11-25-06 anyone?

[lisalisa143]

Hey, we are from Louisiana & will be cruising in November-

Our first DCL--all adults-we are new to this site so we are trying to figure this out-Let us hear from anyone cruising that time

lisalisa143

 

 

 

Hi Everyone... I've seen a few familiar names on this bbs so far. Who else is cruising with us in November? I've been ready to go since I booked in January and pretty much driving everyone near me crazy. Eh, they're just jealous!:D

 

Bill

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Howdy Lisalisa

Are you on the 11/25 cruise or a different one?

It is very exciting that this is your first cruise. it will be our 13th on this one, #12 is coming up on 8/5/06.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, we are all very friendly here, Dont let Mutt (Bill) scare you off, he is a character and keeps these boards alive. Andy and Danielle are great too.

Now that I think about it, we are all great around here!!!

At least we are friendly and are anxious to get to know you and help with any questions you amy have, just give us a holler!!!

 

mom x4,grandma x4

Kathy

[lisalisa143]

Yes we are traveling on this date:D we will continue to ask plenty of questions:cool: This is our first DCL and looking forward to it:) Our ages are 44 to 45 traveling with one set of parents ages 73- and 68. If you have any info or tips please,please. please, let us know!!!! We know that we are going to have a great time and really looking forward to it.

 

LisaLisa143

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi Lisa,

I am happy you are on our cruise.;)

 

Ok, a tip you might like to know is you can take a couple of plain white pillowcases for each room you have booked and put them in a zip lock baggie with sharpie ( water proof ) markers and a card with your name and room number on it. Do one bag for each room.

Leave this at guest services desk the first day and ask for them to be autographed. The last night they will be delivered to your state room all signed, a free souvenir or a nice surprise gift for someone.

Once in awhile you may have to pick them up the last night at guest services desk, but usually they deliver them. You can request specific signatures, such as all the princesses, just mickey and minnie or all the characters they can get on it. JUST BE SURE TO DROP THIS OFF THE FIRST DAY!!!! Or they wont get done in time, so they wont take them. Guest services desk is in the atrium. I keep them in my carry on so after lunch I zip down to the atrium and drop them off right away the first day.

 

Tip 2 take a few ones $ along for room service tips. Even though it is not on the room service menu, you can order Mickey ice cream bars!!

 

Tip 3 Bring some kind of Pirate attire for the Pirate party. People are invited to dress as a pirate or tropical attire at dinner on Pirate night. Lots of people dress up, NOT just kids!!! Even I dress up as a lady pirate!!

I am scary enough as it is, but really scary as a pirate!! You will be given a souvenir pirate bandana at dinner to wear that evening as a free souvenir.

Also a pirate scroll that is a menu will be yours as a souvenir.

Eat a light dinner that night because they have a buffet set out on deck 9 for after the pirate party, the desserts are AWESOME!!!! The party starts at 9:45 P.M.

Fireworks top off the party. They are awesome when fired off the ship!! This party is a MUST DO!!!

After the party and buffet they Pirates of the Carbbean movie on the outdoor Dumbotron screen.

 

tip 4

Pop is free with meals and at the drink station on deck 9. The drink station has coffee, tea, iced tea, milk, hi c, coke products It is open 24 /7/ If you order a pop in a club or lounge or theater you will be charged for it. So drop by the drink station on deck 9 before any shows or movie or going to the clubs and grab your drink and take it with you. everyone does this, so you wont feel strange about doing it. It will save you some big $$ over a week. Also people get pizza or hot dogs, burgers or ice cream on deck 9 and take to the movies to munch on. No need to buy munchies, although they are offered, we just grab from deck 9 before any event.

 

I have more tips, but need to run for now.

I guess one last thing, If you havnt already gone to DCL's official web site to order the free DVD, do this. It is agreat DVD and will answer some questions and get you even more excited for your cruise.

 

will write again soon,

Kathy

[Andy99]

Yes we are traveling on this date:D we will continue to ask plenty of questions:cool: This is our first DCL and looking forward to it:) Our ages are 44 to 45 traveling with one set of parents ages 73- and 68. If you have any info or tips please,please. please, let us know!!!! We know that we are going to have a great time and really looking forward to it.

 

LisaLisa143

Welcome to the group!!!

 

My wife(33) and I (33) are also on the ship with our 2 kids (4 and 7), as well as another couple(32 and 33) we are friends with and there two kids(4 and 6), and My in-laws(Early 60s). This is our first DCL cruise also. Kathy is a wealth of information so if you have any questions Im sure she will have the answers.

[cruisemutt]

Hi Lisa!!! Welcome to the party! I feel so ashamed to have abandoned this board for awhile...sorry Andy...sorry Danielle....sorry Kathy. I've been sort of busy... I'm supporting a three banana a day habit and its got me a little overwhelmed---dont ask :D.

 

You were right to go to Kathy with your question...she is the veritable queen of the DCL... and has a vast arsenal of info. I'm just a mutt, goin along for the ride.

