WONDER Mar 29, 2015 5 Night Western Caribbean (Cozumel)

[vincenzak]

Looking forward to our first cruise as a family. We love Disney and our DD will be 7, DS 5. Any suggestions/tips are welcome.

 

[vincenzak]

Sorry to be ignornant, but what exactly is a FE and how does it work? What is the committment if you sign up? I'm interested, but also don't want to let others down if it will be too much to plan.

Thanks!

 

[wisconsinmom]

I just requested to join the FB group!

Our group is Kari (me), Dan (DH), Connor 12, Alice will be 10.

This will be our 5th DCL cruise. We did a 5 night a few years ago on the Dream and it was a great length!

We'll be heading to WDW for 2 nights at AKV after the cruise!

I look forward to chatting with everyone!

 

[Shea&Van]

Welcome new friends!

vincenzak - I'm curious about the FE thing too. From my limited understanding, it's a sort of gift exchange/secret Santa type activity. You place a fish extender (FE) hanging near your stateroom and other cruisers drop off small items as a special treat. Some folks leave trinkets from their hometowns, others do Disney-centric items, and some do personalized cruise things. We are interested in participating, but I definitely need to do some more research before I commit!

wisconsinmom-I'm happy we have so many wise cruise veterans joining us. We're brand new and sooooo excited. We're planning to do WDW before our cruise for a few days and are anxious to book our room reservations whenever they open up.

Slightly OT...did anyone see Maleficient this weekend? I was nervous to take my "big" kids (ages 5 and 7), but we all LOVED it. There were a few mildy scary (and loud) parts, but I found the story amazing!!! And the funny parts were top-notch.

Well, my countdown app shows me were are finally under 300 days! Here's to 299 more days till we board!! Woot Woot!

Happy week everyone

 

[alif]

We are super excited about our first ever Disney Cruise next March. We're a group of six: My husband, son (will be 2 1/2), daughter (will be 5) and in-laws.

Already collecting lots of FE ideas on Pinterest. Look out!

Super excited to interact with all of you.

Ali

 

[tinkmom2]

Well hiya everyone. I had started a thread months ago but they must have never added it to the list http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3232512 Anyway, Hi! My name is Christine! This will be our 3rd time on the Wonder and our 4th Disney cruise. Traveling will be my DD Cassie (15), DD Claire (9), and DH Pat.

I've been in charge of several FE exchanges so let me know if you have questions? The FE is like a "stocking" that you hang from the fish outside your door. That fish is used by Disney crew to leave you messages but a Diser invented a cool gift exchange. Most are open up until about 6 weeks before the cruise because many of us make hand made gifts. There are always people that want to join at the last minute but it's up to the group or individuals that want to add them or not. There is no limit on what type of gift you give or how many. We divided up our cabins into 2 groups ( to around 10 per group) so we didn't have to make so many gifts. That helped keep costs down too.
They are sold on ETSY, Ebay, or some make their own.

PS. Just from previous experience, it's just easier if one person is in charge of documenting names, ages, allergies, special events etc for the FE. Something to think about. The Dismeet is pretty cool too. I am still friends with Disers I met in 2009.

Well I am pretty excited! Here's what a FE looks like : http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2820800&page=2

 

[Shea&Van]

Hey everyone and welcome to those who are just jumping in here!

I'm really excited to see what FE gifts people have enjoyed getting on past cruises. I've seen some super cute ideas on Etsy. For those folks who have cruised before, does any one/two gifts really stick out as a memorable one?

Is anyone planning on doing WDW before/after the cruise? We are probably going to do a few days before, but my sis and her family will probably do a few days after.

Is everyone planning on spending the night in Miami before we depart? Any great hotel recommendations to share?

According to my countdown tracker, we only have 291 days, 22 hours, 2 minutes, 7 seconds...

Hope all is well fellow travelers!!!!

For those of you planning to surprise your children with the news of the cruise...any idea how you are going to do a big reveal? We are thinking at Christmas...some sort of large box full of pirate costumes and maybe some sort of treasure map-looking thing that tells them they are going on a Disney Cruise. According to trusty countdown tracker, only 197 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes, 59 seconds to keep the big secret.

Happy day y'all!!

 

[tinkmom2]

Here is my biggest fear: we are going during spring break in Miami. I plan on paying a bit more to stay at the Hilton. The shuttle is $15.00 per person. The person said it's a 20 minute ride to port. http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/hilton-miami-airport-MIAAHHH/index.html I was reading some review of La Quitna and what a nightmare their shuttle was. Southwest also doesn't fly to Miami from Milwaukee so that presents another problem. We might have to stay in Ft. Lauderdale. We wanted to go back to Orlando after the cruise but it's a 3 hour drive via rental car. I really want to see the Harry Potter at Universal and the MK.

