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1/24/08 trip report lots of pictures

mom x4,grandma x4

By mom x4,grandma x4,
in Disney Cruise Line

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ilovecraig929

ilovecraig929

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THANK YOU so much for taking the time for the awesome review and great pictures! i plan to print some of them out (along with various other bits and pieces about disney cruises) in order to make a scrapbook of sorts to help aid in the process of convincing my family of the need to go on a disney cruise LOL

 

thanks again!

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mom x4,grandma x4

mom x4,grandma x4

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Great pictures!! Thank you for sharing!:) :) :) I have a question... do they let you in the swimming pools as soon as you board? Before the ship departs?

 

Also, how do the fish extenders work??

Who is involved??

Sounds like fun!

 

 

We sail late March, it's a surprise for my children (6,12) ;) I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. :eek: :eek:

 

Thanks again

 

 

yes the pools are open when you board. many kids wear swim suits under their clothes, although there are restrooms you can change in.

 

fish extenders are fun.

To make it work you must post on a cruise meets thread so others will do it with you.

By your door is a small metal fish about 5 or 6 inches long and 4 inches deep that is a note holder.

You make a holder like a shoe holder that hangs from the fish for people to put gifts in during the course of your cruise. You decorate them to be themed disney usually. Most are 20 to 24 inches long and about 6 or 7 inches wide with 3 pockets on them. most use a ribbon sewed to the top of the extender to hang over the fish, some use a dowel to hold it sturdy and straight.

If you cruise during the holiday season some will use big Christmas stockings with characters on them.

Others who arnt too creative will get a gift bag with good size handles and put decorative sticker son it and hang that from the fish too. Just make sure the handles are large enough to get over the fish and the people can open the bag to put things in it.

types of things given are miniature candies, kisses, bubbles, princess and pirate pencils, stick em note pads, glow in the dark straws, neon necklaces and bracelets, football trading cards,chinese finger traps, disney stickers, just any small thing you can find, many make home made things too.

If you want to see photos of a couple of them send me an e-mail and title it fish extenders so i wont delete it.

 

 

Then you sneak around and put things in each others extenders to surprize them. we posted a list of everyone who wanted to do it and brought it on board with the gifts so we wouldnt miss anyone.

Kathy

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mom x4,grandma x4

mom x4,grandma x4

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THANK YOU so much for taking the time for the awesome review and great pictures! i plan to print some of them out (along with various other bits and pieces about disney cruises) in order to make a scrapbook of sorts to help aid in the process of convincing my family of the need to go on a disney cruise LOL

 

thanks again!

 

here are a few tips to help you plan the cruise, hope it helps you some,

kathy

 

1.early arrival gets an early boarding pass number.

 

2.terminal opens 10 a.m.

 

3.boarding starts around 11:30 to noon.

 

4.keep camera with you at ALL times, even in the terminal. characters will appear there for photos. ourdoor viewing area of the ship for photos.

5 check in at kids club table while waiting to board ship. saves you time on the ship.

 

6. take a few ones. some for room service tips some to tip porters who take your bags at the termnal. $1 per bag is customary.

 

7. take small bills for the islands. many small shops dont have change.

 

8. if your going to use your credit card on the islands, call your CC company first and tell them or you will have to wait on a phone call to ok all your purchases. This is a big hassle and can take 30 minutes or more.

 

9. most shops who take credit cards, require a $20 minimum purchase.

 

10 take camera to dinner each night, surprizes happen all the time. You wont be alone. you will even see cam corders at dinner.

 

11. arrive at all shows 20 minutes early for good seats.

 

12. arrive at character meets 10 minutes early

 

13 Princess meets arrive 15 minutes early

 

14. on Castaway cay if you want your photo taken with Captain Jack Sparrow, do NOT ride the tram to the beach area. It does NOT stop near him. You must walk in to the beach signs say 20 minute walk in it takes us 10 minutes. he will be along the way in the sand and photo has the flying Dutchman behind you, great photo! Check navigator for times he will be there.

 

15 There are characters along the way to the beach, ok to ride the tram for this. Lines are short and move quickly so it is a great opportunity to see characters without lines. check navigator for times and places.

 

16 also characters appear at the gazebo near cookies BBQ on the island during the day.

 

17 adult only beach has it's own area for lunch they often have steaks or lobster there as a special treat for the grown ups. But Cookies BBQ by family beach has more variety of other foods.

 

18 dont ,miss the good bye late the last night in the atrium. ALL the characters will line up on the stairs and will pose for photos for you. This farwell party is really nice and fun.

 

19 check for photos everyday at shutters. buy a package deal and save $$ if you dont buy enough photos for the package deal they will refund you the difference at the end of your cruise .

or if you buy a photo and then decide the next day you see one you want more, just bring back the one you bought and the receipt and tell them you want to exchange it and they will be happy to do this for you.

 

20. you can order warm chocolate chip cookies or Mickey ice cream bars from room service even though it is not on the menu. The warm cookies are available in the evenings only

 

21. bring 2 white pillowcases or a matte style picture frame in a zip lock baggie with water proof markers and leave at guest services desk ask to be autographed and it will be returned to you the last night all signed by the characters. I also add a card with my name and room number on it just in case their card gets lost. I like to use dark colored markers, the light colors dont show up as well.

 

22. If you need to change dining times or make a Palos reservation go to Wave Bands club directly upon boarding to take care of this. The sooner you do it the better your chances of getting what you want.

