Was "Live" now great memories from the 2006 DVC Member Cruise

[WDWLVR]

The 2006 DVC Member Cruise sails on Sunday October 22nd. We start the trip down tomorrow! :cheer2: Once we get on board we'll change this to "live from". Looking forward to our DIS meet Saturday in the Solarium at Beach Club. Then we'll have another meet on Sunday at 3pm on the ship.

Looking forward to sailing with a great group of DISers!

[dallastxcpa]

Oh how I wish I was sailing with the group this year. Oh well, I will have to mark my calendar when they announce the next one.

Happy Sailing to all my fellow DVC members going on Sunday. pixiedust:

[ohiominnie]

Subscribing, of course. You know I can't miss any updates from ya'll!!! :)

Happy sailing! :)

[scrappy910]

Looking forward to hear about all the fun you all are having.

Carol

[BCVOwner2002]

The 2006 DVC Member Cruise sails on Sunday October 22nd. We start the trip down tomorrow! :cheer2: Once we get on board we'll change this to "live from". Looking forward to our DIS meet Saturday in the Solarium at Beach Club. Then we'll have another meet on Sunday at 3pm on the ship.

Looking forward to sailing with a great group of DISers!

Mary - safe travels to you and Mark! Can't wait to see you again on Saturday. This is going to be a WONDERful trip!

[Verandah Man]

Here's an early wish, for a WONDERful cruise, for everyone sailing on Sunday!!! :thumbsup2

[RachelTori]

Looking forward to reading about your adventures! Safe travels and Bon Voyage to all you lucky Members! :wave:

[cgcw]

Safe travels to all our fellow cruisers who are already on the road and heading out really soon. pixiedust:

See you all Saturday!!

:jumping1:

[wltdsnyfan]

;) Have a great trip :)

[justmestace]

Safe travels to everyone....


Take lots of pictures!

Have a BLAST!!!

[CajunGirl2]

Have a WONDERful time!

We'll be anxiously waiting to see if you have any news on the '08 dates for us.

Ang

[chip&dale&fun]

Have Fun all -- will be checking in.....

[lunsusie]

Have a WONDERful cruise, everyone! Can't wait to read your trip reports. :sail:

[tksbaskets]

Have a great time Mary (and Mark of course :-) Can't wait to hear about the goodies and suprises in store for you all.

Teresa

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Checking in from the Boardwalk!

We had a great trip down. Didn't hit very much rain at all which was my one fear and traffic for the most post moved. Got into Disney about 5:30 last night and settled in here at the Boardwalk. We did dinner over at Yacht Club Galley and then went over to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. We had planned to go see Illuminations but we were beat from the drive so that will wait until tonight.

Today is the first of our planned events. We have a DIS meet scheduled for 3pm today. It is going to be such fun seeing both old friends we've cruised with before and all the new friends we've made on the meets thread. Then tomorrow morning we'll board the DIS party bus (yes thanks to Roxann we have chartered our own bus) to the port.

I hope to have some pictures up from the meet later today.

[ohiominnie]

Then tomorrow morning we'll board the DIS party bus (yes thanks to Roxann we have chartered our own bus) to the port.

I hope to have some pictures up from the meet later today.

That it just so awesome!!!!!!!!!!! What a great idea!!!

U TOP!

pdfg pixiedust: and all who need some

(that's two in a row!)

[wltdsnyfan]

Good morning everyone! Checking in from the Boardwalk!

We had a great trip down. Didn't hit very much rain at all which was my one fear and traffic for the most post moved. Got into Disney about 5:30 last night and settled in here at the Boardwalk. We did dinner over at Yacht Club Galley and then went over to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. We had planned to go see Illuminations but we were beat from the drive so that will wait until tonight.

Today is the first of our planned events. We have a DIS meet scheduled for 3pm today. It is going to be such fun seeing both old friends we've cruised with before and all the new friends we've made on the meets thread. Then tomorrow morning we'll board the DIS party bus (yes thanks to Roxann we have chartered our own bus) to the port.

I hope to have some pictures up from the meet later today.

Oh Boy! We are going to hear on the news about this bus that was Rocking and Rolling on the expressway in Florida! That is going to be such fun. :rotfl2: What a great idea. :thumbsup2 Enjoy!

[beaker]

Good morning everyone! Checking in from the Boardwalk!

We had a great trip down. Didn't hit very much rain at all which was my one fear and traffic for the most post moved. Got into Disney about 5:30 last night and settled in here at the Boardwalk. We did dinner over at Yacht Club Galley and then went over to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. We had planned to go see Illuminations but we were beat from the drive so that will wait until tonight.