FE gifts. Last cruise I made some gifts that never made it on the ship. Lesson learned about shipping to the hotel before a cruise. The box I mailed to the ship got there but we were missing half of our FE gifts and our pirate costumes. Both packages I mailed on the same day and the resort one came the day after we set sail. The resort was nice enough to bring it to the airport for us.

Here is what I made last cruise: These were Mickey tote bags I made that never made it.

I made Mickey waffle and ice cream earrings:

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And I made these treasure chests:

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[Shea&Van]

Wow girl, those tote bags are tres cute!!! LOVE them! But, what a bummer about your packages...I will definitely keep that in mind.

We are doing WDW before the cruise (that's the plan anyway), but we are planning on flying back home via FLL (using our SWA miles). Has anyone driven to/from WDW to the Miami port? How much time to allow? What about the port to FLL? I'm sure there are threads addressing distance and car services, I just haven't started to research that piece yet.

We too were concerned about Spring Break and hotels, but we found a good recommendation on Mousesavers for Comfort Suites Miami Airport North which has free shuttles to/from the port and to/from MIA (where we plan to leave our rental car). It also includes a "free" continental breakfast. What appealed to me most is that they allow for up to five people to be in one room (there is a small sofa bed) and that works perfectly for our family! The also offered a AAA rate, which ended up being just under $200 (all inclusive with fees/taxes). It's just for one night, so I'm hopeful it will work for our purposes.

Moving on to the next topic...has anyone been to Cozumel before? We've been once before (about 12 years ago) and are interested in doing some sort of excursion...any suggestions?

Well, I hope everyone has a happy day!

 

[tinkmom2]

I heard it's a good three hour drive from Port of Miami to WDW. It's our first time to Cozumel but I want to do the Ruin excursion with beach time. I searched it on the DCL site. The cave exploration looks pretty cool too. (But I think for older kids)http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3274151

 

[Grumpymom73]

I live in Central Florida and travel to Miami often. It will take you about 3 1/2 hours to drive between WDW and Miami. It's a very easy drive up/ down the turnpike. I believe it's about 30 - 40 minutes from the Port of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airport.

We are planning on driving down south the night before and staying in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. Don't want to drive for 4 hours before getting on the ship.

 

[djmj27]

I just booked my family for this Cruise! It is our first! My girls will be 5 & 4 at the time of the cruise! So excited to plan and learn more! Requested to be a part of the FB group too

 

[Grumpymom73]

I just booked my family for this Cruise! It is our first! My girls will be 5 & 4 at the time of the cruise! So excited to plan and learn more! Requested to be a part of the FB group too

Welcome!!

You picked a great cruise for your 1st one.

Your whole family will love it. Trust me! lol

If you have any questions.....post away and I'm sure one of us can help. This will be our 3rd time on the Wonder and we can't wait.

 

[stick30]

We are all set to go. First cruise we have ever been on. Our girls will be 7 and 10 at the time of departure.

 

[Shea&Van]

Yeah!! And our group continues to grow!!! My countdown app has us at 237 days till we set sail! Can't wait! It is our first cruise as well. My kids have no idea, as it is a big part of their Christmas presents this year.

 

[stick30]

We also have kept the cruise a secret and we will also use X-Mas as the time to unveil the trip. We are very excited but also nervous since my wife does get carsick easily. We will be using and taking many remedies.

 

[twacht]

Hi everyone, I'm Tracy and my DH is Michael and we are going to be joining you on this cruise. We will be joined by our DS Matthew 15 and DD Lexi 12 on this leg. This is our 8th Disney cruise and we are also DVC members and we LOVE DISNEY!!! We are hoping to be platinum by our 5th anniversary so shortly there after by booking a btb on this cruise! I am terrible at checking the DIS board but I am always on FB so I will be joining there soon! Can't wait to get to know you all!!!

 

[tarabubar]

Hey all, my name is Tara and my DH is Nate. We will be sailing with our two boys Logan (10) and Tyler (8). This will be our first Disney Cruise and we are very excited! Any insider tips would be great. I also just asked to be part of the FB group as well.

 

[Shea&Van]

Hi there Tracy and Tara!! Welcome!

Only 203 days to go according to my countdown app! For us, we are waiting till Christmas to spill the beans...just 110 till the big reveal!

Happy planning!!

 

[thecookfamily]

Hello all!
My name is Cheryl and my DH is Elvin. We will be sailing with our daughter Joi (7). This will be our first Disney Cruise!!!
I see that there are already 50 people in the FE group. Is the group closed? If not, I would like to sign up.

Thanks,
Cheryl