11-25-06 anyone?

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Good Morning everybody!!

 

just bumping us up in hopes more people will see this and join in the fun.

 

I have to keep looking for people going with us right up to the day we sail!! It is what I do.

 

Have a great tuesday everyone,

Kathy

[Andy99]

I cant belive no one else on the whole ship that we are going on comes to cruise critic. I have been reading these boards for years. Didnt really start posting to recently. If anyone else on this cruise is reading this even if you dont post normally just post a quick hello.

[cruisemutt]

Hey Andy....sure seems like the majority of our "mates" are all stuck posting elsewhere (you know where I mean!). It sure would be nice if a few more were here. Actually, I think we're gonna get an insurge of people as the summer goes on. I guess some folks just dont wanna get too excited, too early. Woo and I are actually plannin for 07...probably in May. I think we're gonna do a RCCL this time and get a feel for something other than DCL.

Have a great memorial day weekend....its gonna be hot Hot HOT here in Ohio.

Say hi to Danielle for me.

Mutt

 

Its still me, you, Danielle and Kathy....c'mon folks~ hop aboard!!!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi Andy and Bill,

Yep, I'm still here too!!

I check this board a couple times a day for any new posts, plus a few other boards. Of course I have more time since I am not working outside the home the past few years.

Bill you are right that a lot of people dont post until about 30 days out from their cruise. Most will admit that they do read the boards, but just dont post?? I dont understand that??

I guess they just dont have as big a mouth as me!! Of course few people do. My husband will verify that!

We had thought about taking either RCCL or Carnival in 07 too while the Magic is gone. I have been researching both lines to see what they offer. we will be taking oldest DD and her DH and 2 grandkids who will be 13 and 16 at the time. They loved both DCL cruises we have taken them on, but they are also open to try anything new. Let me know any good or bad things you might know or find out about either of those lines.

We are interested in the Eastern itenary this time.

Have a great weekend !

Kathy

[Dandy8]

Hello Kathy & Bill!!! I'm here from time to time too.

 

Kathy, In my opinion stay away from carnival. Andy and I have had a great time on the RCCL cruises we've been on and our Carnival cruise was terrible. Food was not so good, no activities going on during the day, no big send off party (we love those since they get you even more in the mood), and getting off the ship was horrible.....1 big cattle call. I don't know if it was because we experienced a delay because of Hurricane Wilma and they were offering the cruise really cheap since so many people cancelled last minute. It really tainted us and we won't go carnival again. Andy and I are by no means snobby people but the class of people on the ship was less than desireable also. On the flip side there are many that love it.......I guess to each his own. The RCCL Explorer series of ships is wonderful. We went on the Navigator and it was great....so much to do. Even though it is a large ship there were no crowds and it was very comfortable.

 

Kathy, I saw another posting on this board about little girls dressing like princesses on the cruise. Do you see this a lot? I wasn't sure if I should get my DD a nice princess costume for formal night.

 

TGIF!!!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

 

Hi Danielle,

Thanks for the opinions on Carnival. I have read quite a few bad things about them. I need to research some more things.

 

Yes I have seen Princesses all over the ships!! The girls love dressing as princesses and they all look so cute!! You will see lots of them on formal night in their dresses. Plus at the Princess character meet n greets lots of girls are dressed as their favorite princess and the princesses make an extra fuss over those dressed as them. Also lots of times on the first day you will see the girls getting on board in their princess attire. that makes for some very cute boarding pictures!! Our GD wore her Tiara all over the ship, even to the pool. She looked so cute with it on and her Mickey sunglasses on. Almost every picture of her the entire cruise she had that tiara on. So by all means if your daughter is interested have her wear a princess dress. She wont be alone, I promise!!

 

kathy

[Andy99]

There was one good thing about the Carnival cruise. I really liked the bedding. The bed was so comfortable and the comforter and pillows were great.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Thanks Andy,

every tip is much appreciated,

Kathy

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Happy Wednesaday everyone,

 

How's it going?

We decided to cancel our 9/23 cruise and go on 8/5/06 instead.

