~June 27, 2009 Western, anyone?~

[belle26]

Checked the price on our cruise and it was higher, although that may be because we booked while on board the last cruise. Income tax return came in, so now we can pay off the cruise. It really is getting closer!

 

[ZDARA1999]

Hi Lady Lion. Our kids may be a bit young to hang with yours, (dd11 and dd9) however, my dh is a Penn Stater (I went to Gettysburg) so we certainly need to hook up with you guys on the cruise and talk a little State College!

Hi Newtandkare and Lady Lion, are USC fans welcome to the group? This is our first Disney cruise. Myself, DH, DD(6) and DS(9) are so excited we can't stand it!!

 

[LadyLion]

Hi Newtandkare and Lady Lion, are USC fans welcome to the group? This is our first Disney cruise. Myself, DH, DD(6) and DS(9) are so excited we can't stand it!!

Well ... that depends ... do you mean the USC that served up some butt whoopin' to my beloved PSU in the Rose Bowl??

Okay. OF COURSE you're welcome! I got over it in, like, February.



You're gonna LOVE the cruise. Let us know if you have questions since some of us have cruised on Disney before. I've been checking out the boards and dusting off my packing list, there are some things that I swear by on a cruise!!

 

[Jcgmt]

There are 7 of us cruising. me, my son (10), brother and his wife their two kids, son (10) and daughter (8) and my mother. I want to know any recommendations from anyone. We can't wait!

 

[mackeyapp]

Would love to see a cruise packing list!! First time cruisers here too. DH, DS13, DS12 and myself. Any suggestions would be welcome. We have already booked Palo and some excursions. I can't believe we started planning this last July and now it's the first day of Spring.
Joan

 

[belle26]

Would love to see a cruise packing list!! First time cruisers here too. DH, DS13, DS12 and myself. Any suggestions would be welcome. We have already booked Palo and some excursions. I can't believe we started planning this last July and now it's the first day of Spring.
Joan

Not sure if I'm doing this right, but here's a thread that has a packing list you can download into excel

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=935094

 

[LadyLion]

Hi all,

Here are some items from my cruise packing list that are "must haves" for me. And I'll take all your tips too!!

Ziplocs of various sizes; be sure to take some gallon size freezer ziploc bags. The stateroom has a "cooler box" not really a refrigerator. Each day when the stateroom host brings ice, I place it in a freezer ziploc in the cooler box and things stay nice and cool. We keep beverages in there like soda, water, beer, wine.

I believe you can still bring your own drinks onto the ship but must carry them on. I pack a folding soft-side cooler and stop at a grocery store on our way to the port. You’ll have to carry it around for a little while before you can get to your stateroom.

I always pack highlighters of several different colors. Good for each member of the family to mark the daily navigators with what activities they want to do.

If you have older kids and/or think your family may split up, take a small magnetic white board to hang on the outside of your stateroom door. Write notes to each other so you stay in touch when moving from activity to activity.

Two-way radios to stay in touch without cell phones. If you can swing it, good quality two-way radios with lots of channels (to avoid hearing other families chat on your channel!) are best. Take extra batteries!

Watches for the kids, notably older kids who may be on their own. My children don't even own watches because (at home) they use their cell phones to know what time it is.

Small illuminating clock. The last time we sailed (and I think I'm reading on the DCL Forum that it hasn't changed) there is a clock in the stateroom but you can't see it in the dark.

$1 bills ... it is a treat to use the ‘free’ room service on cruises. We keep a big stack of bills somewhere near the door, so that if we or the kids order something we can easily tip without looking for money.

Nightlights are a must for those whose kids won’t like a very dark room. Also a small power strip and extension cord. I think there is an outlet that is hard to reach, maybe behind the desk area, and an extension cord is good if you're taking your own hair dryer (the ones in the staterooms are just so-so) and also if your family has electronics to charge, hair straighteners, etc.

Over-the-door shoe holder with clear pockets. Lots of people swear by these and we agree. We place it over one of the bathroom doors and it's great for small things or toiletries that otherwise lay all over the room. Some people take two so that their shoes are also organized. I hate a messy hotel or stateroom and now take one of these on every vacation. Room keys, hair ties, highlighters, etc. always end up in their own pockets, it’s great.

Hooks - can never have enough hooks. Suction cup hooks for the bathroom, or the back of the stateroom doors are metal so you can use magnetic hooks there. My kids are into pin trading so we will use those on the door for lanyards too.

Padded file/folder or some type of holder for bringing photos home. We learned the hard way and once had our favorite photo from Shutters damaged because I thought it was well-protected on our return trip but it wasn't.

OMG, this got too long. Sorry!

