Trip Number Ten ~ We're Going Again! Plus a side trip!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Looking for ideas for a TR title.............

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Shelly let us know how the boys did after they get home. I hope all went well. It's so hard being a kid sometimes.

 

[T*Bird]

I hope Shelly doesn't mind us getting off topic here, but since we're just sort of hanging out and waiting for her TR to begin, I'll chime in on this one...

You WILL feel the ship moving but nothing like you do on a deep sea fishing boat. I too get very seasick (found that out on my first cruise), but my doctor gave me a motion sickness patch to wear behind my ear for our second cruise and I didn't feel sick at all on that sailing. I never even felt queasy or disoriented. It was FABULOUS! I will never again sail without that patch!

My cruising advice would be to start small. I'd go on the 3 night cruise or something like that. Then you won't be trapped on the ship for an entire week if it turns out not to be your thing. You also won't have much money invested in it either if it's a bust! I would also HIGHLY recommend the staterooms with verandas. It helps tremendously to be able to step outside your room to get some fresh air (the cabins are small) and to be able to see the horizon line. Just having that as a steady focal point makes a huge difference in how the movement of the ship makes you feel. We stayed in an inside cabin on the first cruise and I always felt so disoriented because I had no point of reference for where we were.

Anyway, I hope you can talk your hubby into it. I swore after the first cruise (without the patch and in the inside stateroom) that I would never sail again! Thankfully my DH pushed me to give it another shot, and the second time was the charm! We love it so much that we are going for our 3rd cruise next month!

Good luck!!!

Thanks! Great suggestion about having the veranda. I thought it would be nice anyway, but now that you mention that it helps with the motion sickness, it would be a must-have!

You are brave to try another cruise after getting seasick. I can tell you with no uncertainty that if I can get my DH to go, and he does get sick, I would never get him on another cruise!

My DH had surgery a few months ago, and I was very worried about him getting sick from the anesthesia. Because not only does he get motion sickness, he gets sick from pain medicine. I kept emphasizing to the doctors how susceptible he is to getting sick. (after a surgery of my own, I was sick for a day from the anesthesia, so I knew it could be trouble). Anyway, they said he would get anti-nausea meds in his drip, but they also put a patch on him before surgery. That was something I had never heard of before surgery. I'm not sure what did the trick, but he did not get sick!

I wouldn't mind starting out with a 3-day cruise, which is a great idea. The only thing is that we both really want to do an Alaskan cruise. Maybe I can find a short Carribbean cruise, though, which wouldn't set us back too much money. I'll have to look into that!

 

[T*Bird]

No problem! If Shelly's OK with the hijack, I could chat cruising all day!

Hey, we may get Shelly interested in going on a cruise next year instead of Disney!

Well, for starters we sailed on the Norwegian Pearl, and unfortunately it was not a great experience. This was our first time sailing with them, and will definitely never go back. I have sailed Princess once, and my DH and I have sailed DCL twice before. Some people may enjoy the whole "Freestyle" cruising - but to us, it felt like a cop out and it made it so the staff wasn't never really accountable for their actions.

I wrote a report about it on the Dis if you are interested. I went into a little bit of detail, but this still only really glazes over of the bad experiences we all had.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3116247

Ugh....so sorry you had such a bad experience with the cruise line/ship. A cruise is a big investment, and when you have a bad experience, that makes it even worse. I've heard of freestyle cruising, but I really don't know what it means and how it is differenct from other cruises. I will definitley check out your TR!

So - aside from the cruiseline... Alaska was absolutely stunning, and I would recommend for anyone to visit once in their lifetime. Even if you're not a big cold weather person. It's not nearly as bad as you think it will be, even in the very beginning of the season when we were still waiting for some things to thaw. We also chose an itinerary that sailed in Mid-May (12th - 19th) to try and save money. It is the very beginning of the season, so it definitely was cheaper than sailing in July or August. If you can afford it, I would recommend going in August, because that will be salmon spawning season and you will see a lot more wildlife. The bears were not out yet in May, because the salmon weren't moving much while we were there. We did see a few moose, a whale, a few seals and some eagles - but not nearly as much wildlife as if you would go later on in the year.

Our itinerary sailed from Vancouver and we stopped in Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Victoria and we ended in Seattle. We also had a day of "scenic cruising" that took us through Glacier Bay, which was probably the best day of the whole trip. I enjoyed every single port for different reasons. In Juneau, we went to see the Mendenhall glacier and it was amazing. In Ketchikan, we just walked around the port area and went to a place called "Creek Street" where all of the businesses are set up on stilts. They even have a mini incline that takes you to the top of the hill, and it felt like home for me (we're from Pittsburgh).... Skagway, we did a wonderful tour up into the Yukon territory to Emerald lake, and saw some absolutely jaw dropping scenery on the way (if you end up going here, let me know and I can recommend the tour company - they were AWESOME! ) ... and in Victoria, we just walked around and went to Fisherman's wharf to see all of the painted houseboats and grabbed some fish and chips. By that day, we were poor and didn't want to spend too much more money. LOL.

