Disney Dream January 22, 2018 - 4 Day Bahama Cruise

[Megan S.]

Hello, everyone! I am excited I found this board. We will be sailing for my son's 4th b'day. I was interested in doing the fish extender exchange but am not sure of how it works. We are traveling with my husband, our son, and my parents. My son's b'day will be celebrated on the ship and we thought this was a great age to go. We have done the WONDER in February of 2013 (just us 2), and DREAM in March 2015 (us 3, and a bunch of others). I hope the weather is nice in January, as the last time we were at Castaway it was 100 degrees and we didn't get to do much because our son was only 14 months old. We are from Atlanta, GA. I look forward to hearing more from you all!

 

[pixiehallow]

Welcome to the group Megan S.

I love celebration on board. The cast members always go over the top to help you celebrate. Make sure you talk to your waiter and you head server
(not one of the 2 at your table, he is their supervisor, and will come around on the first night and introduce himself to you). Let them know what day you are celebrating the birthday so they can plan for a special dessert.

As for the FE, talk to THicks863 or take a look at this post: it is post #27

Fish Extender!


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-dC6qUdbo0O1Cdwj9N8owSqq0payPYcrcvoxxHku6Ys

I started this with another person on the FB group if anyone wants to join. I'm planning on joining more than one group because on this list there is only 10 per group and "I want more"!

I'm not sure if my cabin is going to take part in one on this sailing as we are doing back to backs. I would be happy keeping / managing a list if enough group members want to have one. Let me know which way you want to go. If you want me to get a list going, I have room to keep a list updated on the first page.

Now, the temperature on Castaway Cay in January is typically wonderful. We have sailed to the Bahamas a few different times in January, and the temperature was between the high 70's to the low 80's. I am not making any promises though! We have been there on one trip that the winds were to high to back into the dock. The temperature was great but we couldn't get off the boat to enjoy the island. One other factor to consider in the equation is our weather the week before we sail. We have noticed that if we are having a cold front pushing through the week before we sail, it will be effecting the Bahama weather while we are on board. If the weather here is nice, you can expect the same. By the way when I am saying 'here', I am referring to the southern gulf states. Start watching and comparing the temperatures of both Orlando and Castaway (yes it is a location on the weather channel app...so cool) in Dec. and you will be able to see a trend and get an idea of what to expect. I am not a cold weather (cold being anything below 80) person, and you will see me in my suit at the beach on Castaway (well, swim suit is defined as my rash guards top an bottom - the skin doctor has told me no sun means NO SUN , and on the beach is mostly a hammock in the shade....I will sneak out and snorkel or head out to one of the water play forts for some fun before lunch...Awesome island BBQ - it gets a Texans seal of approval) [Whoa! I had a Tink moment and got totally off topic there SORRY!!]

Anywho, if you have any questions, I love talking Disney. If you are up for some cruise planning chat, you have found a nice group to chat away with. I look forward to getting to know you as we plan.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

OPPS! I forgot....

I was interested in doing the fish extender exchange but am not sure of how it works.....

Check out this, and if it misses anything, I am sure someone on the board can answer any extra questions:

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Monday everyone! I hope where ever you are that you are dry and safe. As for this Texas family, we are both. I posted an update on Tink Moments and I want to thank everyone for there well wishes. But receding waters and out board motor powered boats are not what I had in mind for a happy Monday and a Forget Me not. I was thinking more about getting excited that we only have 20 Mondays until our vacation starts!!!
We are also are getting really close to the online check in and activity / excursion booking day. To get you prepped for your opening day, today's Forget Me Not is about planning your excursions.
A few weeks back, I gave you dates to remember (it looked something like this) -
Platinum/Concierge- 120 days out (Thursday - September 24)
Gold- 105 days out (Friday - October 9)
Silver- 90 days out (Saturday - October 24)
new cruisers-75 days out (Sunday -November 9)
When your slot rolls around, not only do you get to do your online check-in, you also get to reserve you on board activities, and your EXCURSIONS. With that 1st time slot coming up next month (and each one after that opening up at 15 day intervals), it's time for you to start planning out what it is that you want to do.
Knowing it's time to start planning is only half of what you need to know to check this off your list. It would help if you knew where you needed to go. Well, in order to know where to go, you need to decide what kind of excursion you want to take.

