Disney Magic November 10th, 2019 Very MerryTime Cruise

Happy Monday everyone! We are down to 35 Mondays.
This week's Monday Forget Me Not's is all about items you need after you have enjoyed your day on deck or at the beach :beach:

Make sure you pack products for after Sun :sunny: and after wind:boat:.
Nothing ruins your cruise faster than a bad sun burn or dried out chapped skin from wind burn.
As much as I hate to admit it, knowing that with skin cancer I should be very careful out in the sun, I will start having fun, and forget to reapply my sun screen. And, unless you live in southern Florida, the sun will be more intense than you are used to, on this cruise. The last thing you are going to want after a day of fun is going to be the reminders that you too forgot to reapply. A good product to have in your luggage to help with this is a tube of Aloe Vera or an after sun treatment w/ a pain reliever. I have found that keeping this in the ice box in the room, makes for a soothing relief from the burn.
And for the first time cruisers, something that you may not realize is how much the wind will effect you. After being up on deck all day, or on the beach all day (we will most likely have windy days on the beach this time of year), your skin and lips will dry out and potentially become chapped. A helpful prevention is to stay hydrated, but after the fact you will want a good moisturizing lotion, and some chap stick (or Eos - now comes with UV protection). As part of the toiletry amenities in your cabin, you will have body butter. This is good for your dry skin. Our family is also partial to Mary Kay's night cream (if you have ever used Mary Kay, it is the pink stuff that has the consistency of Vaseline and has a distinct smell).
These two small (and easily forgettable) items could make the difference between being comfortable enough to make it through all of the clothes that you have packed in your 2 allowed pieces of luggage (per person), or wearing the only comfortable sun dress or tank top in your luggage for the remainder of the cruise.

Have a great week,

~Tink~
 
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Cruise packing Hacks

Happy Monday everyone. We have 34 Mondays until we are sailing away.

Today's Monday Forget Me Not is about Cruise Packing Hacks.
A cruise vacation is the only time your packing skills are going to be stretched to the limits of having to maximize enough space to fit 10 outfits per day with a matching pair of shoes for each outfit, finding room for both formal wear and snorkel gear, clothes to keep you warm along with your sun bathing attire, and lidocaine spray and Capri Narual. Oh, and don't forget you need the shoe organizer. It has to be the one with the hook for the back of the door because we can't use the over the door one on the Disney Cruise. That was just for you. You still have the rest of the family to pack for and luggage limits to keep in mind. With a few simple hacks, and a video or 2 you'll have all summer to coordinate and not have to worry about leaving anything at home.

1. Keep your Days and your Outfits Sorted
When I am preparing to pack, I make a list of what I am going to be bringing. As I pack, I will check off the item on the list. By do this, I will know that nothing was missed. You do not need to do it this way, that is just part of my list maker personality. The reason I mentioned this though was because the list helps me to stack everything by outfit, and by day.
The next step depends on whether you would prefer to use zip-lock bags or packing cubes. The videos referenced using zip-lock bags. I have not done a video with the packing cubes yet. Either way, you will have one days clothes all in one place, set and ready to go. This makes it very nice, especially on longer cruises when your trying to remember, 'now what was I supposed to wear with that'. An additional tip that helps with that as you are going through the outfits with your kids before packing them, take a picture of a complete outfit and save it on your phone for reference later on board. Then take the outfit put it into the zip-lock bag, roll it up tight until all of the air is out and zip it shut. Finally, for the zip-locks, take a sharpie and write the day of the week on the bag. For the packing cube, put a piece of paper with the day of the week inside.
2. Wrinkle Free
You either have to find time to go to one of the self serve laundry rooms on board and go iron out those wrinkles, or you need to arrive wrinkle free. I vote for wrinkle free. Here's how that works - Save the plastic bags you got after your last post-cruise trip to the dry cleaner, and carefully wrap wrinkle-prone clothes in them when you pack for your next sailing. Fold delicate items in tissue paper left over from the holidays. Your favorite fashions will remain wrinkle-free and safe
3. Protecting Your Luggage From Dirty Shoes
Unless you are bringing a bag that is specifically for shoes, you will want to keep the dirt and grim that is on your shoes off of your clothes. The one size fits all solution for this is plastic shower caps. You can get these when you stay over night a hotel, or you can pick them up at the Dollar Store.
4. Preventing Spills
There are some liquids that you will find a necessity to travel with. If these liquids are not stored safely, they will spill and could ruin not only your clothes and suitcase, but the suitcase and clothes of the bag directly under yours. To prevent a very messy start to a vacation, take a few extra steps to keep things tidy. Unscrew the lid to the bottle, and take a piece of plastic (like saran wrap, or a sandwich bag) and place it over the opening and the screw the lid over the top of that. For something such as shaving cream, put it into a double zip-lock bag. If for some reason you are having to travel with something that is in a glass bottle (such as a medication) wrap it in a diaper, then put it in a plastic bag. Always keep the changes in cabin pressure in mind when traveling by plane, and if you have something fragile, please carry it on the boat with you, our bags are not handled with the gentlest of care. We have sat up on deck and watch the guys moving the bags. It started as just to have something to do until we could go down to the cabin, it turned into a hunt for our luggage to make sure ours made it on undamaged.
5. Room for the Shoes
You notice I said ROOM for the Shoes. I am not kicking the shoes out. There is room in the suit case for them, BUT...you have to use the room. You also want to bring a curling iron, or a flat iron, you want to bring magnets for the door, you have extra chargers, toiletries (my hanging organizer comes apart in to 4 pieces - 2 pair of shoes - perfect), socks and undies, all the small space filler stuff....all the FE stuff that will need a space to come home in. And if you watched Elephant Packing, and you have something ranger rolled in need of a place to go, inside of a shoe is a good place too.
6. Beach Gear
If everyone is aloud 2 bags, each kid can have 1 to themselves, and a sharing bag because the beach gear deserves its own bag or two. The first bag is the netted one you carry it to the beach in and hang it up at the foot shower to give it a good spraying off in (which will hide away inside number two). The second is to keep it safe during travel. Why the second you ask. Well, I don't know about you, but I can't ever seem to get all of the sand out and I just know that if I put my fins and mask back in with everything else, not only would I get home carrying half of San Juan, when I headed up on my trip to Houston to see my son and daughter-in-law next year I'd end up with sandy clothes then too.