When we disembarked, my husband and I spent the day walking around Seattle, and saw Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and a lot of really cool areas around the wharf before flying home late that night.

My absolute biggest recommendation is to try and make sure that you choose an itinerary that sails Glacier Bay. Especially if you have a room with a balcony. The best thing we did the whole trip was have the door open while we sat on the balcony or in the room while sailing between all those glaciers. We grabbed coffee and just sat and watched. It was just incredible.

I'll try to post some pictures tonight!

Thank you for all of the great info! I am going to copy and save your entire post. I love the idea of going in August. It sounds like the perfect time to go to see wildlife, and it's always nice to get away from the heat and humidity at home. I love all of your suggestions on itineraries and tours. That is such a help when you know nothing going in!

I'd love to see your pictures, too!

 

[T*Bird]

Looking for ideas for a TR title.............

The first thing that came to mind was "Surf and Turf" for your beach and Disney combo trip.

How about "Surf and Turf: Loved the Turf, Didn't Love the Surf"

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Yes, huge changes for both of them this year. DS14 didn't adjust too well to MS. It took about 2 weeks before he wasn't coming home upset everyday. That's why I'm worried. He's not big on change!!

Poor Jack wants to sit in the window all day and wait on them! He HATES the bus and goes completely nuts when he see it!

They will actually be on the same bus now. DS11 will ride a bus from the MS to the HS, and then transfer to our bus home. He will be on the bus for a long time, but he wanted to try it out today to see what it was like and so he would know how to do it. It's pretty likely that I will end up picking him up a lot of the time. I did it for DS14 his whole time in the MS because the bus ride is just too long by the time they bus them over to the HS, then wait on the HS to be let out, and those kids to board the bus, and then start the route home. Plus the MS is like 4 minutes from our house!

That really stinks that they have to share buses w/ each other. I old be picking up if I could too. That's just way to long to be on a bus.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[ddluvsdisney]

The first thing that came to mind was "Surf and Turf" for your beach and Disney combo trip.

How about "Surf and Turf: Loved the Turf, Didn't Love the Surf"

That's really cute!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[rusafee1183]

Yes, huge changes for both of them this year. DS14 didn't adjust too well to MS. It took about 2 weeks before he wasn't coming home upset everyday. That's why I'm worried. He's not big on change!!

Poor Jack wants to sit in the window all day and wait on them! He HATES the bus and goes completely nuts when he see it!

They will actually be on the same bus now. DS11 will ride a bus from the MS to the HS, and then transfer to our bus home. He will be on the bus for a long time, but he wanted to try it out today to see what it was like and so he would know how to do it. It's pretty likely that I will end up picking him up a lot of the time. I did it for DS14 his whole time in the MS because the bus ride is just too long by the time they bus them over to the HS, then wait on the HS to be let out, and those kids to board the bus, and then start the route home. Plus the MS is like 4 minutes from our house!

That is a ridiculously long time on the bus! I would lose it!

I hope they have a great first day of MS and HS. Hopefully DS14 won't have a hard time adjusting this time around.

Looking for ideas for a TR title.............

I am not good at this stuff, but I know you always make yours rhyme-y and cute so how about something with "Sand and Sun; But was it fun??" or something like that???

Thank you for all of the great info! I am going to copy and save your entire post. I love the idea of going in August. It sounds like the perfect time to go to see wildlife, and it's always nice to get away from the heat and humidity at home. I love all of your suggestions on itineraries and tours. That is such a help when you know nothing going in!

I'd love to see your pictures, too!

Thanks! I really hate to sound like I am being unreasonable, but it just wasn't a great time.

The freestyle cruising just means that they don't give you a set dining time. You can come and go as you please to any of the buffets, or sit down restaurants and the dress is very casual. On other cruiseline's they ask you if you want to eat at (usually) 6:30 or 8:30 and you have an assigned waitstaff that is with you for the whole week. The dress is more business casual. Dresses, slacks etc.... You will always eat in the same dining room, unless you choose to go to a buffet for the night.

DCL takes it another step up, and they have several different restaurants that they will rotate you through and your waitstaff will follow you. It's a great way to see all of the different restaurants and see all of the cool things that Disney has done all while having the same staff who has gotten to know your preferences.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

The boys made it home safe and sound about an hour ago. Everything went well, except for DS14 is having trouble with the lock on his locker. It's one of those built in ones and it's hard to use. And DS11 has a long ways to go from lunch to study hall and is afraid he's not always going to make it in 3 minutes. But I'm sure they will figure it all out!