~ Do you want to do something on your own? If yes, than you need to start researching Nassau, Castaway Cay and possibly even Orlando and the Space coast if your trip includes pre or post time in Florida. There is plenty of information available for Florida, so I am not going to bore you with information you have probably already found. To find information out about Castaway Cay, you will need to focus you search on information that Disney makes available, and reviews, reports, and discussions on boards like this where you can ask specific questions to get exactly the information that your family needs. Doing something on your own at Castaway basically means you aren't signing up for an excursion. And there is quite a bit for you to do there with out taking an excursion, everything from renting a family cabana and being pampered all day to watching a crab race. You will have 8 hours at Castaway (from 8:30 AM - 4:45 PM), and believe me, there is more than 8 hours worth of fun on that island.
Exploring Nassau is a completely different experience. If you are going out on your own, you'll want to start with some research to discover what part of the island appeals most to you. When you know what your interested in, you can look for private tour providers for a tour, a boating excursion, snorkeling, or something like that. or you can plot your own course with in walking distance, taxi distance, or water taxi distance. Please keep your safety in mind. You are in a foreign country where the fact that you are a tourist does come with the possibility of you (and your family members) being a target for wrong doing. I am not telling you this to scare you.

***Where ever you travel, you should always check for travel advisories both for travel, and medical advisories. Even if you are planning to do excursions through Disney, it is wise to do your checking.
***Also, if you go off the boat in Nassau and you are not taking a tour / excursion through Disney, you are responsible for returning to the boat on time. If you do not get back to the boat by 5:15 PM (best to be safe by 5:00 PM) the boat may leave you behind, and you will be responsible for finding your own transportation back. If you don't believe me, google 'dock runners'. Please, Please, set your clock / watch to boat time, and set an alarm at least a half an hour to an hour early so you do not miss the boat.​

Or
~Do you want to do something through Disney?
I am sure that you have received your email like this from Disney:
View attachment 265374

Further down the page you will find a link that looks like this:

View attachment 265366The planning center is where you will go to schedule you activities. You may not have access to this area yet because you may not have made your final payment, and/ or you have not reached your opening date (listed above).
To get started on your Disney excursion research, you are going to need to go to Disney Cruise Line Port Adventures (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/overview/) and select either Bahama Port Adventures View attachment 265367 Click on the description

Or
Castaway Cay Port Adventures
View attachment 265371 Click on the description
Then, you will need to choose how you want to look at the excursions (either one port at a time or both at the same time) on the next page, you can select the ports from this drop down:
View attachment 265373

If you are going to book with Disney, I would recommend reserving your pick as soon as you can. Some of the more popular excursions fill up and will not be offered once on board.
I recommend the same for non-Disney excursion providers as well, because if they do not get enough people reserving an excursion, they may cancel it. And yes, if they cancel it, they will let you know. When you book, it would be a good idea to make sure you know their cancellation policies.
Happy planning! Only 20 Mondays to go! We are getting close, and I am getting so excited!!!

~Tink~

 

[lh105107]

Welcome to the group Megan S.

I love celebration on board. The cast members always go over the top to help you celebrate. Make sure you talk to your waiter and you head server
(not one of the 2 at your table, he is their supervisor, and will come around on the first night and introduce himself to you). Let them know what day you are celebrating the birthday so they can plan for a special dessert.

As for the FE, talk to THicks863 or take a look at this post: it is post #27


I'm not sure if my cabin is going to take part in one on this sailing as we are doing back to backs. I would be happy keeping / managing a list if enough group members want to have one. Let me know which way you want to go. If you want me to get a list going, I have room to keep a list updated on the first page.

Now, the temperature on Castaway Cay in January is typically wonderful. We have sailed to the Bahamas a few different times in January, and the temperature was between the high 70's to the low 80's. I am not making any promises though! We have been there on one trip that the winds were to high to back into the dock. The temperature was great but we couldn't get off the boat to enjoy the island. One other factor to consider in the equation is our weather the week before we sail. We have noticed that if we are having a cold front pushing through the week before we sail, it will be effecting the Bahama weather while we are on board. If the weather here is nice, you can expect the same. By the way when I am saying 'here', I am referring to the southern gulf states. Start watching and comparing the temperatures of both Orlando and Castaway (yes it is a location on the weather channel app...so cool) in Dec. and you will be able to see a trend and get an idea of what to expect. I am not a cold weather (cold being anything below 80) person, and you will see me in my suit at the beach on Castaway (well, swim suit is defined as my rash guards top an bottom - the skin doctor has told me no sun means NO SUN , and on the beach is mostly a hammock in the shade....I will sneak out and snorkel or head out to one of the water play forts for some fun before lunch...Awesome island BBQ - it gets a Texans seal of approval) [Whoa! I had a Tink moment and got totally off topic there SORRY!!]

Anywho, if you have any questions, I love talking Disney. If you are up for some cruise planning chat, you have go a nice group to chat away with. I look forward to getting to know you as we plan.

~Tink~

Thai you for the weather tips - makes complete sense!