These 2 videos are a good visual aid to 1 - 5. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.
(Elephant Packing 101:
and New Improved Elephant Packing 2.0:
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Happy Monday everyone! We are down to 33 Mondays until we set sail.

This weeks Forget Me Not will keep your sea legs dancing, swimming, and exploring even when the deck is not a level playing field!

No, I'm not talking about a course in ship maintenance or suggesting that you bring your chiropractor along. Although if you happen to have experience in ship maintenance or you're a chiropractor, you will be the 1st person I track down if there is an unfortunate event (any place but when we're in port) - knock on wood - or my back goes out!

What I am building up to is something for motion sickness.

Things that work well without the drowsy effects of medication are, the behind the ear patch, motion sickness wrist band, and ginger gum, candy or cookies (warning about the ginger items. ..more is not better. Use ginger in moderation. Over doing ginger will upset your digestive system ).

If you do happen to forget to pack these helpers, guest services, dining room members, and the medical clinic usually have ginger candies to share.

A non-medical, non-pressure point, non-ginger helper is to remember to always keep a little bit of food in your stomach. Even if you don't feel like eating, you need to try. It will help.

Cast members have also gotten our boys up and moving around (doing jumping jacks or dancing). I am not sure why this works, but it does. Their stomachs settles down long enough for them to eat a bit which takes us back to my previous tip, keep food in your belly. So when you first board the Magic take some time before we untie and set sail to grab something to eat. Your tummy will thank me later.

Have a great week.
Top 5 Tips to Combat Sea Sickness
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~Tink~
 
Happy happy Monday all my fellow cruisers!!!!
We are creeping up on an entire month worth of only Mondays to go. We actually have 32 Mondays, but the month sounds closer.
And with the urgency of our cruise being only a month (worth of Mondays [+2]) away I thought a good Forget Me Not would be one about our cruise contracts

When you get your cruise paperwork (which can also be in a digital form), take time to read over the cruise contract, that you have to sign, with your kids, especially if they are of the age that they will be able to sign themselves in and out of the kids area.
The reason I suggest this is because of something we saw during one of our FE distributions. We passed a cabin at which a teenager had decided to decorate her cabin door with duct tape. You know if Disney charges people for "damage" done to the door by an over the door shoe organizer which is more than likely only small marks, up on the top, pretty much out of sight and not even noticeable, that they will definitely put a hefty charge on the parents account for the repairs need for a duct taped door.

We would read over the contracts with our boys every time we cruised. At the end of which I then added on, that if you ever find yourself at a doorway where the carpet ends, and metal walk ways or metal stairs begin, stop, do not proceed unless you are with a cast member (the cast member part is important, because some evacuation routes that you may be directed to use during the muster drill do take you through the metal stair ways).

