WONDER - Who's Sailing on October 19, 2003 - Let's get the roll call started!

[KarenK]

Most of my family sailing on this cruise will be experiencing it for the 4th time. But we also have three 1st timers with us. My oldest niece is 12 and will celebrate her birthday on the ship. Next is my nephew who is nine, my niece who is six and the baby who just turned two. We will probably be found at the Mickey pool, because the little one never likes to get out of the water. The 12 yo is looking for an e-mail pal so she will know someone before we sail. My Mom will be with us and this is her very first cruise.

So who else is with us, let the countdown begin.

 

[wink]

We'll be taking our first cruise October 19th! Traveling with my parents and MIL. We have two boys 5 & 10. Can't wait!

 

[KarenK]

Great my nephew Craig is nine and will be in the club. If you don't find him there, check the Goofy Hot tubs, seems the club boys take them over during the day. Looking forward to seeing you on this sailing.

 

[cramam]

Sailing for the first time 10/19. Just myself and my 2 daughters ages 11 and 7. I am trying to commit all the great suggestions here to memory. Will more likely forget my name by the time the big day arrives. Hope to see you and a wish for smooooth sailing!

 

[froggymomma]

We'll be on the 10/19 Wonder as well; me, DH and 4.5yo DS. It will be our first Disney cruise - DH and I went the Regal Princess about 9 years ago and loved it. Really looking forward to experiencing the Wonder and seeing it all through our son's eyes.

Now I'm trying to decide how and what to pack so NWA doesn't hit me with charges for over-loaded luggage. I always try to pack as much as possible in each suitcase and that doesn't work anymore.

Has anyone booked any shore excursions?

 

[Patsy1969]

Hi, This will be our first cruise also.. It is myself, DH, DS, DDinL and DGS who is 9. We are very excited just like the rest of you! I hope to meet some of you. What dinner times did you pick? We are the early dinner. Are any of you going to disney world after the cruise and if so, where are you staying? I am going to try to remember lime green ribbons. Patsy

 

[KarenK]

Welcome Patsy1969, my nephew will meet up with your GS in the clubs. What is his name? There are so many neat things for the kids to do. On one of our cruises Craig was so mad at me for pulling him out of the club during A Detective Clues Session just to go to a Goofy Pool Party! Can you believe an Aunt would do such a thing? But I have great pictures of him doing the limbo with Goofy. We have the early dinner and a table for 10. We will be heading to WDW after the cruise for just 2 days. We could not get the GF as our first choice, so we opted for the Holiday Inn Family Suites so the kids could pick their theme rooms. Less money and more room.

 

[KarenK]

Welcome cramam. Glad to see that there is another 11 yo girl on the ship. Is your DD looking to meet someone before she boards? My niece Ashley turns 12 the week before we sail. She is in 7th grade and lives in PA. She is a bit shy, but is willing to try the club the first night. I told her that is when all the kids meet and get to know the counselors.

 

[dizneefreak29]

My family will be cruising on the 19th also! It is my mom, dad, brother (15) and myself (29). This will be the first cruise for any of us. We are all very excited! Me especially! My mom and brother are heading home right after the cruise. My dad and I are staying an extra couple days to hit Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We are staying at All-Star Movies.

Hope to see some of you on the cruise!

 

[disneyrett]

Count us in!!!! We will be cruising on 10-19-03 too!!!! me, dh and 4 1/2 ds!!!! This will be our first Disney Cruise!!!! Just like you Kim we can not wait to see how ds reacts to the cruise!!!
We will also be staying in Disney for three days following the cruise!!! We are staying at the All Star Music , but are trying to stay at Coroanado Springs!!! Right now there are no more rooms at the Florida resident rates!! We are on the wait list for early seating!! Hope to get moved up!!

We can't Wait!!!!!

 

[Patsy1969]

Hi KarenK, My DGS name is Aaron. He is very outgoing and very much a boy. He excited about having other kids to meet and hang out with on the cruise. We are alos doing MNSVSHP on Friday after the cruise. Is any one else going on that night? I am SOOO excited about this cruise. We did not have a vacation over the summer. I fell off a ladder in May and dislocated my ankle. It is just now getting back to normal. I am doing the treadmill now, getting in shape for day long walking at DW. I look forward to meeting some or all of you! Patsy

 

[froggymomma]

Hey Disneyrett! Another 4 1/2 DS! My son Michael will be glad to know that there are other boys to play with on board. Have you decided on any excursions? We originally scheduled this cruise to get the day at sea, now it's Freeport. I'm torn between just staying onboard and enjoying all the Wonder has to offer in either Nassau or Freeport. I read about a Dolphin Encounter - I think it is available in Nassau that sounded like an option. There are not a lot of excursions geared towards the younger set.

We will be at WDW 3 days before we sail, then on to the Tampa area to visit family for a couple of days after the cruise. We're staying at the Poly. Our first Disney resort - it is our 20th anniversary so we are doing it up!