We are going to surprise 2 of our grandkids. They are all coming to visit from Oregon for the month of August. Of course their parents are in on it. But we have cooked up a story that we are going to the beach with them for a few days, so that will explain the luggage and driving towards the port. Plus we have come up with a BIG FIB and are telling them we have a special invitation to be the first to go to the terminal on 8/5/06 at 11:00 a.m. to see a special presentation about a NEW DCL ship and we will get to see a model of it. Hopefully that will keep them in the dark until we pull up to unload our luggage. I am going to print up an invitation on the computer and conveniently leave it laying around for them to see while they are here. they are 12 and 15, so much harder to trick them over the younger grandkids. It should be a lot of fun. we have taken them on DCL before. They are expecting a cruise next summer, so I know they wont be thinking about it right now.

It was hard to leave all the great people from the 9/23 cruise thread! I had started that thread which made it even harder, but this is for the best.

 

well that is about all from here for now, I hope everyone is having a good day.

I keep hoping we will get some new people on this thread, but so far NO luck!!

 

Kathy

[cruisemutt]

Hi everyone....

Danielle.... any chance I can get a few RCCL tips from you? Woo and I are talking over a cruise in May 07 on the Freedom. We got the brochures and I looked over the site but I'm still not sure whats included and what isn't. I know they have specialty restaurants like Palos and I imagine drinks are all extra... I just want a brief insider report about what I can expect. Help a mutt along, can ya?...

Thanks in advance...

Bill:D

[Dandy8]

Hello Mutt!!! It's funny you should say that you are looking into a May '07 cruise on the Freedom. I was perusing the RCCL website 2 days ago looking at May '07 dates also (Andy doesn't know this :D , he'll think I'm crazy looking into this because we'll need a lot of time to recover from November's cruise). Looks like a really nice ship.

 

We did the Western Carribbean (Labadee, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cozumel) on the Navigator of the Seas. I think the Freedom is the same layout except its just bigger. We had an outside oceanview stateroom with balcony on deck 6. If you can swing it, get the balcony. The bed is situated so that you can lay in bed and look out over the ocean. The rooms were bigger than the older RCCL ship and the Celebrity ship we were on. I don't know if they are as big as DCL.

 

There was always plenty to do on sea days and port days if you don't want to get off the ship. Andy wanted to take some classes at the casino, I hung around, did some pool aerobics etc.... The spa was really nice....they had a beautiful fresh water hot tub right in the middle, great Gym & sauna. If you are into the spa, they have a tour you can take on the day you board. Andy and I did the Rasul treatment.....very nice.

 

If I'm remembering correctly, there are 2 restaurants that cost extra, Portofino (Italian) and Johnny Rockets (All american burgers, sandwiches - waiters & waitresses dance for you). I think Portofino was $20pp flat rate and Johnny's a la carte as far as price. We didn't eat at Portofino but we did eat at Johnnys and the that was yummy. On the Royal Promanade which is where the shops are, there was a coffee shop that served pastries, cookies tarts....all of that sinful stuff. You can get food 24/7 as with other cruise lines. Food was excellent no matter what. I think that was extra too but I'm not sure. You can order whatever you want, 2 or 3 if you wanted. Andy was kidding and said "1 of each" and they actually brought it to him. At the time we went Soda wasn't free anywhere, you could pay a flat rate and they put a sticker on your Sign & Sail card so you didn't get billed or you just paid for it. I believe water, ice tea, lemonade, coffee & tea were free at the beverage stations. They may have changed this since we went. We always experienced top notch service in the dining room & our stateroom. The nightlife was great, great shows/comedians....we had the late seating for dinner so we just rolled into the nightlife. We enjoyed the piano bar entertainment (the guy was hysterical, he's probably long gone). There also was a little salsa bar that was nice and of course the dance club was hopping every night. One night they had a Corona Deck Party, you could buy buckets of Corona. They also had a Mardi Gras parade with entertainment, live band etc..on formal night. I think we had 2 formal nights, 1 semi formal & the rest were casual. I believe most kept to the dress codes. Like DCL no shorts, tanks in the dining room and everyone dressed up for formal night.

 

There was mini golf, Rock Wall and a basketball court. Of course freedom has the surfing too. There's an ice rink...I heard the show was fantastic but we didn't see it. They have open skate hours where you can skate if you wanted to.

 

I'll pick Andy's brain too....let me know if you have any other questions.