The boys, even now that they are older, have come to expect a family meeting the day our special Disney envelope arrives (about a month before our cruise), and then again on the drive to the port. During these meetings, we go over the contracts, and any other family rules for the cruise. For example, we reserve a meal (usually dinner) every day of the cruise for family time. But that is getting me off track. The only thing worse than getting called down to the naughty room to collect your luggage, would be hearing your child's name in the middle of 'Would the parents or guardians of _________ please come to the Edge (or any other specific location on board).'

One last side note (or fairy trail off topic) - Speaking of doors, I can not say for sure, but our guess as to why the duct tape incident happened [I mean aside from there being duct tape available in the room] was because they didn't have anything to decorate their door with, like all of her new friends did. Door decorating is not required by any means, but can be a fun way to identify your cabin. If anyone would like me to talk more about door decorations, please let me know, and I will get some info together for a Monday post. And I'm not Guilting, Keeping up with the Jones, or Putting blame, I am just mentioning that door decorating is a big thing on the cruise. I had not planned on covering it, but if anyone would like more info on it, I would be happy to gather pictures, ideas, and good places to look for items if you do not have the equipment to make your own.

You will be able to see this when you begin your online check-in (only available after your cruise is paid in full and you have reached your booking window - I will be covering that in about 4 weeks).
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Have a great week,
Tink
 


Happy Monday everyone.
We are down to 31 Mondays!!!
Today's Monday Forget Me Not will help when some of the rules (not in the contract) are broken...like running on a wet, slippery deck!

Remember to pack all prescription and first aid type medicines. {Side Note- make sure to pack all of your prescription meds in your carry on bag}
When packing prescription meds, always pack an extra supply. I always pack an extra week. You never know what is going to happen, and it is better to be prepared for the worse case scenario.
As for first aid type meds, you should plan to pack a small first aid bag. Items to include are band-aids, triple antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, pepto, tums, aloe vera {another side note [I think I am going to start calling these Tink notes...way to far off topic, will cover this in another post] - put your aloe vera in the refrigerator in your room. It feel so much better on a sun burn that way}, cough drops, something for cold symptoms (we like the theraflu powder that you can add to hot water), lip balm, ace bandage, mole skin (for the blisters), Tylenol, ibuprofen, safety pins, basic sewing kit, a liter, some strong tape (in case you are wondering, the last 3 were for splinters or the like), and anything else you may use in your day to day mending of your kiddos.
There is a doctor on board, but a visit to the infirmary can be pricey. I suggest only go to see the doc in extreme circumstances (think of it like and ER).
We had a nurse, an EMT, and a firefighter (who was a first responder ) on one of our cruises. I joked with them before we sailed and asked if they would make a house (cabin) call if need be.:cold::crutches::crazy2:
Before sailing everyone will be asked about the health of their family members for the previous several days. If you or any of your family members have had any of the symptoms, please be honest and let the cast members know. We will all be confined to a small floating city together for a week, and will be exchanging germs during that time. If one person brings on any serious illness it is possible for everyone on the ship to become ill. If you are worried about the loss of your vacation, than make sure you add vacation insurance to your vacation package. Another way to think of it is, it would be better to return and take your vacation at a later time when you are feeling better than try to ride the fact that you are sick, and have the crew discover it and quarantine you and your family to your cabin the remainder of the sailing. Take care to stay healthy before we sail, and bring your 'always ready and handy' first aid kit for any needed incidents on board.
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Have a great week!
~Tink~
 
Happy Monday everyone!
We have 30 Monday's until our cruise!
This week's Forget Me Not is pirate costumes.pirate: ARGH!
Dressing up on pirate night is not just for the kids. Everyone gets into it. So if you are pondering over whether or not to get a costume for yourself because you are worried that you will be the only adult dressed up, then you can stop worrying. Not only do adults dress up, but some of them go more over the top than the kiddos.
My costumes have ranged from Tinkerbell, to a pirate fairy, to a regular pirate. And this year I will be a pixie pirate or a pirate fairy.
My family does not leave the pirate garb to just pirate NIGHT, we are in the pirating spirit all day. We all have our pirate themed shirts to wear during the day to help with our pirate mood.
Here is a link to a page where you can get a free pattern for an applique for a Pirate Mickey head (if appliques are new to you, I have a link to a page that has wonderful tips for beginners): https://www.positivelysplendid.com/...KUwL6j5ZdtODo1PDVqn5cVhtGY8k6MyYlI-1pxo-Muf1U

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Have a great week!

~Tink~
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Have a great week!

~Tink~
Have a great week!

~Tink~
 
Happy Monday....We only have 29 Mondays to go!

The Mondays Forget Me Not for this week is about Tipping or Gratuities.