 

Again, welcome...welcome!

Bill

[cruisemutt]

Anyone still with us? I had a heck of a time getting on here the last few days... I'm starting to think I'm not the only one to abandon his post...lol. C'mon, gang...give us a write here!!!

 

Mutt

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hey Mutt,

i'm still here. but it has been difficult to log on a lot. I hope more people will join us here too, but it has been pretty quiet lately.

 

Minnie was so proud she killed a wasp on the patio. she barked and danced all around it, and tried to get us to come and see how she bagged her prey. I kept thinking she would be feeling alot different if he had stung her. It will happen one of these days.

every morning she has apiece of buttered toast, cut in bite size pieces with DH while he eats his breakfast. Each evening I have to cook extra to feed Minnie too. She gets very excited when I head for the kitchen in the evening. She know where the cupboard for her treats is at too. She often sits and stares at it and wimpers until we pay attention and get her something.

well I'm off to the store before it gets too HOT!! I am getting low on milk bones!

kathy

[cruisemutt]

Hey Kathy....yes, it has been extremely difficult to log on these days but I'm sure as our date moves closer, people will jump on the "cruisewagon".

Woo and I are getting ready to book a RCCL for May 07...gonna check a few last things and then push the right buttons and commit (sorry Mickey and co.---life is all about trying different things, right). I'm pretty sure we'll run right back to disney but we had to give it a shot.

 

I actually did have a point to write ya Kathy....If Minnie is a bee/wasp hunter, you need to do something. My late Sambino liked to chase bees and was stung in that soft part of the mouth a few times--he swelled up terribly and the lump was the size of a golf ball or bigger. Its a good idea to keep some benadryl or some other antihistimine handy in case this happens, as it will reduce the swelling. Of course, check with your vet first but thats what ours told us to do. Saves a little pain and suffering for the pup to endure.

 

Have a great Saturday....I REALLY, REALLY want the summer over and done with so we'll be that much closer....dont tell woo, she's scared that we're wishing her summer away.

 

Bill

 

PS---Hi Andy, Danielle, and Lisa!! (where'd ya go??? lol)

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the wasp advice. When I was a kid we had a dog that killed them and got stung a lot too. She got really ill and had a high fever.

My mom gave her something but I dont know what it was.

I do have Benadryl here already so I will remember that if she gets stung. I probably should of said when she get stung. It is bound to happen sometime. I never would of thought of using Benadryl, that is great advice. I got rid of the nest, so maybe we wont have them around for awhile. It was tiny and didnt take much wasp spray to kill it off. DH has some great stuff he has used on the job that works great.

Minnie was so excited today. we put her in the truck and went for a ride, but then she was upset because we took her to Petco to use the self serve bath there. She hates bathes!!! I bought her a new tug o war tire toy and some doggie cheeze puffs for a treat, so I think she has forgiven us!! Ha! Ha!

but now she is upset again because we are cleaning and rearranging our patio furniture for company. She doesnt like change, but she will have to get use to it I guess. Wait til the grandkids get here, she is really in for a surprise!!

Next month I need to start checking into dog sitters for the cruise, i think that would be better than a regualr kennel for her. It is going to be reallu hard for me to leave her for the week. The pains of motherhood!!!!

 

well I am off to see if the port cam is on the Magic today or not? Lately it seems I have to wait for the 2 palms cam to see the Magic, the other cams arnt working right.

Have a great saturday everyone,

Kathy

[Andy99]

The board has been tough to get on. I think the Princess ship tipping over caused alot of people to come read the board. My Brother and Sister in law just got off the celebrity cruise to Bermuda and They had a great time. We cant wait for our cruise 4 months till we take off for our flight down.

[Host Mick]

The board has been tough to get on. I think the Princess ship tipping over caused alot of people to come read the board...

 

The load on the servers was HUGE. it was one of our largest ever loads. The timing was such that the news corresponded with the time that the East coasters got off of work. The boards went to an emergency registered members only mode for a while.

It's flattering that Cruise Critic is where people came to get the lastest in up to the minute news, gossip, wild rumors and unsubstantiated claims whenever anything happens in the cruising community. The hosts were pretty busy for a while.

BYW, the ship didn't tip over, she seemed to have a steering failure that caused an unexpected roll but ships are designed to take that as much as it surprised all and frightened many.

[Andy99]

BYW, the ship didn't tip over, she seemed to have a steering failure that caused an unexpected roll but ships are designed to take that as much as it surprised all and frightened many.

 

I Realize that most of the cruise ships are designed to handle rough water and heavy seas. I guess "tip over" was a bad choice of words. This incident will not keep me off the water. I dont know if i will go on that ship. Since it is a new ship you are always worried about design flaws but im sure they run the ships thru some sort of testing. Do you know what kind of testing they put new ships/designs thru? I see now they are saying it was human error. Just like any form of transportation mistakes can happen they are usually few and far between. It still makes you stop and think about the qualifications of the officers.