I'll likely be picking DS11 up, he was on the bus for over 45 minutes. He didn't mind it too much, but asked if I would pick him up tomorrow!



Loving the TR ideas so far, keep them coming!

 

[mickeystoontown]

The boys made it home safe and sound about an hour ago. Everything went well, except for DS14 is having trouble with the lock on his locker. It's one of those built in ones and it's hard to use. And DS11 has a long ways to go from lunch to study hall and is afraid he's not always going to make it in 3 minutes. But I'm sure they will figure it all out!

I'll likely be picking DS11 up, he was on the bus for over 45 minutes. He didn't mind it too much, but asked if I would pick him up tomorrow!



Loving the TR ideas so far, keep them coming!

Sounds like a pretty good first day. Well, except for the dumb locker lock and a long bus ride. It's crazy how they expect the kids to get from one place to another in just 3 minutes.

I don't blame DS11 for wanting you to pick him up. A 45 minute bus ride is too long!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

So glad to hear things went well for your boys!!

I don't have any title suggestions, but I just wanted to say that Sheree came up with one of the cutest ones I've ever seen on one of her TRs and if she hadn't used it, it would've been perfect for you... Beauty and the Beach! I just love that! And since you did BOG this time it would've really been perfect! Maybe Sheree can come up with something else catchy for you!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

The boys made it home safe and sound about an hour ago. Everything went well, except for DS14 is having trouble with the lock on his locker. It's one of those built in ones and it's hard to use. And DS11 has a long ways to go from lunch to study hall and is afraid he's not always going to make it in 3 minutes. But I'm sure they will figure it all out!

I'll likely be picking DS11 up, he was on the bus for over 45 minutes. He didn't mind it too much, but asked if I would pick him up tomorrow!

Loving the TR ideas so far, keep them coming!

Glad they had a good first day. My DS12 came home excited that his good friend is in his classes and they share a locker too. Phew!! What a relief. And another friend from baseball & football is in his class. It's always good to hear that they have friends in their class, ya know?
DS16 starts tomorrow -only freshman today.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[T*Bird]

Glad the boys had a good day overall! I don't blame DS11 for wanting you to pick him up. That's a long ride! I bet Jack was happy to see them!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

So glad to hear things went well for your boys!!

I don't have any title suggestions, but I just wanted to say that Sheree came up with one of the cutest ones I've ever seen on one of her TRs and if she hadn't used it, it would've been perfect for you... Beauty and the Beach! I just love that! And since you did BOG this time it would've really been perfect! Maybe Sheree can come up with something else catchy for you!

Aww, thanks Rinky! I think I had help with that one!
I'll see if I can come up with something - I have to come up with one for mine too!
Maybe tie in BOG somewhere - if it was memorable for you. But definitely use sand/beach too!

 

[disny_luvr]

I've been MIA for awhile and am happy to be back! School started here last Monday so things have been hectic to say the least. Between getting my classroom ready and parent meetings and then getting my boys ready for the start of school and their homework, there hasn't been much free time. To add to the chaos, we decided to take a weekend trip to Chicago over the Labor Day holiday It was great but boy am I exhausted. I need another four day weekend to recover.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading your live reports while you were in WDW. It sounds like the weather wasn't the best but you guys made the most of it. I'm looking forward to your TR. I'm glad Jodi arrived safely at WDW. It sounds like she lucked out with the crowds.

I'm glad your boys enjoyed the first day at their new schools. I teach middle school so I understand the anxiousness of 6th graders and their parents. I dread thinking of my boys going to middle school - I'll be a nervous wreck and I even teach in the school they'll be attending. Hopefully by the end of the week they'll have settled into a new routine.

 

[disny_luvr]

Aww, thanks Rinky! I think I had help with that one!
I'll see if I can come up with something - I have to come up with one for mine too!
Maybe tie in BOG somewhere - if it was memorable for you. But definitely use sand/beach too!

Please post when you start your TR. I'd love to read it. We are taking a Disney cruise in November and I love reading other people's trip reports. Taking a cruise to Alaska is on my bucket list.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Please post when you start your TR. I'd love to read it. We are taking a Disney cruise in November and I love reading other people's trip reports. Taking a cruise to Alaska is on my bucket list.

I will! I've got a little to finish up on my HHI trip and then I'll get started. It's an AWESOME trip!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Has anyone flown on SW lately??

If you book with them and then the price comes down later, do they still give you a credit for those funds?


Thanks

 

[Dancegrl624]

Has anyone flown on SW lately??

If you book with them and then the price comes down later, do they still give you a credit for those funds?

Thanks

Yes they do. I booked my flights in June and them a week or so later they both came down. I now have a whopping $15 credit.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yes they do. I booked my flights in June and them a week or so later they both came down. I now have a whopping $15 credit.

Thanks Meghan! Do they charge you a fee or anything when you go to use the credit? Does the credit expire?