Tips are added to your on board account automatically. If you would prefer to give the tips in cash personally to your room steward and wait staff, you can stop by guest services and ask for those charges to be removed from your account.

You will receive a sheet with suggested tips for each of the Cast Members (CMs) that were assigned to you, and an envelope for each of them in you cabin Thursday night. I would suggest if you are planning on giving cash (or plan on adjusting the amount of the tip for any of your CM's), visit the guest services early on in the cruise, because once the tally for your on board account and your tipping sheets arrive in your room the lines at guest services begin to get very long. Actually the closer to the end of the cruise we get, the longer the lines will become. Guest services will also be able to make change for larger bills, which makes dividing up your tips much easier.disney tip envelope.png

For planning purposes, I am including the recommended tipping below. You may also find a Disney tipping calculator HERE.

Server - $4.50 a day (=$22.50) per person ($22.50 x # of guests)
Assistant Server - $3.50 a day (=$17.50) per person ($17.50 x # of guests)
Head Server -$1 a day (=$5) per person ($5 x # of guests)
Stateroom Attendant - $4.50 a day (=$22.50) per person ($22.50 x # of guests)

This basically breaks down to $67.50 per person.upload_2019-4-14_17-33-49.png
All amounts are suggested, and it is at your discretion, based on service, whether the CM's deserve more, less, or the suggested amounts.

"Tips changes went into effect January 20, 2019. If pre-paid gratuities were added to a reservation prior to January 18, 2019, the rate the Guest is charged will remain $12.00 per Guest, per night. Guests who add pre-paid gratuities to their reservation January 18, 2019, or later will be charged the new rate of $13.50 per Guest, per night." As per the Disney Cruise Blog January 2019

I am not an authority on this matter. To know which amount applies to your traveling party, you will need to check with either Disney or your travel agent to see how this effects your reservations. You can read more about that on this page [DCL increased the recommended base gratuities in January 2019]

A few other tipping reminders:

- a 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine, and deck service tabs. These gratuities will be charged to your shipboard account during your sailing.
- Tipping for room service is at your discretion. I have found the standard to be, and we normally plan to tip $1 to $2 each time we order room service. This is something you give at the time the room service is delivered in cash. Not including bar service items mentioned above. They still charge the bar gratuity percentage to your room.
- Tips for the porters when arriving at the port and when departing from the port. We typically tip $1 per bag (this is also what I found to be suggested by a majority of the port authorities). There are some ports that do not allow you to tip the porters. New York and San Juan are not one of those ports.

I know tipping be one of those topics that can open up a proverbial can of worms on comments. I did my best to just stick to the information. If there are questions about tipping, I am sure most everyone will agree that sticking to information that we can find which has been provided by Disney will be the best to prevent strong opinions from escalating out of control. Remember, we all have the same end goal, a Disney Cruise. So when responding, Keep it Disney!
~ Tink ~
 


I know the above was released a day early. Forgive my promptness. It either had to be early or late, and I felt early was better.
I hope this keeps boosting this page so that those who are looking for it closer to the cruise can find it!
~Tink~
 
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Happy Monday everyone!!
We are down to only 28 Mondays until our vacation.
Monday Forget Me Not for this week is about not forgetting the date.
The dates for pre-booking and online check-in are quickly approaching, and if your cruise is paid in full you will be able to take advantage of them. When your date arrives, and your cruise is paid in full, you will have access to all of your buttons on your reservation page. ***Check out Disney's new cruise planning tool below.*** So, you will need to make sure you have an online Disney account, and you have linked your cruise to the account. If you have been depending on your Travel agent for everything up to this point, now is the time to set up your online Disney account and get comfortable accessing your reservation through the account.

Now that you have your account ready, it is time to check your calendar and mark the date that fits your family.

:beach:Only 201 days until we set sail! :boat:
And even fewer days until you can start making your reservations: **Note - Platinum, Gold, and Silver refer to levels of the Castaway Club (you will automatically become a member after your first Disney cruise. The moment you are checked off the boat at the end of the first cruise you will be classified as a Silver member).

Days until your Online Check in Opens
Platinum/Concierge- 120 days before sailing (Saturday - July 13)
Gold- 105 days before sailing (Sunday - July 28)
Silver- 90 days before sailing (Monday - August 12)
New cruisers-75 days before sailing (Tuesday -August 27)

Who else is getting excited?:wave:

~ Tink ~
Disney's new Pre Cruise Planning Tool
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(I bet you can guess when I wrote this!!!!)
 
Happy Monday everyone!

We now have only 27 Mondays to go.

The Forget Me Not for this week is your 'Water Bottles' and cups for your little one that have built in "STRAWS".