I'm starting to spend too much time reading these boards, getting excited!

 

[cramam]

KarenK , my daughter is always happy to meet new kids. Not sure howmuch of the kids clubs we'll be doing as we are just feeling our way along at this point towards our first cruise experience. We have early dining and are going to WDW for 3 days after at Old Key West.

 

[disneyrett]

Hi Kim! My son Garrett will love having someone his own age to play with while on board! DH and I have been trying to decide with shore excursion to do. I think we have narrowed it down to either the Stingray City and Blue Lagoon Comb ( I don't know it DS is old enough for this excursion yet), or an excursion to Atlantis. DS loves stingrays. When we go to seaworld we can't get him away from the stingray petting area. We will be staying on board while we're docked at Freeport to enjoy the ship!!!

We're getting very excited too!!!!!

Tracy

 

[KarenK]

Welcome WINK. Your 10 year old will be in the clubs with Craig and Aaron. Looks like this is going to be a fun cruise. We are also bringing Grandma (Nana) along, as she wants to see the grandkids interact with the the characters. This is our first ever all together family vacation. She has only seen her oldest GD at WDW and wants to see the rest of them having fun. You will love the cruise, there are so many things to do and the days go by so fast. The kids seem to meet friends real fast and they get along so well.

 

[katyo]

I was beginning to think no one else was going October 19th! We have a DD-6, DS-5 and DS-4. We will be staying at the Poly for 4 days before sailing. Plan on spending the day at Atlantis and onboard instead of Freeport. Hope to see some of you there!
This is the first trip to WDW both DH and the kids and the first Disney cruise for all of us.

Counting down!

katyo

 

[KarenK]

Welcome kayto. I too was thinking the ship was going to be empty. We were orginally going October 18th on the 7 day but my Mom was not feeling too well. So we switched cruises. There were so many more people on the 7 day from these boards.

But I think we are picking up steam here. Now that everyone realizes that it is just 38 days away, the mad rush is on, the packing started and all the last minute plans are being finalized. You will love the ship and your kids will have a great time. My sister just commented today that I was so thrilled the first time I saw Animator's for dinner. Now 4 cruises later I am thinking of skipping it for dinner at Palo.

My 6 yo niece Callan will be on the ship she is a bit scared of going to the clubs byherself, but willing to give it a try if she meets someone her age. She too like her brotther and cousin, want to swim all day and use the Mickey slide. You are lucky that all three of yours can be in the same club. Callan will be seperated from her brother and cousin, which she is not happy about. We too are going t the Atlantis fr the day, we reneted a room there. My other sister is ready to gamble.

We might have to set up a DIS meet, now that we have the roll call rolling!

 

[froggymomma]

Hello to all! It's good to see there are others on the board on this cruise. I told my son there will be at least a couple of other 4YO boys on the ship - he was excited to hear that. We spent some time this evening on the WDW website checking out attractions at the parks. I'm trying to figure out how adventurous he will be. He has been to the MK once earlier when he turned 3. I'm guessing 4 1/2 will be a lot different!

Has anyone who has been to Nassau previously ever taken a cab to Atlantis to check out the aquariums (The Dig?) by themselves instead of a DCL excursion. I've heard they are great - and Michael is too young for the whole water park thing.

Kayto - sounds like we will be at the Poly at the same time. We arrive on 10/15 in the evening. Really looking forward to it.

 

[KarenK]

Our first cruise Craig was three and we took a taxi on our own to Atlantis. I believe it was less than $10.00. You pay the driver the fee to go over the bridge too. We loved the day there. We swam in the ocean and looked at all the aquariums and stingray tanks. Back in 1998 the Atlantis was not as big and they did not stop you from entering. I would suggest you plan on going for lunch and then tour the property afterwards. In 2000 we did it again and the kids loved it. This time we booked a day room and enjoyed the pools and slides. The have some great kiddy pools and smaller slides than the ones you see on the TV commercials. The expanded aquariums were great and the kids loved the sharks. We are again doing the day room this trip so you have a place to change and can get pool towels. I still think the Disney excursion is very high for just beach access. When you price out for a whole family it is best to get a room. You can also use the Comfort Suites across the street and the rooms are less expensive and you have full access to all of the Atlantis.

 

[katyo]

KarenK - My daughter Margaret loves to make friends (she has no sisters) so she will love to hook up with your niece. My little guy is actually 3 (turns 4 on Nov 2), so he will be in a separate group - but he's getting used to that as his brother and sister are in school now and he has to wait! Tell your sister, I'm hoping to get in some gambling myself!

FroggyMomma - we're checking in on the afternoon of the 15th and heading to Epcot. I'm sure we'll run into each other at some point! Will you be going to MNNSHP?

Can't wait - it's really getting exciting now.