Today is the first of our planned events. We have a DIS meet scheduled for 3pm today. It is going to be such fun seeing both old friends we've cruised with before and all the new friends we've made on the meets thread. Then tomorrow morning we'll board the DIS party bus (yes thanks to Roxann we have chartered our own bus) to the port.

I hope to have some pictures up from the meet later today.



Wish I was there with you. I can't wait to see the pictures. Have a great time today and we will see you all at the boat

[Verandah Man]

Sounds like the party has started!!! The bus ride, to the port, sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun as well!!!:teeth:

[jakenjess]

Sounds like a great time! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[WDWLVR]

Greetings again from the Boardwalk. We had our first DIS meet today and it was a great success. Here are some photos:


The circle journal exchange from SS Member Cruise 05

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069CJ-med.jpg

Our DIS meet sign ready and waiting for the meet.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet_sign-med.jpg

A general picture of the meet itself.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet1-med.jpg

Our bride and groom Julie and Matt who are getting married the weekend after the cruise here at WDW.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet2-med.jpg
Tomorrow we board the bus to the port and this becomes a "Live" thread.

[Verandah Man]

Looks like everyone had a great time, thanks for sharing the pics!!! :thumbsup2

[ohiominnie]

I just have one question....

Where is the rest of Diana???? DIANA, YOU LOOK FABULOUS!!!!


Looks like a fun time was had by all!! I thought about calling you guys (on Mark or Mary's cell) but I knew the group they were with and I figured you wouldn't even be able to hear me over the noise!!!! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Have a great time on the cruise. :)
Here's to beautiful sunshine, smooth water, and great fun! http://bestsmileys.com/drinking/8.gif
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[fireplug]

You all look like you are having fun :thumbsup2

We will be there in about 16 hours or so. Cant believ it started out to be months and months and it is now down to hours. pirate:

Squid:firefight

pirate:

[cherylp3]

just checking in so I can find the live thread from the cruise

[Snoopygirl]

Sounds like such fun!!!! Can't wait to hear more and see pics!!

Have a great cruise! pirate:

[Mackey Mouse]

Love the pics Mary, keep them coming for those of us who are not there in person but in spirit....Hugs and have lots of fun and a wonderful anniversary!!!!

[2angelsinheaven]

Looks like a great time was had by all yesterday. Enjoy your ride over and I hope everyone has a WONDERful cruise! =o)

[WDWLVR]

We are here - i'm surrounded by about 60 of the DIS friends we are sailing with and they all say Hi!


The party has started!

[ibouncetoo]

Please tell Ohanafamily, RRBB and TagtoddlerIan that ibouncetoo says "HI!"

[scrappy910]

Well you should be boarding or already up at Beach Blanket Buffet. Hopefully the weather is pleasant so you can eat out on deck and enjoy the Florida sunshine. You all are going to have a great time. Keep us informed as to how the entertainment is and the changes that were done in drydock. Oh and don't forget to tell us about all your goodies :Pinkbounc

See you Friday.

Carol

[glewis1123]

Subscribing to the thread - want to know too

Have a Great Time - I'm sooooo jealous

[CruiseBoundnKY]

Wishing you guys and gals a super-awesome-spectacular-great-"magic"al-"wonder"ful-and...safe sailing!

Looking forward to the live updates.

[2angelsinheaven]

Have a WONDERful cruise, and it was so nice to meet you today Mary. =o)

[2angelsinheaven]

Your only a few moments away from hearing the horn, yipee! :wizard:

Link to the horn included for those of us stuck on land...lol Wonder Horn (http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Sounds/MAGIC.wav)

[2angelsinheaven]

Off you go....
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/351/dvccruisetk7.png

Have a great time all. :wave2:

[Verandah Man]

Have a WONDERful DVC Cruise!!!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/WonderDVC002.jpg
Wonder from the Radisson cam on 10-22-06

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/102206wonder.jpg
Wonder sailing past the Two Palms cam on 10-22-06

[Verandah Man]

Hey Darlene,

Looks like we were posting just a few seconds apart!!! ;)

[2angelsinheaven]

Lol, guess so. I meet so many nice DISer's today I bet they are going to have a great cruise.

[Minnie&Mickey]

Please let us know if they announce a Member Cruise for 2007! My husband and I say that we are going to go on it every year, but so far we haven't been able to work it into our schedule. We are both hoping that 2007 will be our year!

[lunsusie]

Bon voyage! Wishing you fair winds and calm seas. Have a WONDERful cruise! :sail:

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I have a bunch of friends on the cruise. We weren't DVC owners until this June, so we couldn't go. Hoping that we will be able to make next years and join in the fun. Bon Voyage and have a GREAT time!!!! pirate:

[scrappy910]

I was talking to my sister (who is on the ship) as it was sailing past the camera. She said they are already having a great time and had goodies on their bed upon arrival. CM told them there was a bunch more stuff to come. My sister said she had taken an extra suitcase, but that it is already full from just the items they got upon arrival.