If you need to or like to drink from a straw, you need to bring a cup or a bottle that has one. Disney is removing all single use straws from their boats and properties.

If you want to learn more about Disney's 'Bye-Bye Straw plans, you can read about it Here.

On Disney cruises, non-alcoholic drinks are free (well, aside from the smoothies, and specialty coffees). When you are not in one of the dining rooms and you are feeling a bit parched, you can head over to the drink station to quench your thirst.

You have a large range of choices available. Disney carries Coke products, so your sodas will be coke brand (such as Sprite, Coke, Diet Coke and so on). You also can get fruit punch, water, and all different varieties of tea. There is even hot water for coffee and cocoa (packets are available).

Disney does have small (8 oz) cups available at the station for both warm and cold drinks. When thirst strikes me, however, I need a little bit more than 8 oz. Well, to be honest, I need a lot more. Just in water alone, I drink about a gallon and a half every day. My husband, on previous cruises, drank somewhere between what would be 12 to 18 cups of soda (not including dinner) everyday. :drinking1:drinking1:drinking1:drinking1:drinking1
*Side note - He has cut way back on how much soda he drinks each day, so he will not take in as much on this cruise.....I hope.
If we had been using the small 8 oz cups, we pretty much would have had to set up camp at the drink station. And because they want you to get a new cup each time you come up, we would have gone through way to many cups. :eek:

So, what to do.......
Make sure you pack a refillable sports bottle or cup for each person in your family. We typically do the water bottles with the straws that I paint for our crew. Last cruise our TA also sent us insulated mugs with lids. These were great for hot beverages. I liked the water bottles for all our other drinks because you can get the kind with a clip on loop, and you can hang them on your lanyard.

*another side note- If you want to get the drink of the day, you can transfer it to your water bottle. Which will then safe guard against any spills!!!

Oh, and if you happen to be bringing wine on board (you are aloud 2 bottles per adult on embarkation day and at each port of call), and plan to open it in your cabin instead of bringing it to dinner to pay the $25 corking fee, you can fill up your cup before you leave the cabin, and no one will know that your sipping on that wine out in public areas!!!!!

Basic hygiene rules do apply. Please rinse your cup out between uses. Do not touch the top of your bottle/cup up against the soda nozzle. And, please fill the little kids cup/bottle up for them.

Have a great week!
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~Tink~
 
Happy Monday Everyone!!!
We have 26 Mondays until we set sail!:sail::boat:::yes::

Today's For Get Me Not is all about Curb Appeal. Or should I say, Dock Appeal?

There are 877 staterooms on the Disney Magic, and it is easy to get lost or even just walk past your cabin (that is why we like to get the cabin at the end of a hall ::yes::). Plus it is also possible to suffer from cabin door envy :earseek:.

What in the Great Wide World of Disney am I talking about? For those of you who guessed door magnets, you are right. It is time to start thinking about how you are going to decorate your door. We are just a little over 5 months away from our cruise, with part of that being lost in the back to school shuffle. I don't about y'all, but my house is going to loose at least 2 weeks if not longer getting our college freshman moved out of our space and into his. When the summer ends, time will start to fly. So, if there is something you want to make, believe me, you will want to get started sooner rather than later. And if you are going to order something.... I am not even going to get into shipping at that time of year (order Christmas gifts in early Oct. and don't get them until after Christmas)...., Okay, I will get off my soap box and move on....
- Check out this post to see some of our door decorations.

The only items Disney allows you to adorn your door (both inside and out) with is magnets.
.....and yes we decorate inside as well as outside!
And I know the word 'ONLY' typically means there are constraints, and you will be limited in what you can do. No worries. If you can imagine it, and put a magnet on it, ....OH, and you keep it Disney (not as in the sense that you have to use Disney themes, but as in the sense of G rated).....you can decorate with it.

Door decorations serve several purposes.
1. You get to show off your Disney side, your creative side, or heck, your families uniqueness. :eeyore::darth::ccat::earboy2::charac4::stitch2::tinker:
2. It makes it easy to find your cabin :confused3 :magnify:.
3. Get a group together that wants to have a door decorating contest, and have a chance to win with your awesome design!
4. Put a dry erase board out to leave messages for family and friends.
5. Share what you're celebrating with everyone.
....and so on. I am sure there are more, but I am going to stop there so y'all can share your decoration ideas.

With all that said, please do not mistake my encouragement as a must do. If door decorations won't fit into your planning, it is okay. This is not one of those hidden parts of the cruise contract that you need to read before leaving for the airport. It is just a suggestion. I also wanted to let our 1st timers know that door decorating is a thing. Speaking of, if your interest is peeked :scratchin, do a search for Disney Cruise door decorations.

