Disney Dream October 17th 2016

[Renee Bellagamba]

Booked this cruise on the day of general release! Will be me and hubby and my parents in 2 8A rooms, can't wait!

Who's in?

Also booked our first family cruise for me and my husband and daughter. Never been, have been reading all about it and would like to be added to the group

 

[dmetcalfrn]

Just booked today!

 

[Renee Bellagamba]

Can anyone explain how the fish extenders work and how to join? My daughter seemed to love the concept and this is our first time and dont want to miss the opportunity---thanks!!

 

[Stacy Schultz]

Just Booked very excited

 

[DisneyDee27]

Hello All, I'm excited for this cruise and look forward to meeting you all. I'm not on this page much but will check in from time to time.

 

[MickeyMommyAlly]

Would love to Join a FE group for the cruise on October 17, 2016 of the Dream cruise ship.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can anyone explain how the fish extenders work and how to join? My daughter seemed to love the concept and this is our first time and dont want to miss the opportunity---thanks!!

Quick course in Fish Extenders:

Outside your room onboard is a message holder, in most cases it's shaped like a fish:


Once a cruise meet thread is up and running, someone in the group will (should?) step up and say "I'll maintain the Fish Extender exchange list". That person is the center point for all those who want to participate in the exchange. The list can be as simple as DISnames/room number/number of guests or as involved as full names/room number/ages of guests/like & dislikes/allergies/favorite characters/whatever is deemed necessary to know to put together the gifts.

Then each room on the FE list (note this will not be everyone on the Cruise Meet thread for your specific cruise), makes a Fish Extender holder. This is basically an organizer-type hanging bag with separate pockets for each person in the room:


They also make up gifts (either individual gifts or room gifts - whatever is decided by your group) to be delivered during the cruise.

One note about the gifts, some groups set up specific delivery dates, and specify "each person gets a gift" or "only one gift per room" or (even) maximum/minimum price ranges for gifts. Other groups just say "whatever", so people can choose what/how many gifts to give. Some give individual gifts, others only one gift per room, while others might do one for the adults and separate gifts for kids. Or only gift the kids.

Now that you have a Cruise Meet thread started, and some people who have expressed an interest in participating in a Fish Extender exchange, it's up to one of you to be the contact point.


Setting up FE group

There's really no "rules" as to how a FE program runs. Basically someone maintains the list of those who wish to participate. The group can decide on what information is necessary to produce FE gifts. A basic list may only have DISname/room number/number of people in the room. A more involved list could be first & last names/ages/room number/favorite character/favorite color/allergies/whatever is deemed necessary to know. Also a decision can be made as to size of FE. Some groups break out the list(s) at 10-15 rooms max, so that there are multiple lists (and some people will participate in more than one list). Other groups just make one big list (upwards of 20-30 rooms).

At some point the list will "close". Typically this happens 30-45 days out from the cruise, so that everyone participating has time to organize/prepare their gifts. Shortly before this time (about 2-3 weeks prior) the organizer will either post the list (usually via a conversation is best, as that's more private), or directly on the Cruise Meet thread, to confirm everyone on it is still participating. It’s important to make a statement about "anyone not confirming by XX date will be dropped" at this time. A little harsh, yes, but often there are people who will post on the cruise meet thread as soon as the reserve the cruise and say “I want to participate”, and are never heard from again.

Once the list closes, the organizer will post the final list. Also, a decision must be made as to whether to allow late additions. Sometimes there is a "pixie dust" list. That is, basically, a latecomers list that gets posted about a week out from the cruise that others may or may not add to their "final" list. Be sure the "pixie dust" list participants realize they may or may not get gifts from others.

The other "biggie" is no other social media sites are allowed to be linked or search directions posted as to how find that other site here on DISboards.

Would love to Join a FE group for the cruise on October 17, 2016 of the Dream cruise ship.

As it seems there are a few here on your cruise meet thread who would be interested in doing this, who’s going to step up and volunteer to maintain the list?

 

[MickeyMommyAlly]

My family and I will be traveling on the Disney Dream on October 17th and we would love to be a part of the FE. Any help would be great in joining a group.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My family and I will be traveling on the Disney Dream on October 17th and we would love to be a part of the FE. Any help would be great in joining a group.

It appears that there is no FE group set up on DISboards for your cruise meet group. At this point, no one has stepped up to maintain the list.

 

[MickeyMommyAlly]

It appears that there is no FE group set up on DISboards for your cruise meet group. At this point, no one has stepped up to maintain the list.