On a sad note, they were told that Ducky would not be on the ship due to a family emergency. Needless to say the cruisers are disappointed but also concerned about Ducky.

Didn't get to talk much since they were off to dinner. Sure wish we could have gone, but since we were on the 11 day it was just too much time to be away from work (they might find out they could actually do without me) :rotfl2:

Carol

[tksbaskets]

Hi all!
Hope you have a wonderful cruise. What goodies were waiting for you??? Walt and I are taking the DVC plunge in January so we hope his school schedule cooperates for a member cruise soon.

Mary, any fun Bear pictures yet? I'd love to see what is in the circle journals. What a great idea.

Living vicariously through my fellow DISers....42 degrees and raining here in Michigan.

Teresa

[mikayla73]

Oh that looks like so much fun! I really hope we get to go on the Members Cruise next year! Have fun everyone!

signed - cold and windy in STL :)

[nezy]

Thanks for posting those of pix os the Wonder as she set sail.

Can't wait to hear about the cruise. I still have things from last years' member cruise I don't know where to put! 5 lithos, 5 alarm clocks, etc.

Anyway, thanks for the link Mikayla!

[bunnymkc]

Just wanted to say hi and wish you all a great cruise, wish I was with you all please let us all know everything that happens on this cruise as I really wanted to go with you all but couldn't make it this year. heres hoping we meet again next year. have fun and please try to keep us posted on all the goodies and happenings. :wave: marianne

[rkdahl]

Hi All!

Just thought I'd share a few moments from our 1st day on the DVC Member Cruise! We set sail on a beautiful sunny and warm Florida day. We're heading to Castaway Cay and dock there tomorrow mid-morning. The check-in and boarding went smooth. there were DVC Member signs everywhere and the ever present "Welcme Home" from cruise staff.

After boarding about 11:00am my wife and I made our way to the food which was wonderful as usual. The cabins were opened up at 1:30pom and we found a bed full of various DVC and Castaway Club gifts. I can't think of them all just now but there were special pins, colorful Mickey boxes with several suprises in them, a Mickey pin holder, several beach and carry bags, special DVC lanyards with 15th anniversary pins on them and other things that we can get more detail on later.

We have several special guests on board including Roy Disney! My wife and I had dinner at Palo's tonight and we saw Jim Lewis and several other Disney staff members come in to eat. As we left we walked by their table and Roy Disney was sitting at the head of the table with about 12 Disney employees!

We're enroute right now to Castaway Key and are due to arrive there mid morning Monday. We received a DVC cruise guide that details special meetings, entertainment, and other DVC events that are going on the next several days. More on these later.

When we got back to our room tonight we had 2 small circular boxes that each had a special 15th anniversary DVC pin. A very nice pin. I think this is the 3rd pin we have received so far. Each of them nice and unique!

So...that's all from this reporter for now. More later as things progress!

[2angelsinheaven]

Very cool about the pins, I love to see photos when you guys get back as we are big into pins. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

[Snoopygirl]

Wow!!! Sounds great already!! Please share pics of all the goodies you get.....so jealous!!! We just became DVC members and this sounds like so much fun! Hopefully one day we'll be able to go too.

Have FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chip&dale&fun]

Looks like you are off to a great start -- enjoy the cruise..... :thumbsup2

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone!

Thanks for Curt for allowing me to use his laptop to change the thread title in the terminal yesterday.

Thanks to Andy for the great shots!

Our day yesterday started at 8:30 over at Beach Club. That's where those of us on the party bus met up. The bus showed up right on time at 9 am and after loading it up we were on our way. A great big thank you to our bus driver Thomas who really helped make it great. Tina and Tim brought 10 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and a number of cases of bottled water! John and Gary did a great job of making sure everyone had everything they needed for the ride and acted as our flight attendants. :) Jeff had brought along the video he made of last years Member Cruise and we watched that on the way over to the port!

Got to the port a little after 10. Drop off was smooth and since we had so many left over donuts and water we gave those to the porters who were quite happy!

Got boarding #3 and met up with the rest of the DIS gang over on the couches. Thanks to Amy for taking the sign over to the port for us. A great time to mix and mingle.

I got a chance to meet Darlene in the terminal. Hi Darlene - and thanks!

Next up boarding! We were soon walking into the Atrium of the beautiful Disney Wonder. We bypassed the instructions to go to Parrot Cay and instead headed up to eat at Beach Blanket. Hey I'm from the North and anytime I can eat outside in late October I'm going for it. Outside at Beach Blanket seemed to be the choice for many DISers and were soon joined by a lot of the group.