Once you start looking, you are going to see several individuals that have taken their love for Disney cruises and their ability to make door magnets and turned it into a profitable business. So, the next question is, do I have to buy the magnets, or can I make and bring my own? Just as you are not required to decorate your door, your are not required to use professionally made magnets. Who knows, one of our first time cruisers my find that not only are they addicted to cruising on Disney, but that they can pay for their next cruise by making door magnets!

Okay, that is all I have. I want to close out this week ask y'all for a show and tell.
What are your plans for your doors?.....Share your ideas!.......... And have a great week.


~Tink~
 
Happy Monday!
We only have 25 Mondays until our cruise!!!!
This weeks Forget Me Not is about candy and snacks.
I was reminded of this little treat, that is over looked more often than not, while I was prepping for a recent little turn around trip to Disney World.
I love Disney as much as any other fanatic, but I also know they waaaaaaaaay over price things. That is true for candy and snacks on board as well. And finding that 'must have' candy bar or energy drink in port is not always easy either. So, if you are a chocoholic like everyone in my cabin, you may want to plan ahead to pack your favorite chocolate item. In our luggage, you will typically find a bag or 2 of M & M's (the type depends on the time of year....mint for Christmas time, the special Easter ones when traveling in March or April, and so on) and possibly some peanut butter cups or kisses. This year, we are thinking about a special room make over that will include a basket with chocolate bars attached to mini light sabers, and other fun nerf herder themed candy items.
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For those asking "Well I have heard about cruise food. You have food available all hours of the day. What do you need to bring your own for?" Let me answer that with another question. Do you have a family member that has something they LOVE to snack on, and substitutions just won't do? If so, plan for those snack attacks.
Also, I am sure that there are others out there, like me, that have their vice, they need, to keep their vacation energy going each morning. I have B12 vitamin drinks that give me the energy to go from 8 AM to 1 AM every day. I can't find those on board, and I would be to pooped to keep going at that pace after day 2 with out it. And I know some cruisers that just can not do with out their specialty coffee. Yes, you will find free coffee on board, but if you want specialty coffee, it will cost you dearly. You can save by planning ahead and bringing some instant packs.
Okay, I know all of this is sounding like weight that doesn't seem to be to important when we all have one long flight, and some of us have two. Let me share a little secret with you. For those wanting to bring extra items that you do not want to lug in your suitcase (especially items that will not be coming back home with you) all you have to do is mail your items to the boat (actually to the port, but it will be delivered to you on board). If you are interested in shipping items (such as snacks, diapers, etc), you can call our port of embarkation, or your travel agent and get the exact address you will need to assure that your package will be delivered to your cabin. You will also want to find out when the package needs to arrive by.
I hope all of the mothers reading this had a good mother's day, and that everyone has a great week!

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~Tink~
 
Happy Monday everyone!
We have 24 more Mondays until our cruise!!!!

For this weeks Forget Me Not, I want to remind everyone to download the Navigator app onto your devices.
Here is a little clip from Disney's FAQ's to help you out:

Q.
How can I add the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to my mobile device?

A.
You can download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to your smartphone or tablet from the Apple iTunes App Store℠ for iOS devices or Google Play™ for Android devices store at home or before boarding the ship.

There has just recently been an update that has given the app functions that are available prior to sailing, in addition to the count down clock. The app also has special cruise only features operational once you connect to your ship's onboard Wi‑Fi (which is complimentary when used for this app only).

To be completely honest, previously, I would suggest the app for those wanting to have a count down as they planned their cruise to help get everyone excited. I would hold off encouraging everyone else until the last month because prior to this last update all the app was until we boarded was a count down clock. Everything has changed with this last update though. Disney has finally listened to all of the Navigator users, and made it usable off the boat as well. Better yet, they have combined the improvements with a part of planning that we all would want to have right at our finger tips - Check in and Activity Planning.

Before sailing, you will still have your count down clock, but you will also have access to all the information about your reservation. For example: I have not submitted my medical form yet and that's okay because I will be able to do that through the app. Other improvements that might help you: How many kids do you have? You can use the app to register them all for the youth clubs. Do you want to dine at Palo? When your window for reservations open, use the app to make your reservations. You can use the app to make online check in a breeze, schedule you spa day or your excursion. Pretty much what ever you had to log into the computer to arrange, you can now do on the go from your hand held device.
Once onboard the app is very helpful for finding your way around the boat, finding out what is going on at any given time. It has the same information you will find on the paper version of the daily Navigator, all accessible on your device.