[Andy99]

That Cruise was the best I was ever on. I really liked the Navagator of the seas. The layout of the ship was great. There was so much to do all the time. We had a great cruise. The service and food were top notch. The Piano bar was so much fun. Everything was perfect. I cant think of one complaint I had on that cruise. I belive the freedom has the same layout its just a little bigger. Before we went on the Navigator I was afraid because it was so big and held so many people it would feel crowded. That was not the case. The ship was very comfortable. PLeanty of deck chairs and space. The only time it was a little crowded was for the Mardi gra Parade down the center of the ship. We went with another couple we are friends with. One night after hitting the club we wanted to go in the hot tub. It was just after 2am. We went back to our rooms and changed in to swimsuits and went up on deck. We sat in the hot tub talking and laughing until well after 3:30. I think I saw a crew member walk past once picking up the garbage and we didnt see another passanger the whole time. That cruise is the one i use to judge all other cruises. I cant say enough good things about RCCL.

[cruisemutt]

Hey Danielle and Andy....Thank you so much for your imput...its a big help in my decision. Who knows? If you guys are contemplating doing a May thing (I know its a long way off)... maybe we can do a lil pre-planning. As far as I know, the Freedom has two sailing dates the 7th and the 20th? Again, thats way off in the distance. As far as it being the best you were on.... I truly think you'll change that when you hit the Magic...

I haven't been on an RCCL ship but I just never experienced the level of comfort and peace of mind I had on the disney cruise. I guess thats why I'm so hot to do all this stuff now. We're gonna have a great time! Thanks again....and btw...if you have any questions about the DCL cruise...I'd love to go down memory lane and give some descriptions for ya. I found the Passporter book a great asset too. If you dont have one...grab it at your bookstore...it explains a lot.

Bill

 

I still think we should go down now and take a pre-cruise...work is killin me-lol

[Andy99]

Im just hoping the kids Love the kids club so my wife and I can spend some time in the adult only areas of the ship.

[cruisemutt]

They will love it...believe me. While Woo and I dont have kids, we did have our niece and nephew on the thanksgiving day last year. We BARELY caught a glimpse of them! They had so much to do, it was all we could do to drag them to dinner every night. The ship is so well organized for the kids...I don't know how your other cruises were but Disneys "kids only" areas are well looked after by the staff and they have a beeper system that lets you as parents know where and when they are. Those two were 7 and 9 years old. Our other nephew who is 16 tried to go with us to a couple of adult only places (the pool and one of the night clubs) and was politely yet firmly asked to leave. It sounds harsh but I have to applaud the disney staff for sticking to the rule book and allowing the adults their area. I do know the one thing you and your wife will love. Serenity beach on Castaway is an awesome retreat from the kids. As far as supervision, I'm not sure how that works but its Disney...I'm sure they have that covered. Anyways.... hope you folks are having a nice weekend. Ours was cool but very nice. I just came back from the store. I got a new suit for the formal, semi and Palos and some new shirts for the occasion as well. (yes, its an obsession with me at this point). Seems we all work way too hard and need that r&r as bad as ever.

Enjoy....

Bill

 

Sure wish this site had dancing bananas....hey webmaster...hint hint.

[Dandy8]

Hey Bill,

 

I hear ya about working to hard!!! I'm readyto go too!

 

I'd love to do the Freedom in May with you guys but since we're spending so much on the DCL cruise I don't know if we'll be able to. I haven't discussed it with Andy but maybe I can beg!

 

I did get the passporters guide....it was the first thing I bought after we booked the cruise.

 

Feel free to post any items that you found interesting or felt like they shouldn't be missed. Did you ever Kayak on Castaway Cay? Andy loves to Kayak and I wanted to try so I figured we'd put the kids in the club or leave them with my parents and go kayaking. Can you rent this equipment ahead of time or can we do it when we get there?

[cruisemutt]

Hey Danielle....we didn't do the kayaking... We rented one of the other boats and got our exercise pumping it across the lagoon. You really don't need to rent ahead of time (at least we didn't). There were plenty of boats to go around. We got our snorkelling stuff as soon as we hit the island and it wasn't a hassle either. Doesn't seem like anything was too inconvienient on that island.

As for "no-miss" attractions, I'll confer with the wife and see what she thinks.

Last thing....don't beg! Just leave brochures around the house...that will do the trick...lol.

Take care and enjoy....

Bill

[mom x4,grandma x4]

bump bump bump!!!

 

Kathy

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Just bumping us up in hopes of finding some more fun people to join us!!!

 

Kathy

[Andy99]

Don't worry, Andy....you'll get there, just like I will. I'm gearing up for my "6 months of hell". I think we're about 8 days away from that landmark. I lost a ton of weight over the last two years but I still have a long way to go but I've found that strength and a few secrets along the way. Anyways....dont get discouraged.