After that it was a quick walk around to see the improvements made in drydock. Love the Dumbotron, the waterfalls at the adult pool look cool. Haven't seen the spa but heard it was great. One disappointment is they took out the computer terminals at Cove Cafe. So unless they are hiding them somewhere else there is no adult only internet area. Since it is early morning I'm the only one at the internet cafe right now but I used to love to post from Cove Cafe.

We head to our rooms and find that DVC has put up wipe-off boards on the doors. Cool (and yet another idea I think stolen from the DIS groups as one of the gifts from Gail and Cindy were small wipe-off boards with our group logo on it). :)

Inside was our Castaway Club gifts and two big Mickey head boxes. Very cute. Inside that was a blue 15th anniversary hat, blue 15th anniversary bag, a cute Mickey statue holding a cork board (to display pins) and a Giant 15th anniversary pin. Very cool!

Special Member Cruise merchandise was available for purchase in Mickey's Mates including polo shirts, t-shirts, luggage, and a special pin. Mark went before dinner and got the polo shirts and t-shirts. When I went back after dinner to see about the pin (he said the line for that was huge) it was choas in there. I really liked the way they handled it last year better with being able to pre-order.

Went to dinner and found we take up one whole side of Parrot Cay. Our group starts right when you walk in the door and ended by the back wall. We have a great group at our table. Chris & Mike from MI, Mary from MI, Karen from VA, and Annmarie and Tom from MA.

Julie and Matt our soon to be wed couple got invited up to the Walt Suite for drinks and got to meet Roy Disney!

After dinner I joined a fun group of DISers up on deck 9 to watch the World Series on the Dumbotron. Tigers were winning when I left a little after 10.

That's it for day 1. We are headed to Castaway Cay!

More later!

[Frankiesmom]

Thanks for taking the time during your vacation to keep us all informed! Hope you all have a great day at CC! We are truly hoping we can make it to nextyears cruise! Angel

[goofyforwdw]

Told my self I was not going to check out this thread Why torture myself RIGHT Well here I am So happy that you guys are having a great time but BOY OH BOY I wish I was there Thanks so much for taking the time to keep us landlubbers up to date Have a great time
Brenda

[cherylp3]

Back from On the nose - Congrats to Mark and Mary on their win! They won a 2bdr interval vacation for a week!! Also those of us in the Sleepy section won a special character meet and greet!!

[ohiominnie]

Back from On the nose - Congrats to Mark and Mary on their win! They won a 2bdr interval vacation for a week!! Also those of us in the Sleepy section won a special character meet and greet!!


WOWIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a cruise for Mark and Mary!!!! And here I didn't think the double scoop cruise could be beat (with Mark's boss paying the expenses!!)

But a free interval vacation AND a free smoothie? I dunno, this ranks right up there with the other one!!! (and it's only MONDAY!)

Btw, in case you need help filling that other bedroom, Smoothie son will volunteer to go with you! :) :lmao:

[U2FanHfx]

Wow! It looks like you are all having such a great time! :thumbsup2

We hope to go next year and are just waiting for the date announcement! We became members too late to know anything about this type of event. Currently we are booked on the Magic for the 13th of October, by we may just cancel that to join the DVC cruise. That or maybe we will do both depending on the tax return ;)

Have a great time!

CJM

[RachelTori]

Back from On the nose - Congrats to Mark and Mary on their win! They won a 2bdr interval vacation for a week!! Also those of us in the Sleepy section won a special character meet and greet!!


AWESOME!!! Congrats Mark & Mary!!! :woohoo:

[cobbler]

Oh my gosh it sounds like you all are having a great time.

I sooo have to go on a member cruise next year.

Have a great rest of trip!!!!

[JennL]

For those on the DVC Cruise and who see DuckyLucky say hi to him from JennL!

Got a call on the way out and heard the "horn" sounded wonderful.

[jennz]

Sounds marvelous!! Subscribing to keep informed...hopefully we'll be joining you in the next year or two... :thumbsup2

[AnnaS]

:thumbsup2 Everything sounds great ! Thanks for the updates. We love them. Another DVC member hoping to go in a year or two. Have fun!

[scrappy910]

Wow, sounds like the cruise is off to a GREAT start. Congrats to Mark & Mary on their win, and also the Sleepy section for getting in on a character meet & greet. Anxiously waiting to hear how the day at Castaway Cay went and also the Banana Boat ride!! But since you all are at dinner I guess I will have to wait a bit longer. Is Roy Disney doing any sort of a presentation? He was on the 14 day eastbound Panama Cruise, but didn't do any sort of presentation. Gail, don't forget to tell Marc, Adam, Kirsten and Anna we said Hi :wave: and wish we were there to see them again.

