Tag Archives: Fish Extenders

Disney Cruise Fun – Postcard Recipe Exchange

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You may have heard of Fish Extenders and those unofficial, Secret-Santa-like gift exchanges happening on Disney Cruises everywhere.  Our family has enjoyed joining Fish Extender groups in the past and plan to participate again some day.  On our upcoming trip, I decided to join an exchange group that requires a lot less preparation and barely takes up any room in my suitcase.

Disney Cruise Fun – Postcard Recipe Exchange

You can search Facebook and find at least one cruise group to join for your sailing.  I found a great group this time with an excellent moderator who goes above and beyond to get members involved and excited about our cruise.  The moderator(s) usually organize some group events and meet-ups for the trip and also create exchange groups for interested parties.

I indicated early on that I’d love to be part of a postcard recipe exchange.  This involves getting some local postcards, adding a recipe to the back and keeping up with a list of cabin numbers to which to distribute these during our cruise.  In return, I’ll get about 11 new recipes to try and see postcards from all over.  Fun, but also very simple.  My kind of thing!

Here’s what I’m giving out…

I had some leftover postcards (from a previous cruise).  I ordered them with my own pictures on the front and one of my all-time favorite recipes – Maui Potatoes (served long ago at ‘Ohana in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort) – printed on the back.  This time I wanted to add a bit more Louisiana flair to my exchange offering.  I found some small, but extra-adorable Louisiana postcards to go with the recipe ones (ordered from Zazzle).  I punched holes in the corners of the cards so I could tie them together with green ribbon.

To the ribbon, I also tied a tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce.  Am I advocating adding hot sauce to Maui Potatoes?  No, I’m advocating adding hot sauce to everything! Seriously, it’s what we do here in Louisiana.  Eggs, pizza, pasta, salad, sandwiches, gumbo, jambalaya, soups, stews…just about everything tastes better with a dash or three of Tabasco!  We go through a big bottle every couple of months.  Want to really experience a taste of Louisiana?  Grab your own bottle and get to sprinkling that tangy, peppery, spicy deliciousness on your favorite dishes.

If you’re going on a Disney cruise, I highly recommend joining an exchange group.  If you’re coming to Louisiana, I highly recommend a visit to Avery Island (an easy drive south from Lafayette) to see firsthand how Tabasco is produced.  You won’t be disappointed!

 

Disney Cruise Tips – Beyond Fish Extenders

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It’s not like we spend every vacation at Disney World, you know.  We go other places…on Disney Cruise Line!  Two weeks from now we’ll be off on a new cruise adventure on the Disney Fantasy for the first time.  Eastern Caribbean…here we come!

When we sail for more than four nights, I like to get more involved in the Disney cruise experience than just visiting ports and participating in ship activities like eating constantly, attending cooking demos and playing trivia games.  I do this by joining a Facebook group for our cruise and signing up for group activities.

Disney Cruise Tips – Beyond Fish Extenders

Once upon a time, joining a Fish Extender group was all the rage.  We joined the fun on a couple of cruises and had a great time.  Now that we no longer travel with kids who’d get a kick out of the amazing assortment of gifts, we’re not so much into the whole FE thing.  However, we don’t have to abandon the fun completely.  There are alternatives to the traditional Fish Extender – same idea, but less geared towards children.  As a bonus, they also tend to take less prep time and not nearly as much room in your suitcase.

For our upcoming cruise, I found an excellent Facebook group with 400+ members.  This particular Facebook group has been one of the best I’ve experienced with lots of activity and newbies getting all their questions answered by seasoned Disney cruise fans.  The tireless group admin has organized several beverage tasting seminars for interested members and something like 19 different gift exchange groups.  In addition to traditional Fish Extender exchanges, there are magnet, postcard, ornament, and candy exchange groups.  It was hard to decide which to join!

I decided on the postcard group.  I ordered some Louisiana postcards from Zazzle and will include a favorite recipe with each one as I make the rounds to the staterooms in my group.  With postcards, there’s no actual Fish Extender necessary.  The card and recipe will fit neatly onto the Fish – or in the case of the Fantasy, the metal Seahorse beside each cabin door, whichever it may be.  We still get to do a fun group activity, but don’t need to bring anything to hang up and our “gifts” will be easy to bring along (and take home).

Have you joined a cruise group and participated in a Fish Extender or other gift-giving activity?  What type was it and how did it go?

First Time Disney Cruise? This One’s for You – Fish Extenders!

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Fish Extenders!  Ever heard of ‘em?  No?  Well, if you’re cruising on Disney, you’re bound to see them.  Next to the outside of every stateroom door is a metal fish.  The fish’s main/original purpose in life is that it serves as a place where Disney Castmembers can leave mail for you – excursion information, spa treatment reminders, invitations to kids/teen club events, etc.  What turns this unassuming, ordinary looking, mail gathering fish into something MORE is the addition of a hanging pocketed receptacle called a Fish Extender (aka FE)!

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In order to even want or NEED a fish extender, you first must join a fish extender GROUP.  See…the fish extender is like a Christmas stocking.  Its sole purpose in life is to gather little surprises from other members of your FE group while YOU are distributing little gifts to them as well.  Think Secret Santa on the high seas!  (Which is, I believe, how this whole thing actually started.)  Where, pray tell, does one join a FE group?  There’s one teeny tiny extra step you must take to join.  First you have to find and join an online group where other members of your cruise are meeting up…there are benefits to doing this other than participating in a FE exchange, but I’ll save that for another day.  Anyway back to the group-finding part – the easiest place to find a group is on Facebook.  Enter your cruise in the search box and if a group’s been started, it’ll pop right up.

Once your request to join the group has been approved, you can start interacting with your fellow cruisers.  If a FE group is being put together, you’ll see usually in the group files or a pinned post.  Don’t wait too long to decide about joining.  Usually, the ability to join expires two-to-three weeks prior to sailing to give all the participants time to assemble and pack their FE gifts.

You’ll need a Fish Extender.  I made mine a long time ago and, while humble, it served its purpose well on more than one occasion.  My sewing skills tend to lean toward a combination of hand stitching and hot glue.  But that was before the days of Etsy and Pinterest.  Now you can find FE’s to purchase or get ideas for making your own.  I hear they even sell them on ebay.

About the gifts – small, portable, and inexpensive are the main criteria.  We’ve given bubbles, glow-sticks, candy, Disney party favors, puzzles, Disney magnets (suitable for use as DSCN3596stateroom Door Décor!), pirate-themed items, etc.  We’ve received some awesome stuff:  Disney Pez dispensers/candy, Disney washcloths, pool toys, small items representative of the other participants’ home towns, buttons, pins, and more!  You do not have to give a gift everyday and you don’t have to even give more than one gift – especially if dealing with a large FE group with many staterooms.  Just make sure you at least bring something for everyone participating in each cabin – you’ll know how many adults and children are involved in each cabin (by cabin #) as the FE group is formed.

Then once you sail away from port – let the fun begin!  Kids enjoy not only finding FE gifts waiting for them, they also have a great time “sneaking” around delivering surprises to everyone else.

Have you done an exchange on Disney Cruise Line?  What were your favorite gift items to give and receive?