Enjoy the week!

Bill

 

 

 

OK I started my diet a little bit later then I said I was going to but I started! I get on the scale every monday morning. Im down 7 pounds so far....Only 60 pounds to go.

 

 

How is everyone else doing??

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Everyone here is fine.

Lots of hot weather and thunderstorms everyday, but that is normal for a Florida summer.

 

Congrats on the lost pounds. Loosing weight is so hard to do. I admire anyone who can stick with it and loose weight. Until I had cancer I battled with my weight, so I know what you are going through. I once lost over 100 pounds in a few short weeks, but it was from illness. But since then I havnt had the problem. Instead I have to fight to maintain weight.

Life is weird sometimes!!

 

What type of diet are you doing? Or are you just eating healthy and exercising? My DH lost over 30 pounds in 3 months by just cutting out sugar and high fat foods. Fresh fruits are now most of his snacks. He did this because he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. But a healthy diet worked. He didnt add any real exercise over his normal routine. I now cook all sugar free, low fat, low cholesterol. He eats as good as ever.

 

So stick with it, you'll get there!! I have faith in you!!!

 

I finally got most of the stuff I needed for my door signs yesterday. Everytime I went to buy it, I would wind up in the pet department looking at stuff for our new dog, which we will get tomarrow. So I kept forgetting everything else. Now that I have bought out the pet department I remembered to get the cruise stuff and some people food for the frig.

DH says I have done more planning and buying for this dog than I did for our kids when they were born. Ha! Ha! I think he is right!!

 

Have a great day everyone, I sur ehope more people will see our thread and join us!!! It is getting very close now,

Kathy

[Andy99]

Im doing the south beach diet. Low fat, Whole grains, no suger or white carbs. I also just got a rowing machine so I have been using that every night. I have been trying to eat more fresh veggies and less meat at dinner time. Im glad everything with you is going well. We cant wait to get on the ship! The kids are getting more excited as every day passes.

 

Talk to you soon

 

Andy

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Good morning everyone,

 

Andy I have heard a lot of people say they had good success on the south beach diet, so I'm sure you'll do well. It is close to my DH's diet, no sugar, low fat etc... I had to learn how to cook all over again and to read labels on everything. They stuff FAT into so many things you'd never think of.

 

well Minnie is home ok. She had a bad night last night. She was still having effects of the anestic of surgery and shots. She wouldnt eat or drink and had afever and threw up a few times.

This morning is much better. You can tell she is still sore, but she did eat and drink some this morning. Plus she is much happier. she even wagged her tail some. She seems to be a very affectionate dog. But she is so skiddish, you can tell she has been hit a few times by the way she flinches when you raise you hand or arm up to pick up something. So No sudden moves around here for awhile. Lots of soft talking and tons of scratching and cuddling.

well got to go check on things,

Have a great weekend, I am going to see if I can see the Launch from our house this afternoon. From our old house you could just step out back and see it right away. It really looked awesome. But that was 80 miles from here, so not sure if we will be able to see it from here, plus we are cloudy.

Take care,

Kathy

[cruisemutt]

Hey Andy....Hi Danielle....howdy Kathy...glad to hear your pups doing better. You already know that I'm a former rescued animal dad and theres nothing like it. You will see, with a lot of love and attention, the changes that occur. They just become such an integrated part of the family. I really envy you. Keep up the good work!!!

 

Andy....stick with it. I lost about 100 lbs over a couple of years and I'm trying to lose the last 20 now. Its rough, lemme tell ya. I do an hour of weights and 1-2 hours on the towpath a day (the towpath is a thin dirt road along side the canalway where they used to physically tow small barges up the Cuyahoga river in the 1800's. Its a series of locks and a channel. Great place to walk, run or bike). I'm watching my diet but I just cant seem to kickstart the weight loss machine. Eh, it all comes with time I guess. The motivation is such a bad thing too for me. When Nov. 25th hits, I dont want ONE guilty feeling about meals, the odd drink or the midnight Pirates of the Caribbean dessert buffet. I plan to do it all--- such terrible, wicked thoughts-lol.

Anyways, I know you'll do well.

 

Enjoy the 4th of July kids!

Bill

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Just bumping us up, in hopes new people will join in,

Kathy