Carol

[dgaston]

Here I am reading a little DIS green with envy. It's so nice to read that you are all having a great time. I have to wait until DH retires from teaching in about another year and a half and then we hopefully can go on Member Cruises.

[Stephieann]

Just subscribing so i can read how you are having fun on the wonder. Now dont wear her down to much.. my turn will be next Sunday!! Leave some of the "NEW" for us.!!!

[Stinasmom]

Julie and Matt our soon to be wed couple got invited up to the Walt Suite for drinks and got to meet Roy Disney!

So, is Roy staying in the "Walt" suite? :rotfl: Guess you gotta know someone to get the "Roy" suite! :p

[WDWLVR]

So, is Roy staying in the "Walt" suite? :rotfl: Guess you gotta know someone to get the "Roy" suite! :p

No Roy isn't staying in the Walt Suite. DVC uses the Cat 1 suites for entertaining. They have invitation only parties up there which is what Julie and Matt were invited too.

[WDWLVR]

Wow, sounds like the cruise is off to a GREAT start. Congrats to Mark & Mary on their win, and also the Sleepy section for getting in on a character meet & greet. Anxiously waiting to hear how the day at Castaway Cay went and also the Banana Boat ride!! But since you all are at dinner I guess I will have to wait a bit longer. Is Roy Disney doing any sort of a presentation? He was on the 14 day eastbound Panama Cruise, but didn't do any sort of presentation. Gail, don't forget to tell Marc, Adam, Kirsten and Anna we said Hi :wave: and wish we were there to see them again.

Carol

Hi Carol! We had a great day at Castaway Cay! I hear the banana boats were a big success. I missed them as we were on the snorkel excursion that got changed to the 10:45 and we didn't get back until after the boats. Gail tells me the girls had a smooth ride and everyone stayed on the boat and loved it. They guys were another story and I hear a few of them ended up in the drink!

Roy Disney is doing a presentation tomorrow. Actually two of them. One I think at 10 am and the other at 1pm. Jim Lewis is doing a talk at 3pm. So it sounds like our day at sea will be full of fun.

[miztigg]

enjoy your cruise cant wait to hear more :thumbsup2

[scrappy910]

Roy Disney is doing a presentation tomorrow. Actually two of them. One I think at 10 am and the other at 1pm. Jim Lewis is doing a talk at 3pm. So it sounds like our day at sea will be full of fun.

Hmmm, maybe Jim will announce next years event during his talk. I would love to hear Roy's presentation. When is Jodi Benson scheduled? Looking forward to hearing your report tomorrow!

Carol

[tinytink]

M&M&Bear,

Congrats on your win!!!! Glad to hear you are having such a blast and getting such great goodies.

We just join the DVC on our last Double Dip Cruise with you all so we didn't even know about these member cruises but now that we do know WE WANT to go!!!!!

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! It is a start of a beautiful day at sea. Got up early and did a walk with some fellow DISers then stopped and watched the sunrise. Beautiful!

Last night we did a large group photo in the atrium with the group in Pirate gear. Great fun and I can't wait to see how it came out.

Today we have brunch, then going to see a presentation by Roy Disney at 1pm and a talk by Jim Lewis at 3 pm.

Looks be a great day here on the Disney Wonder!

Oh - almost forgot. Our gift yesterday morning was Golden Mickey years. Out gift last night were small treasure chests with beads and a new pin in them.

Off to see if Mark is awake and ready to start the day!

[cherylp3]

Jodi is doing an autograph signing today.

The boys banana boat was not as calm as the girls. I was on deck 4 outside and have pictures of both boats.

[calypso*a*go-go]

Man oh man, I wish I was there!!! Tell Roxann and family that Lisa says "hello" and that I'm waiting for a full trip report when they get back. :thumbsup2

[BriarRose59]

No one has mentioned the pirate party last night, so I will. It was great! Lots of music and dancing with of course Mickey saving the day from Capt. Hook. The fireworks were fantastic and the buffet was wonderful! Some of the costumes were very elaborate. I am here with my mom on her first Disney cruise and we are really enjoying ourselves. We have been donating to the big Bingo pot, but haven't won anything yet. I guess we are waiting on the big one! I have only met a couple of the DISers but am looking forward to finding more. We are off to a light lunch because we had a late breakfast, then to listen to Roy Disney's presentation.

[MarkRG]

Hi Everybody!