 

[lh105107]

Hi Tink! My first question...do you know how much the sand toys are on Castaway Cay? Yes, yes, I know I can pack ones from the dollar store, but 1) I don't feel like schlepping them there, and 2) I've seen such a cute Mickey shaped ones in pictures. Trying to find my price threshold of whats worth it lol Thanks!

 

[pixiehallow]

Hi Tink! My first question...do you know how much the sand toys are on Castaway Cay? Yes, yes, I know I can pack ones from the dollar store, but 1) I don't feel like schlepping them there, and 2) I've seen such a cute Mickey shaped ones in pictures. Trying to find my price threshold of whats worth it lol Thanks!

I am out of the house right now, I will do some research and get back to you.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Hi Tink! My first question...do you know how much the sand toys are on Castaway Cay? Yes, yes, I know I can pack ones from the dollar store, but 1) I don't feel like schlepping them there, and 2) I've seen such a cute Mickey shaped ones in pictures. Trying to find my price threshold of whats worth it lol Thanks!

Ok, I looked back at past cruises. The best I can find is from a 2016 sailing. At that time the castle bucket with a shovel was $7, and the bag of mixed sand toys was $15.
I did some web searching too, and the prices were quite similar. The highest I saw was for a shoulder sling beach bag full of sand toys for $24.
Another suggestion is to keep you eye on the in room gifts. I have seen beach day bags before with toys. If something like that comes available before our sailing, you can have it delivered to your cabin as a welcome aboard gift.
And, if you happen to find a perfect sand toy gift on an end of summer sail, you can always have it mailed to the boat.
I hope that helps. I will keep my eye out for some more up to date numbers. I don't think things would have changed to much.
And sorry for the delayed reply. Today was rain damage assessment day!

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

 

[lh105107]

Ok, I looked back at past cruises. The best I can find is from a 2016 sailing. At that time the castle bucket with a shovel was $7, and the bag of mixed sand toys was $15.
I did some web searching too, and the prices were quite similar. The highest I saw was for a shoulder sling beach bag full of sand toys for $24.
Another suggestion is to keep you eye on the in room gifts. I have seen beach day bags before with toys. If something like that comes available before our sailing, you can have it delivered to your cabin as a welcome aboard gift.
And, if you happen to find a perfect sand toy gift on an end of summer sail, you can always have it mailed to the boat.
I hope that helps. I will keep my eye out for some more up to date numbers. I don't think things would have changed to much.
And sorry for the delayed reply. Today was rain damage assessment day!

~Tink~

This was amazing information, thank you!! Helps so much.

Rain assessment- oh no! Were you in the hurricane's path?

 

[pixiehallow]

This was amazing information, thank you!! Helps so much.

Rain assessment- oh no! Were you in the hurricane's path?

Yeah, we are at its turn around point. The worst of it was a few missing shingles on the house we are getting ready for sale, and the roof sprung a leak around the ac in our new RV home. We are heading out to replace the gasket on the RV roof today. And as long as the wood dries out we are good to go. My son however, lives in Houston. His list is a bit more intensive. We check in daily to make sure he is still okay. He said he feels blessed. He knows how bad it could have been, and knows that what he is facing is much less than several 1000 of his fellow Houstonians.

Time to head out.~Tink~

 

[lh105107]

Yeah, we are at its turn around point. The worst of it was a few missing shingles on the house we are getting ready for sale, and the roof sprung a leak around the ac in our new RV home. We are heading out to replace the gasket on the RV roof today. And as long as the wood dries out we are good to go. My son however, lives in Houston. His list is a bit more intensive. We check in daily to make sure he is still okay. He said he feels blessed. He knows how bad it could have been, and knows that what he is facing is much less than several 1000 of his fellow Houstonians.

Time to head out.~Tink~

Oh wow - So glad to hear that everything is okay and that you all are safe.

 

[pixiehallow]

Oh wow - So glad to hear that everything is okay and that you all are safe.

Thanks!
New gasket on AC and it is as good as new!

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Monday to you all. We officially have only 19 Mondays until our cruise.