 

[mackeyapp]

Thanks you so much for all the great tips! I will be printing this off and picking up more things to add to my ever growing pile. I had read before that the hair dryers aren't great..........do you bring your own or are they manageable. Being the only female in the family I will be the only one concerned about this. Really appreciate any help.
Joan

 

[LadyLion]

I had read before that the hair dryers aren't great..........do you bring your own or are they manageable. Being the only female in the family I will be the only one concerned about this. Really appreciate any help.
Joan

Hi - I think the hair dryers are manageable, but lots of others don't. I believe they are like a hose-type thing, not what you usually get in hotels. The air strength isn't real strong, but we never got one that was real weak either.

I have short hair that I get cut very short for vacations so that I don't have to worry about it at all. This is the first time I'm cruising with a teen daughter, though, so I'll probably see what her preference is. The other obstacle with hairdryers is that we're all usually getting ready for dinner and the evening festivities at the same time, and everyone definitely needs a shower and to dry their hair after a day of sunning, snorkeling, etc. ... so usually we're quicker if we have two hairdryers!

Hope this helps, I'll try to think of other tips too - it gets me SO psyched for this trip!!

 

[belle26]

I always bring my own hair dryer that way I'm not using the bathroom drying my hair, makes it faster for two people to get ready.

 

[mackeyapp]

Great Tips Everyone!! Keep them coming. Us new Cruisers need all the help we can get. I don't want to overpack but want to make sure I take the correct things.

 

[belle26]

This time next week, Castaway club members can book excursions and such - our turn to sail is approaching!

 

[cmhand30]

This time next week, Castaway club members can book excursions and such - our turn to sail is approaching!

I gotta make sure I am PIF!

As for packing list I use the one in the Passporter Guide to DCL. I still have the 2005 edition, but waiting for the 2009 edition to come out soon.

Has anyone found an appropriate sized rollaway/soft sided cooler that will fit through the scanner? I have planned the amount of adult beverages to bring aboard but just not how to transport them. (we live 275 miles from port, so buying it all on base before leaving).

Thanks!

 

[cmhand30]

Hi Newtandkare and Lady Lion, are USC fans welcome to the group? This is our first Disney cruise. Myself, DH, DD(6) and DS(9) are so excited we can't stand it!!

USC fans are welcome in the group always!


I am a Buckeye Fan that does not easily get over any loss. Sucks to be me living in SEC & ACC land.

 

[ZDARA1999]

USC fans are welcome in the group always!


I am a Buckeye Fan that does not easily get over any loss. Sucks to be me living in SEC & ACC land.

THANKS CMHAND30. I left out a little bit of the details. See my DH is the USC fan and well, I am a UCLA fan. It makes for an interesting football season around my house!!! Can't wait for the cruise!!!

 

[wwwosie]

THANKS CMHAND30. I left out a little bit of the details. See my DH is the USC fan and well, I am a UCLA fan. It makes for an interesting football season around my house!!! Can't wait for the cruise!!!

I'm a Stanford fan and the rest of my family are CAL fans... it's lonely here...

So... anyone doing Palo? can't decide between dinner and brunch...

 

[wwwosie]

OMG - how awesome is this?? Yes, my DD13 would love to meet another theatre person. And maybe my son would too. Footloose and Anything Goes - two GREAT shows!

Right now my kids are at Beauty & the Beast rehearsal (tonight their choreographer is teaching them the 'Human Again' dance). My daughter enters tech week for her school show next week ... she is playing Erzulie (the goddess of LOVE, yikes!) in Once On This Island. And next week they'll also start rehearsals for Annie which is scheduled for next fall.

SO - we have lots to talk about. (Plus Nittany Lions and Buckeyes - yay!) We love theatre and Disney (and Penn State football ...) so are glad we have things in common.

Both of my children would participate in talent shows and karaoke if they had a gang along with them. If I had to push them into it alone ... well, that would be another story!

And I'm sure they would like to communicate in advance if that works out for anyone. DS15 just started a facebook account (with the penalty that his mother has one too so she can watch him!) but we haven't yet allowed DD13 to get on Facebook. They also do have e-mail accounts for getting in touch with cruise buddies in advance. PM me if you'd like.

Now I'm off to the DCL Forum ... it's been a couple days since I've lurked and I'm still trying to think stuff through. Like excursions! We love to snorkel so just need to pick one from all the options.

If your daughter is playing Erzulie she must have one heck of a voice! (My DS17 did "Once on this Island" - just a peasant - LAST year).
Three more Footloose shows and he's done with HS theater! Bummer...

 

[LadyLion]

How about BOTH Palo brunch and dinner? (I think we might ... have gone to both and loved them ... too hard to decide between them!)

As I recall, for brunch you both order off the menu as well as choose from some buffet selections. Everything is so good, we really enjoy the speciality pizzas they offer.

If you're not sure, perhaps book both and if you change your mind you can always back out of one while on the cruise.

 

[newtandkaren]

We're planning to do a Palo dinner but can't decide what night to do it on. We don't want to miss Pirate night, I think the kids will probably dig that. Any recommendations on what night to miss for Palo?

 

[belle26]

So, who's staying up tonight to book Palo's?