I have finally gotten the notebook up and running, so I can share some pictures, which I'm sure have been eagerly awaited! I might be duplicating a few-I'm letting Mary handle the reports and I know we've posted a few before now, but not sure which...
First of all, our arrival at the teminal had lots of 15 and DVC up everyplace..
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc01.jpg
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069DVC03.jpg
Including onboard:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc04.jpg
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc05.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc06.jpg
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc07.jpg

Now, for us DISers, we had a few meets, one at BCV Solarium, with a great turnout!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet01.jpg
We had our own 'decadent' desserts, in lime green M&M's in cute bowls spread around the room, crafted by one of our own, Diana Lyn, and great cupcakes, who I forgot who brought them, I'll amend later:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet02.jpg
Then some of us went to Cape May Buffet where we couldn't wait to dig in!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet03.jpg
The next morning we gathered in front of BC to get on the Party Bus, chartered by Roxanne:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet04.jpg
Which of course gets its own sign, the signmaker doing the setup there:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet05.jpg
We manage to find a great spot to hang out on the terminal:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet06.jpg
And even got some DISing in!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet07.jpg
And last but not least the baking hot meet up on Deck 10. Usually a good place to meet, but the record high 91 and no wind and full sun made it a bit toasty!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet08.jpg
Now, what I know a lot have just been reading thru for this, here's some of the swag sofar!
Upon first arrival to the stateroom, note we're Castaway Club repeat cruisers, so the bag in the middle and its contents is the CC gift:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag1.jpg

And the contents of each of the red/black ears shaped box: a '15' hat, a window cling, a HUGE 15 pin with Mickey holding its display, a phone/notebook, similar to the CC gift one, a tote bag, and a booklet covering the theming of the cruise:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag2.jpg
Not pictured, they have been leaving small 'day' gifts, the first Castaway Cay day one was a gold 50 Mickey ears per person.

The night gift was the following pin in a round tin:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag3.jpg

I'll try to get more on the deal, there's some LE pins, that are being limited to 2 per, Last night's stateroom gift, today's stateroom day gift which were some great notecards, with cover art by Ducky. I'll try to get pics up tonight.

Enjoy!

[tksbaskets]

You rock Mark! Thanks for posting and sharing a bit of the magic with those of us at home.
Teresa

[ohiominnie]

The night gift was the following pin in a round tin:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag3.jpg

I'll try to get more on the deal, there's some LE pins, that are being limited to 2 per, Last night's stateroom gift, today's stateroom day gift which were some great notecards, with cover art by Ducky. I'll try to get pics up tonight.

Enjoy!

Awww, that is the most adorable tin!!! Love it!!
Thanks for sharing the pictures!
It's 46 and mostly cloudy here. Our low tonight is going to be 30. Since you've been gone we've literally LIVED at the theater. We'll probably eat fast food AGAIN tonight b/c of the time crunch. We've had to clean up two dead chipmunks, a dead squirrel, and a dead bird from the back porch (thanks to the cat) Aren't you so jealous????

[MarkRG]

Awww, that is the most adorable tin!!! Love it!!
Thanks for sharing the pictures!
It's 46 and mostly cloudy here. Our low tonight is going to be 30. Since you've been gone we've literally LIVED at the theater. We'll probably eat fast food AGAIN tonight b/c of the time crunch. We've had to clean up two dead chipmunks, a dead squirrel, and a dead bird from the back porch (thanks to the cat) Aren't you so jealous????

Glad to share, wish all of you could have gone with!

But your post reminded me I forgot one:

THANK YOU NICK!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069Nick.jpg

[justmestace]

How absolutely wonderful for all of you!! I'm glad you're having a great time!!


Congrats, Mark & Mary....how cool is that to win a free stay??!!

[goofy4dvc]

Okay, someone, please post about the meeting with Jim Lewis! Did he make any interesting announcements? Can't wait to hear!

Thanks for the updates.

[rkdahl]

Update from the Wonder!

After the we got back from Castaway Cay yesterday before dinner we went to an Adventures by Disney presentation where they discussed all the trip options along with pictures and unique things on each trip. They discussed the point discount available up until Dec 2 for next years bookings. At the end they gave everyone hats on the way out that say Adventure by Disney.

It was a great night as folks mentioned last night at the Pirates Party up on deck. The weather was great and the turn out was large as people danced the night away up until the fireworks celebration which was wonderful! Then the late night deck buffet opened up and everyone filled up....again.

This morning we awoke to our Day at Sea. Several special events today included:
- The DVC on the Nose, update and presentation at 10:30am. We played a game of trivia using groups from the audiences and a leader on stage. All kinds of Disney and DVC questions. Then we got a short sales pitch on ordering new point and various incentives that are being offered on board. And then 4 families won a dinner at Palo's and 1 family won a 1 week Interval International week exchange anywhere in the World in a 2 bedroom unit!! That was cool!