Thank you

 

[Becky S]

My hubby, I and two kiddos will be on this Oct 17th cruise. We are mondo excited! We would love to do FE as well.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My hubby, I and two kiddos will be on this Oct 17th cruise. We are mondo excited! We would love to do FE as well.

If someone wants to step up and maintain the Fish Extender list, then there can be a FE group for this cruise. If no one wants to do it - there's no FE group.
SETTING UP A FE GROUP

It appears there are a number of you who are interested in a Fish Extender group. There isn't one currently set up here on DISboards. Here's a little write up on how FE groups are set up:

There really are no "rules" as to how a FE program runs. Basically someone maintains the list of those who wish to participate. The group can decide on what information is necessary to produce FE gifts. A basic list may only have DISname/room number/number of people in the room. A more involved list could be first & last names/ages/room number/favorite character/favorite color/allergies/whatever is deemed necessary to know in order to create the gifts. Also a decision can be made as to size of FE. Some groups break out the list(s) at 10-15 rooms max, so that there are multiple lists (and some people will participate in more than one list). Other groups just make one big list (upwards of 20-30 rooms).

At some point the list will "close". Typically this happens 30-45 days out from the cruise, so that everyone participating has time to organize/prepare their gifts. Shortly before this time (about 2-3 weeks prior) the organizer will either post the list (usually via a conversation is best, as that's more private), or directly on the Cruise Meet thread, to confirm everyone on it is still participating. It’s important to make a statement about"anyone not confirming by XX date will be dropped"at this time. A little harsh, yes, but often there are people who will post on the cruise meet thread as soon as the reserve the cruise and say “I want to participate”, and are never heard from again.

Once the list closes, the organizer will post the final list. Also, a decision must be made as to whether to allow late additions. Sometimes there is a "pixie dust" list. That is, basically, a latecomers list that gets posted about a week out from the cruise that others may or may not add to their "final" list. Be sure the "pixie dust" list participants realize they may or may not get gifts from others, but are expected to provide gifts for the other FE participants anyway.

The other "biggie" is no other social media sites are allowed to be linked or search directions posted as to how find that other site here on DISboards. Please read this:http://www.disboards.com/threads/im...uise-meet-and-fish-extender-programs.3353477/

As it seems there are a few here on your cruise meet thread who would be interested in doing this, who’s going to step up and volunteer to maintain the list?

I will also note, to participate in conversations, everyone needs to have at least 10 posts. For those who wish to use this option for private conversations and don't have 10 posts yet, head over to the Test board to post and up your post count.http://www.disboards.com/forums/test-board.88/

Up to 20 people can participate in any given conversation.

 

[RobynPrincess]

Still no one has stepped forward to organise a FE. Have seen many people put forward their interest though.

 

[BensDaddy]

Hello everyone!

My family and I (wife and son- age 10) will be joining you on the 10/17/16 cruise on Dream! This is our 4th DCL cruise (Dream twice, Wonder once) and we are very much looking forward to meeting everyone.

Our son is a little bit shy but loves everything Star Wars, Minecraft, Ninjago, etc... Hopefully one of you has someone his age that he might have the opportunity to meet onboard!

Cheers,
Mike

 

[BensDaddy]

By the way, on our last cruise somebody created a Facebook group for the cruise that we all joined and then used it to plan a meet up on embarkation day. According to Princess Shmoo above we can not discuss that here. But if there is a way to be in compliance with Disboard rules and do something like that, it worked great! We still keep up with the friends we made on Wonder.

 

[JennKaes]

Hi everyone! VERY excited for this cruise, as it will be my first cruise AND my wedding too! My fiance and I would love to join an FE group, but I must say, I don't want to lead...I'm already planning the wedding so it will be a bit too much. Glad so many people are interested though!

 

[BensDaddy]

Congratulations Jenn! We are celebrating our 15th anniversary on this cruise!

 

[Stacy Schultz]

My Husband and I will be Celebrating our 22nd Wedding Anniversary on this....our first cruise together.. This was for our 20th but we just couldn't find time to go, and finding someone to care for our 3 kids isn't always easy. Very excited about this. I'd love to do FE but just can't step up with this being my first cruise and Marching Band Season going on before and during this. I'll be lucky to get packed...

 

[BensDaddy]

when we sailed Wonder last March, the FB group got together on embarkation day before the lifeboat drill to let the kids meet one another. Ours is a little shy but would love to meet other kids (especially boys) to play with in the Oceaneers Club. He likes Minecraft, Star Wars Rebels, Ninjago. All things Disney and Superhero.

 

[BensDaddy]

222 days to go... Not that I'm counting