 

23. I fyou have kids leave a wake up call and then let them answer the phone. It will surprize the because Mickey will be on the phone telling them it is time to get up.

 

24 Afternoon matinees of the shows are great to see. They are the exact same show, they leave out nothing but it is less crowded and kids arnt as tired, plus it makes for a more leisurely evening. No need to rush to or from the shows due to your dinner time.

 

25. Pop is free in all restaurants and at the drink station on deck 9. But if you order it from waiter or buy at a lounge or bar you will be charge for it plus a gratuity.

 

26. stop by the drink station and grab a drink to take with you to the shows or movies instead of buying a can a pop there. If you want a snack stop and grab pizza or hot dogs or fruit on deck 9 to take with you. again save money over buying a bunch of snacks for the kids.

 

27.At dinner kids can order from both the kids or adult menu.

 

28. The BBQ at the adult beach often has a fewer choices than Cookies BBQ on the family side but they often will have steak or lobster for the adults only BBQ. That is a nice perk.

 

29. No need to book floats and bikes ahead of time for Castaway Cay. They have tons of them. wait until you get there to make sure your really going to need the floats or have time to ride the bikes before renting them. we always just walk up and do it at the beach.

 

30. If you want to do the banana boat ride or the ski do(eco tour) I would book ahead of time. They do often have last minute openings so dont be afraid to ask when you arrive if you didnt book it and decided you'd like to do it.

 

31. if you rent bikes there are 2 nice trails just off the runway. The first one will have an observation tour. It has a great view of the island and ship. Bring your camera for this!! while up in the tower be sure and look around the base area of the tower. There are some whimsical things to see there too.

 

32. all the trails have ice cold water in big yellow barrels in wooden framed stands, so no need to carry your own unless you want to.

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brinalyn

brinalyn

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That was me who waited until the last minute to deliver the fish extender goodies :o . I felt really badly because some of the things in the packs could've really come in handy during the cruise. We were all so beat pretty much the whole cruise that I didn't get to wander about and play "fish extender fairy" until the last night when there were no more excuses. Hopefully some of the kids involved had some fun things to play with on the way home at least.

 

I was so impressed by all of the goodies that everyone left for us and my son and brother just couldn't get over how we had "presents" every time we came back to the room. Thank you to everyone who participated, and especially to you, Kathy, for getting the whole thing organized!

 

I booked a 7 night for next year just before we got off the ship Sunday morning and I am in the process of talking my parents into coming with us - but my brother won't be coming next time because he'll be away at college. I learned so many things this time that I know our next cruise will be a lot less hectic and much more enjoyable. Things like, don't wear yourself out at the parks before your cruise, bring a bigger fish extender, make the goodie bags before you leave home and hand them out early so it doesn't stress you out, make sure to get to the port early so you don't miss the board meets, get extra Navigators and maps of the ship so if you go to separate things the other person knows where everything is, don't waste time getting a mani/pedi at the spa because you'll just smudge them in an hour (or maybe I'm just clumsy:rolleyes: ), you know, stuff like that;) !

 

Hope to talk to you soon!

 

Sabrina

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mom x4,grandma x4

mom x4,grandma x4

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Hi sabrina,

good to hear you had a good time.

 

It was so weird the way we finally connected on the ship. I told my husband with my big mouth I will just say her name and see if she turns around. If the 3 of you hadnt been together I never would of noticed you.

 

wish we had more time to visit on board but as you said it can be hectic and busy. On a 7 day it is more relaxed because you have so much more time to do things. We love the Eastern because you get an extra sea day to bum around the ship which we love to do.

 

I have been really busy since we got back. we are moving in about 4 to 6 weeks and we are having a garage sale this weekend, YIKES!! I cant believe all the junk we have.

 

we are selling off almost all the furniture so we dont have to pay to move it cross country. we listed it on line and have had a million calls today.

we did sell both big screen tv's so we are going to watch the super bowl only 19 inch portable. Our son sold his TV too.

 

I figure by the end of the week we will be sitting on the floor and eating on my card table:D I am not selling my bedroom set so I will have a good place to sleep at least.

 

I have a million little things to price before friday I am POOPED!!!

 

You have my e-mail, so please keep in touch and let me know if youhave any other questions about DCL. I figure by now youre an expert and can help others too.

 

later,

Kathy

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reapfm

reapfm

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Thank you for all the pictures and posts. Also, all your suggestions will surely help us when we cruise on the Wonder in July. This will be our 19th cruise, but first on Disney. We will be with our d/d, s/i/l and grandson. Do you have any suggestions for a 10 year old in the Bahammas? and that the "old" folks will enjoy, also.:confused: Thanks again for your posts.

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mom x4,grandma x4

mom x4,grandma x4

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10 year old will love the pirate museum, easy for adults to do too.

if he likes animals, how about a horse and carriage ride, right at the port.

If he likes fish, the Dig at Atlantis is awesome for him.

 

also a glass bottom boat ride there is ok, but the boat is very old and the 3 or 4 steps down to theglass bottom is steep and may be hard for older people, I did it ok but it was steep.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

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poncho1973

poncho1973

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any pics of twice charmed.

 

Are you the same person as the "gossipgirl" on the disboards that got banned?

 

That person had a 4 page thread that was basically them begging for more pictures of "Twice Charmed" over and over and over and over.

 

"Twice Charmed" is only on 7-night cruises on the Magic. This thread is about a 3-night cruise on the Wonder.

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