After lunch we came back to the room and found some really cool stationary left as a gift. it is made special from the Disney Animation team and there were two packets left in our statroom. Very nice!

- Then at 1pm we met in the theatre for a 1 hour chat between Jim Lewis, DVC Pres and Roy Disney. They covered a wide range of topics from animation history, to the Eisner issue to history of Roy's family and his memories of Walt and his dad Roy. They also showed a special un released 2 D animation Roy and a team have been working on the last 5 years called the Matchstick Girl. It was very well done!
- Then we had a Castaway Club meeting in the various lounges on board. Free cookies, drinks, etc and a few games were played. People got to mingle and meet the ships officers too.
- Then at 3pm we had a meeting with Jim Lewis, DVC pres in the theatre. Jim brought several DVC staff members up on stage and had a short Q&A with each of them about their job, some experiences and a bit about them personally. It was a very interesting session.

No new announcements were made at any of the events that I attended about anything like new locations, etc. I was hoping they'd mention Contemporary but they didn't. They did say bigger and better things were coming so "stay tuned". That was about it!

We then went up on deck and enjoyed the sun as we got ready to head to dinner again...oh thats right we get to eat more tonight! Yippe!

Have a great day! We sure are!!!

[Snoopygirl]

Thanks so much for all the info and fun stuff going on! Sure wish I was there!!!

Have a Blast! :banana:

[mikayla73]

It sounds like so much fun! I hope I can talk DH into going next year ... especially if they do CC twice again :thumbsup2

Thanks for keeping us all updated and the great pics! I really like the bag with the netting at the bottom, great idea!

[WDWLVR]

Boy do I love sea days!

Got up early and met up with some fellow DISers to walk around deck 10. Then stopped and watched the sun come up.

After that I grabbed a small breakfast and headed back to the cabin to eat it on the verandah. Then I wrote and delivered some thank you notes.

Next up was 10 am brunch at Palo. We were honored to share the meal with Cindy and Gary. Palo definately seemed like DIS central as there were so many of us there.

Then it was to the 1pm conversation with Roy Disney. How wonderful! The history and stories are great.

Went to the Castaway Club party but it was packed and didn't stay long.

Then went up to hear Jim Lewis. As reported no big news but it was good to meet the team.

All in all a great day. Heading out to dinner soon.

More in the morning.

[chip&dale&fun]

Thanks for sharing all the great stories, pics and events....Wish I could be there as well....

My time will come.... :cloud9:

[goofy4dvc]

I'm disappointed that Jim Lewis didn't at least announce a DVC Member Cruise next year. I "wonder" if that means there will not be one in 2007. If not, I guess that will give me time to save some points for 2008.

Last year, Jim announced several new things, including the 2006 cruise, so I was hoping for some news today.

Thanks for your reports and have a wonderful time!

[U2FanHfx]

We are also disappointed that they didn't announce next years cruise. We have been waiting to see before making our 'final' decision, but now I guess it is made for us. Maybe they felt that they didn't have enough 'news' to make it feel like something big so they chose not to annnounce anything. "Go big or go home" ;)

CJM

[JonetteA]

If you guys see Matt and Julie, tell them we said hi and we will see them on Friday and can't wait for the wedding festivities to begin!!!

[WDWLVR]

Jonette, we are having Julie's bachlorette party tonight so I'll tell her you say hi. We surprised them at dinner with two special cakes and all the DISers gathered round singing "Happy Wedding To You"! :)

[cobbler]

Thanks for the updates and pics everyone! I am really enjoying the reports.

Hope they do one next year because I sooo want to go.

[MarkRG]

Everyone don't go on any assumptions, yet. This cruise isn't over. There will, I'm sure, be a big DVC party at sailaway from Castaway Cay tomorrow, another opportuniy to announce something.

And Jim doesn't always announce onboard. There have been past member events that we learned about well after the current event, too.

We will just have to wait and see.

As promised, I have a few more pics. I intend to do some kind of wrapup on the photos, including more of DISers, once we get back to WDW.
But for now, more of the inroom gifts.

This was last night's gift, yes, another pin in a neat package, the chests are very solid little things:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag4.jpg

This afternoon's gift, custom Ducky Williams notecards, two of each character:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag5.jpg

And tonight's gift, another day themed pin:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag6.jpg

Now, what's on the note in the bottle is an invite to the group photo tomorrow on the boat beach. And a hint that there are special DVC rocks scattered about on the island and they are souvenirs on their own, but if we bring them back there's something else we'll get as well at the Member Clubhouse.

I know some of the pin photos are kind of small. I'll be doing a website full writeup combining the live reports and all the pictures after the event just like I've done the last two cruises, there will be better pictures all around there. I'll get to that a bit after we get home.