 

Andy

[Host Mick]

New ships go through extensive weeks long sea trials. During sea trials, every part of every shipboard system is tested. It's the owner's tests to make sure that they got everything for which they paid. Machinery systems, water systems, electrical systems, everything is tested then they go back to the shipyard to repair the problems. It's not uncommon for shipyard personnel to be aboard a new ship for the first few voyages working out the bugs.

Regarding stability, they do inclination tests on new ships where they load weight on one side of the ship then measure how far she lists. This validates the naval architects' stability curves. Underway, they do lots of tests including engine full-ahead to full-astern crash stops and the always popular full speed turn tests where they run the ship at full speed, then put the rudder hard over. This sound familiar? She will lay way over on her side. When she's on the reciprocal course, they shift the helm to the other stop and she goes way over to the other side causing everything left loose to roll over to the other side of the ship. Again, this is done at full speed with the worse-case load (light fuel, water and ballast)

Keep in mind that naval architects have hundreds of years of accumulated experience so there really aren't any surprises during stability tests.

In addition, the ship's first officer will control the stability of the ship while underway. As she uses water and fuel and as sea conditions change, the first officer controls the amount of ballast water in the ballast tanks to maintain the optimum stability. Too stable and the ship rolls quickly which is uncomfortable. Too little stability and the ship rolls slowly which is also uncomfortable and can be dangerous.

Regarding Officer training, the USCG establishes minimum training requirements for ships entering US waters and ports. Ship's officers around the world are trained at the many maritime academies around the US and the world or they come up through the ranks which gives them substantial experience. When I was at an academy, there were students enrolled from around the world. However, mistakes are still made. The Exxon Valdez grounded because the third mate neglected to heed the lookout's warning that Bligh Reef light was on the wrong side.

Still, ships are safe and they get more safe every year. I don't worry about it (very much) when I'm on a ship.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

I never spend my time on the ship worrying about such things. I am having too much fun to stop and worry.

Anything we do has the possibility of accidents, I dont want to spend my life worrying about such things. If it happens, then it is out of my hands anyway, so may as well have some fun.

That's exactly what I'm going to do on 8/5 and 11/25 cruises!!!!

 

Kathy

[Dandy8]

Hello Everyone!!!

 

Just saying hello.......Host Mick, your response to Andy(Andy's my DH) was very interesting. Sounds like you have a lot of experience.

 

Hi Kathy, Bill & Lisa!!!! Anyone else join us?

[Andy99]

Mick,

 

Thanks for that answer. I didnt realize that they ran the ships thru so many tests. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all to me.

 

Andy

[cruisemutt]

Hey Mick..... you sort of answered this question, but bear with me. They put these ships through extensive sea trials and test for tolerances, as you said. They are designed to be able to list one way or another--endure rough seas and unexpected turbulance. I've heard that modern ships are virtially incapable of listing to the point of capsizing (this is why something like the Poseidon couldn't happen in reality). True or false? It seems that it would take a pretty powerful force to push over some of these newer ships with beams of 130 ft or better.

Bill

[Host Mick]

Again, I'm not a naval architect but I think that it's still possible to capsize a ship. Modern cruise ships are wide but they are also tall and top heavy with things like pools on the upper decks which are hugely unstable. When they built the Disney ships, they made the funnels out of aluminum and all of the structural above the main deck (Deck 3 I believe) is very lightweight. This was done to allow the ship to be as large as she is.

To capsize one would require acts of colossal incompetence such as operating with insufficient ballast for the conditions. There's been a lot of research done on "rogue wave" phenomena and who knows what they could do if it hit a ship broadside?

Tsunamis like the wave that capsized the Poseidon are also impossible. As sea, a tsunami is flat, it's simply a pressure wave that causes a shudder when it passes by a ship. The wave doesn't form until the pressure wave gets to shallow water.

Don't worry about the ship, leave that to the experts, worry instead about that ice in your run-n-Coke melting before you finish it.

[cruisemutt]

I don't have those kind of worries about the ships. I know the incident to number of sailings is incredibly low. My biggest concern is getting to Port Canaveral--two winters ago, we had 46" of snow in northeast ohio near Thanksgiving. I was just curious. Thanks for the info!

 

Hope everyones doing well and is up for a week of hot weather....

Hi Andy, Danielle, Kathy and Lisa (and Mick).

 

Bill

[cruisemutt]

Kathy....have a great cruise....we'll be expecting a report from ya when you get back...

 

DO NOT go overboard on dancing....nannies....or, well, dancing nannies...

Listen to your mutt....

 

Enjoy....

Bill

[Andy99]

Watch out!

 

The dancing bananas found there way over here...

 

This thread is now forever changed.

 

:D

[cruisemutt]

Its not my fault!!! They followed me over here.....(dancing nannas are a sneaky lot).

 

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Just bumping us up in hopes someone new will see this thread and join in,

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[Andy99]

bump