Here is an example of the paper version:
http://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-...4N-Bahamian-Day-1-Port-Canaveral-20170123.pdf

There is no charge to download the app, and once on board you are able to use it through the boats intranet (not internet). As long as your phone / device is in airplane mode, you will not use any of your data, and will not have to worry about charges from your cell provider. So, very important TURN AIRPLANE MODE ON BEFORE SAIL AWAY. I have heard horror stories of people who have forgotten to turn on airplane mode. If you need help with this visit the internet desk on board and they can help.

I am letting you know now, because of the benefits that are available in the updated version. If you do not think you would benefit from the pre-cruise improvements to the app I would still highly recommend downloading before you leave home. If you wait until you arrive at port, you will be fighting for available signal and wifi availability with at least 1000 other people. Our son did not listen to our warning last time, and it took him close to 2 hours to complete the download.

If you are traveling with other family members (especially children that are allowed to carry a smart device with them), make sure each of the devices being brought has the app. I am suggesting this because the app has a feature that you can use once on board to message with others on the boat that have the app on their device. We have found this to be much better than the wave phone (2 of which are provided per cabin to use for free while on board or Castaway), as you will not have to risk the $200 fee for a damaged or lost wave phones. When you log into the app, once on board, you will be given a personal ID number for your device, and anyone with your ID number can message you. If there are others on the cruise, outside of your traveling party, that you want to be able to message, you will need to exchange ID numbers before you can start messaging.

While on board the app will also give you access to a list of all of the days activities, easy access to your dining schedule and the menus, it shows you where to find all of the characters through out the ship, gives you a review of your ports of call, saves your favorite activities in one convenient list, and you can view booked activities, including Port Adventures, Adult dining, onboard fun, Spa & Fitness or Nursery.

Now it makes it look like the count down clock is just an added on bonus.

Have a great week.

~Tink~
 
Plane on Castaway runway 1_.jpgHappy Monday everyone! We have 23 Mondays until we are sailing away with Mickey.
:earsgirl::earsboy::earboy2:
But our vacation doesn't start and end at the gang way. So, this week's Forget Me Not is about your pre and post cruise Vacation time.

I can not speak for everyone, but I have not had my wish to live in the House of the Mouse (which ever house that may be - floating or planted near an orange grove) granted YET (I still believe in the magic of wishing on a star, so I am holding on to that dream!!!!). Which means we will have to find our way to the port.

Being on a one way cruise means we will also have to find our way back home after the cruise. And, I believe that the vacation begins when I leave home, and goes until I return home. This leaves a portion of our vacation that needs to be planned for.

Getting to New York will take one of 2 forms usually - there is the possibility of the arrival by train as well though. If you are flying in, you will then need to plan for transportation from the airport. If you are driving in, you will probably need to plan for a nights stay and then make arrangements for your vehicle while you are away and plans on how to be reunited with your vehicle. I did see a few hotels that had a stay and cruise package. If you have not already made plans, that is something to consider. Here are a few things to get your mind thinking about the pre and post portion of your vacation -

Flying -

Flight options
The Disney Cruise Line Air Program has 2 options if you would like to use Disney for planning this part of your trip.
-Flexible Fares - providing the convenience of being able to customize your schedule with an extended payment and cancellation option
-Restricted Fares - confirms the best available, non-refundable, airfares offered by Disney Cruise line


Flying in and out the day of boarding and return (no matter who you choose to fly with)
- arrange an early enough flight to make sure you have enough time to make it to the port from which ever airport it is that you are arriving at and be able to board no later than 2 ( I know this is earlier than Disney requires, but this will allow for any hiccups or delays).
- and arrange for a late enough flight that will allow you to leave the port by around 10 AM, make a 30 minute drive (in case of traffic), and then still be able to be 3 to 4
hours early, giving you enough time to navigate security. San Juan is a very busy airport and if you are traveling mid-day, you may be facing crowds. You will appreciate the cushion of time. If you are planning to fly out of Aguadilla make sure to take into account the travel time on under developed roads.

Flying in or out a day(s) early or a day(s) after
- arrange for a hotel stay (Disney does have the option to arrange a pre-cruise package. You can find information about this in your reservation, or through your travel agent)
Both -
- arrange for transportation to and from the port - You have several options available to you, depending on where you have stayed or when you have arrived. Disney does offer transfers, and you will want to check with your travel agent to set this up.

