purchased 3 weeks prior to sailing and followed an Alaska sailing by 2 weeks - it was sort of spontaneous - and was a cheap skate last minute lowest catagory inside cabin sort of deal. Our 2nd sailing was last year - hurricane reduced to a 4 day deal and was in a veranda cat 6. Nice.

I would actually like to sail 7 nites with a veranda - but after 20 years with my sweetheart I have learned to make certain decisions jointly - and this is one of them. She is sort of leaning against it - and I for it. Well see how it turns out - and I am guessing we'll wait and see if we luck out with a free upgrade OR we'll "fish" at the pier for a last minute decision deal.

I must admit that "I" would be OK with a cheap inside cabin again though - I don't need the split bath (though it's nicer - no doubt). And the extra space and veranda is always a nice spiff. But we come to the Magic for everything else the cruise offers - the shows, characters and whole cruise experience. Frankly - we've had some really cramped cabins in the past so the smallest DCL cabin is actually quite cozy - amazing, eh? Even so - we're currently in a catagory 9 or 10 (not sure which) and we have the split bath and slight sitting area. WHat... it's a whole 238 sq feet - a relatively large space by cruise cabin averages.

So... on another note - regarding reading - I don't expect much reading opportunities since I'm expecting to stand in lots of character meeting lines - and running from this to dat on the ship all the time - a sort of "active" vacation. We just downloaded a shore excursion list for the ports and we are considering doing something different if we can find something to perk our interests up while including the kids... a bit of an acrobatic challenge if you ask me. Somehow I suspect we'll just shop the towns and do the beaches - as usual. However I read elsewhere here that a family ran over to St John and did some horse back riding - that sounds out of th ordinary - however - how can we do this with a 1.75 year old?

We're thinking of doing a Palo's Sunday brunch - so our lunch meeting may be just over ice cream - while our REAL brunch/lunch may be earlier OR after the 12~12:30 meeting. We do sail on a Saturday - right?

So - for reading - I'm a sci-fi buff ~ and I'll probably carry a couple of old paper backs to reread in case I get a little free time - otherwise I try to let the spouse or kids take priority on "needs" and time usage.

HOWEVER - I will bring a couple of computer games - and IF I am awake late at nite and NOT surfing - then I may settle with a power outlet and play a computer game for a while - but it would only be in the very late evening hours.

I kno.... I'm a nerdy nut!

 

[Drcell01]

7 weeks until we leave for WDW and our cruise...WOO-HOO!

It will be here before we know it.

 

[lisa702]

Lisa,
I'm planning on bringing some reading material. Usually I bring a ton of magazines (easy to leave by the pool or in the Cove once I've finished) and then a healthy little stack of books (mainly paperbacks).

I've got a couple of Shopaholic books (by Sophie Kinsella), The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel, and if I can hold off --- the new Harry Potter book. I have a couple of Borders gift cards, so I'll probably look at getting a couple of new release paperbacks.

What kinds of books do you like to read?

Ginny

Oh Ginny I love THE Shopaholic books! I haven't read the last one yet, Shopaholic with Sister, so maybe I'll pick that one up. Last cruise in Sept, I read the first one and I was hooked. I haven't heard of the other authors. Maybe I'll check them out. I don't think I enjoy any particular type of reading, I just enjoy reading.
I have done a phase of mysteries, and 6 years ago I lost my oldest daughter Brianne 16, so I did a long phase of spiritual books and do still enjoy them. Romance novels for awhile. No particular phase right now tho. Hm, maybe I'll check out the NY bestsellers list for ideas too.

 

[disneyfanforever]

It is definitely getting closer and closer. Regarding books, I absolutely love to read and will definitely bring a few though I don't know which ones right now. I would like to save the Harry Potter one until then but I doubt I will be able to hold off that long. However, when we did the 3 day cruise, I didn't have time to open a book once with the kids running around and like Captain Crash mentioned I was always in some sort of character line. I can't wait to try the 7 day. 3 days was definitely not long enough.

 

[lisa702]

50 days! In case anyone was wondering.........

 

[MickeyManiac]

Lisa- I love the countdown!!!! Keep it coming!

It's Harry Potter for me if I can hold off that long. I'll have to have my husband hide my copy.

 

[pogopossum]

crash,

i think that is a wise move to make it a joint decision. we wouldn't do without it, and dw who usually has the same worries as yours does got over that after checking out the verandah. she has had not worried about either of our children since then.

as far as excursions, we will wait and see at least for st thomas, i think we plan to look into renting a car and driving over to st john. i know from cozumel last year that you can get cheaper deals than some of the on board excursions.

maybe we can discuss the internet when we get on and see if there are enough for a second group.

and dff we know what you mean, four days planned or unplanned, is not enough time on the magic either.

 

[salbythec]

Crash,
We are going to board early as well, have lunch at Parrott Cay . We will then look for you at scoops. I have your cell phone # if I can't find you. Did you get my email with my info?

The DD is getting upset with me for the countdown to the cruise because it means school is getting close for her!

Looking forward to meeting you all onboard!

 

[gdulaney]

Lisa,
I'm so sorry for your loss.

If you want to read something very, very funny (but with a bit of bad language)...Janet Evanovich has the "Stephanie Plum" series, which starts with One for the Money. Her main character is surrounded by a cast of crazies.

Ginny

 

[captaincrash]

Salbytec:

If you're up for it - would you like to meet for lunch at Parrot Caye on embarkation day? Assuming we can both get aboard early (no hurricane backflipping disruptions) then we should be aboard when you're aboard.

I don't recall whether you have kids in your party - but we have a total of 4 including 1.75 and 4 year old daughters. We could set a tenative time (how about 12:30?) and meet just outside of the entrrance to Parrot Caye. You should already have my cellular - and we could assume that whom ever is 1st will loiter for about 10 minutes (seems reasonable without being intrusive).

This is only our 3rd DCL cruise so we are not quite "expert" in all Castaway matters - so we will be eagar for any dining conversation regarding how to have a little more fun while aboard - while at the same time we are happy to share our wild ideas on how to have more fun without triggerring a stroke or other undesired injury!

WHat do ya say? Plus .... for that matter - is there anyone else planning on being aboard around 12 noon? Maybe we could gather a few more folks and try to reserve the captains' table. On NCL I got the captains' table for a gathering of folks we knew - and it was sort of fun to have the huge oval table for 20 or 24 folks! Of course - failng to secure the captains' table only means we'll have to share a couple of larger tables - hopefully close together.

ALso - if anyone is really planning on boarding by 1PM I see nothing wrong with moving lunch to 1PM or 1:30Any later would be less of a lunch and more of a "late lunch". We just have to be sure they don't CLOSE on us before we gather. I am not sure whether we'll be served or whether they'll have a quasi buffet line going as we've seen in the past. But we could probably verify the closing time before we draw close to travel time.

At any rate ~ anyone who might be interested ~ give a hollar!

Adios!

Tom & Alicia

 

[Drcell01]

We are staying at WDW for a couple of days prior and are planning on being at port just about the same time as DCL will allow (10:00 am). We are planning on doing the Safari at AK at 8am (early magic hour day at AK) and leaving right from AK to Port. We would love to join the group of Pirates.

See you all at Parrot Cay.