Today's Forget Me not is clothes pins. I know this sounds silly (when I received them in my first FE, I was puzzled as to why someone would gift clothes pins), but they have several good uses. The top of my list is to hold curtains closed. If you have and ocean view, or a verandah, you will discover on the first morning, that no matter how hard you work at over lapping the curtains, they will still sway apart in the ocean waves, and let piercing light in at 5 AM. Another helpful use is holding wet swim suits (or any other article of clothing that needs to be rinsed out) to the laundry line in the bath room. The inventor of the retractable bathroom clothes line had a good idea, but because you can not lock the length to the exact amount of line that you need to reach the other side, the cord continues to gain length with the weight of each item added to the line. As a result, the wet clothes tend to all slide to the middle and pile up on each other, preventing them from drying (as I am writing this, I am imagining the bird on the wire short at the beginning of some of Pixar's movies). When you attach a clothes pin to each item on the line, they stay put (side note, I happened to see - in one of the full time RV YouTube videos my hubby watches as we count down to full timing - someone being able to lock the line in place. If this is true, Awesome! But I have not had a chance to check it out yet. It won't lessen the need for the clothes pins, but is still interesting all the same). You can also use the clothes pins to organize loose items, hold something to an FE that otherwise would end up on the floor (he he, then they get a clothes pin as an FE also! ). Put magnets on the back, and put them on the cabin door to organize and have a dedicated place to you lanyards and key to the world cards. And you can even use them to hold blankets to bunk beds, or passies to a blanky. I am sure the list goes on, but you get the idea.

Have a great week. Oh, and keep your eyes out this week for some fun posts. I found a few thing when we were getting organized and prepped for our youngest's birthday trip and thought it would be fun to share.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

For those who were interested in my planning party idea, I finally made a video about it and it is all loaded up. I actually think the bloopers and out takes at the end are the best part!

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Let me start by apologizing for the length.
I found this when we got to the school closet during one of our latest down sizing efforts! It is so cute, I had to share.
You will need a little bit of back ground though.
*Our cat's name is Freaky.
and *In 1st or 2nd grade our oldest son chose to write 'Freaky Tales' (his take on life through the eyes of our cat) for his daily journal time. I have attached pics at the end.
So, here are 4 days in the life of Freaky.

-Day 1: After a year of waiting, I am finally on the Disney Boat. Once on I discovered that I can eat and sleep all I wanted. ~Freaky~ (insert paw print)

-Day 2: Today I have learned about the largest mouse in the world. 'MICKEY'. Throughout the day, I have searched for the mouse, but I had no luck.
GAME ON Mickey! ~Freaky~ (paw print)

-Day 3: Today the mouse kept hiding. Through out the day I kept seeing a ship that lurked in the waters. Is it a Pirate Ship? ~Freaky~ (paw print)

-Day 4: Today was exciting. Pirates boarded the ship and captured the mouse. I soon found out that the pirates were Rats (mmm). Therefore it was easy to scare them off. I saved (dinner - this had a line through it) the mouse and became a hero. ~Freaky~ (paw print)
​

It was soooooo cute, I had to share.

Tink

 

[Rachel Botsford]

Hey everyone! This will be our first cruise, and I can hardly stand the wait. My triplets will be turning 7 on the cruise and I haven't told them we're going. This is going to be one hard secret to keep.

Just booked today. This is our first cruise as well. We'd love to participate in the fish extender exchange with our 5 year old!

 

[pixiehallow]

Just booked today. This is our first cruise as well. We'd love to participate in the fish extender exchange with our 5 year old!

Welcome to the group Rachel.

First cruise...How exciting! I am not sure if anyone has told you yet or not, Disney Cruising is VERY addictive.

So is the FE exchange! Speaking of the FE, take a look at this post: it is post #27.

Fish Extender!


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-dC6qUdbo0O1Cdwj9N8owSqq0payPYcrcvoxxHku6Ys

I started this with another person on the FB group if anyone wants to join. I'm planning on joining more than one group because on this list there is only 10 per group and "I want more"!

Bought so cool stuff already this week on sale!!

I'm not sure if my family is in or out yet, because we are doing back to backs, and luggage is already going to be maxed out. I have no problem with keeping / managing a list if enough group members want to have one. Let me know which way you want to go. If you want me to get a list going, I have room to keep one updated on the first page.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Everyone interested in doing an FE, Please Read, and get back to me.

We have had several interested in doing an FE, so I am going to start a list. I you have previously expressed interest, or are just joining us, please let me know so I can get you added to the group.
~Tink~

 

[Midwife Erin]

Happy Monday everyone! We have a mere 34 Mondays until we set sail.

In today's Monday Forget me Not's I have a storage and organizational tip to share with you.

Plan to pack a shoe organizer w/ a hook on the top to hang on the towel hook on the inside of the bathroom door (Disney no longer allows over the door hangers. If you use one that goes over the door, you run the risk of getting a repair bill added to your account).
These organizers come in handy when you are trying to keep all of your bathroom stuff organized, out of reach of little hands, and clutter free.

~Tink~


View attachment 238681
Saw for sale on ebay for $0.99 / free shipping (all you have to add is your own hanger)

16 Pockets Hanging Over Door Shoe Organizer Storage Rack Bag Box

Search: one hook hanging shoe organizer

View attachment 238682
View attachment 238683

Thanks for this idea! We are first time Disney cruisers and just booked! so excited! not telling the kids until Christmas