Beyond that, my best suggestion would be to either ask a New Yorker who has experience navigating the streets of down town New York with luggage on a Sunday morning (which by the way, if I just described someone who is reading this RIGHT NOW, stop reading and message me. I want you to do a guest blog for me. PLEASE!!!!!),

or get up next Sunday at about 7 AM (Eastern Time) and plug in the address that you think you will be staying at on google maps, and then plug in the address for the New York cruise pier (I have been using the address for the Intrepid - Pier 86. W 46th St and 12th Ave New York, NY 10036 .... the cruise pier is actually 92)

Arriving early / staying after -
- arrange for pre-hotel stay
About 5.5 months before sailing is typically a good time to be looking for a hotel pre and post sailing. However, I have never been to New York, and she has some new lessons for me to learn. I looked back at the beginning of the year to get an idea for where we wanted to stay and what the prices were going to be. I can understand that some of the rooms being booked, but what happened to the prices? Some doubled, some tripled, one even quadrupled. What the What!!! Okay, lesson learned, visiting New York, New York, plan early, and book when you see what you like.
So, if you are planning to arrive early, and you want to stay in, or close to town, I hope that you are smarter than I am and you have already accomplished this step. If not you have an assignment for this week - Book you hotel, hostel, Air BNB, condo, or what ever works for your crew!
-arranging for a post-hotel stay
The chatter on the board started about San Juan early, which I think got several of us looking at places to stay. If you haven't, now is a good time to start. San Juan is still recovering from the hurricane so they are not at 100% yet, but tourist driven businesses are reopening every day. As a matter of fact there is a Resort in downtown San Juan, only a short distance from Old San Juan that just reopened. That will be providing 100's of new suites. Other locations that gets over looked in San Juan are local apartments, condo's and houses. One of the links I followed to find places like that was on Trip Advisor. Right now, for example, for our travel dates, they have a luxury Yacht, 4 bedrooms 4 baths for $128 a night listed under Vacation Rental's. We had friends who did Air BnB last time we were down in San Juan, but I am not sure I can confidently vouch for that right now, after the hurricane.
If you are more of a Beach Resort, Spa type, check you travel reward cards. The resorts are just getting reopened after refurbishment and they are excited to bring reward card members in. We are able to use our Wyndham rewards at the Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort ( there are 5 Wyndham Resorts on the Island for you to choose from). If you are looking to redeem Points with any of the following hotel loyalty programs - Hyatt (5 Resorts), Marriot (11 Resorts), Hilton (10 Resorts), and Best Western (1) you have plenty to choose from.
If you are planning to stay before the cruise in New York, or after in San Juan, and you have not already taken the time to plan out this portion of your vacation, I would recommend that you put this at the top of your calendar (Especially the New York part).

Flying again...403187
I kind of buzzed over the flight part because I wanted to make sure you got to work on your hotel stays. The window for the return flights are all open now and ready to start booking. That doesn't mean that they are at their best prices. With that said, I am not a wizard at finding the best prices on airfare. I was amaze at the deal that I got with points for our flight to New York. The main thing to know when you are flying into New York (or at least it was the top of my list when it came down to planning out transportation) is that there are 3 airports you can fly in to - JFK International (in Queens), LaGuardia ( in Queens), and Newark International (in New Jersey).
When you are planning your flight out of San Juan, if you are having problems finding a flight from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, there is airport on the other side of the island in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (the call letters for this airport are BQN).

Happy planning. And this is more for me :tongue: Remember : The planning is half the fun:tongue:
403185

~Tink~
 

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Hey guys we’re planning on being on this ship for our first Disney Cruise!! I’ve been reading about the fish extender groups and want to be apart of one! Is that what this is? If not where should I go?
 
Hey guys we’re planning on being on this ship for our first Disney Cruise!! I’ve been reading about the fish extender groups and want to be apart of one! Is that what this is? If not where should I go?
Let me start by welcoming you aboard
:welcome::welcome::welcome:
And, yes, along with all of my fun planning tips, Jennifer did want to have an FE group. If she does not reach out to you this weekend, I will send her a message reminder. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and once you reach 10 posts, you can private message me if you prefer.
~Tink ~
 
More than likely going to be leaving this group, 99% sure going to be canceling our cruise:sad: Lost my Job a few days ago so doubt I will be able to afford my sailing. :sad1: Afraid to pull the trigger on cancelling incase my financial situation turns around. This has been a great group love the great info Pixie.
 
More than likely going to be leaving this group, 99% sure going to be canceling our cruise:sad: Lost my Job a few days ago so doubt I will be able to afford my sailing. :sad1: Afraid to pull the trigger on cancelling incase my financial situation turns around. This has been a great group love the great info Pixie.
I am so sorry to hear that.
Please tell me you got the insurance, or that you haven't made your final payment.
As for the tips, you can stay tuned in. Keep us updated.
 

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