[tap & dap]

:cool1: thanks for posting the pic. of pins wow wish we were there :sad2:

i read somewhere where there are selling polo shirt and lugage can u post pics. of that ?????

thanks

diana

[MarkRG]

Jonette, we are having Julie's bachlorette party tonight so I'll tell her you say hi. We surprised them at dinner with two special cakes and all the DISers gathered round singing "Happy Wedding To You"! :)

I guess I should include that one..
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet09.jpg

[MarkRG]

:cool1: thanks for posting the pic. of pins wow wish we were there :sad2:

i read somewhere where there are selling polo shirt and lugage can u post pics. of that ?????

thanks

diana

Hi Diana,

Yes, they're selling a polo, a tshirt, and a backpackish kind of bag. I'll see if I can get a good pic of them in the store window. Thanks, I overlooked them.

[scrappy910]

Thanks cruisers for taking the time to post all the happenings to those of us who are living vicariously through your reports.

Cheryl, can't wait to see the pictures you were able to get of the Banana boat rides. That was a great idea to take them from the ship.

Hope you all have an enjoyable time on your second trip to Castaway Cay!

Carol

[tinytink]

Mark, Mary&Bear

I am so glad you hear you all are having such a great time.

I really wish I were there!!! I even had a dream I was onboard.

Do you always get such awesome gifts or is it just this year for the 15 year?

Thanks for always having the "right" answers. hehehe

[Mickey&JoshNut]

I have some friends on this cruise so I have been reading the thread in hopes that they would post (hi Linda, Nancy, Georgie & Joe :wave2: ).

I have read people asking about a member cruise next year but that DVC has not announced anything. I saw this post on the main cruise thread this morning and think this may be your answer as to whether or not there is a member cruise next year.

We had a 7day land and sea booked for Oct 14/07 followed by a 4 night cruise on Oct 21/07. Disney chartered out the Wonder for the Oct 21st sailing. I asked Costco to have Disney move up both our booking one week. A Costco TA called me today saying that both bookings have been moved up by one week (keeping the original price as they have both gone up $300+ each) we were also upgraded from a Cat 6 to a Cat 4 :thumbsup2
....

[goofyforwdw]

sound like a wonerful time.Thanks for taking the time for the reports and pics they help me feel conected even though i was unable to go
Brenda

[A fat english gent]

tinytink,We too did the DCL Eastern Caribbean's First Trip to Antigua Sept. 04 and we loved it,wonder weather they'll ever go back to Antigue?... :sunny:

[cherylp3]

someone approached Jim regarding the next member cruise - they were told it is only rumor. When we were at the Photo op this morning there was no next cruise announcement. No more Jim Presentations for Today. We had Domenic this morning, next is Michael this afternoon and Jodi and the other artist tonight.

[justmestace]

Having been on 3 of DCL's "special" cruises, and having them not go "overboard" on having pins, hats, clothing, etc, made for those special cruises, I think it's totally GREAT that they have come up with so much stuff for their DVC Members! I think that is a pretty good sign of how important you guys are to Disney.

ENJOY!!!

[Donna]

Having been on 3 of DCL's "special" cruises, and having them not go "overboard" on having pins, hats, clothing, etc, made for those special cruises, I think it's totally GREAT that they have come up with so much stuff for their DVC Members! I think that is a pretty good sign of how important you guys are to Disney.

ENJOY!!!

If i remember correctly, the cash price and points price was quite high (compared to a regular disney cruise) for all the members cruises. I would assume alot of that increase goes towards these gifts. Don't get me wrong, the gifts are great surprises when you come back to your room (having been on the first member cruise) and find them, but I never got the impression they were given to us, more like things we paid for and they picked out for us.
I am truly enjoying "hearing" about this cruise and seeing the pictures. Thanks for taking the time to post and report!

[disneymagic316]

I love reading the trip reports and seeing the pictures. Thanks for posting! It helps me feel like I'm there- boy do I wish we were! It looks like your'e having a great time! Enjoy!

[ohiominnie]

If i remember correctly, the cash price and points price was quite high (compared to a regular disney cruise) for all the members cruises. I would assume alot of that increase goes towards these gifts.

Keeping in mind that the price was higher but all of your tips were "included" in the cruise fare. :)

[cherylp3]

tonights gift was a wooden cigar type box that held a heavy scrapbook with a dvc logo.

[scrappy910]

Thanks Cheryl for your post. Can't wait to see Gail and John so they can show off all the goodies they have received. Missed not having an update post from Mary this morning. Hope to see you Friday night.

Carol

[3DisneyKids]

Just subbing

[JonetteA]

I can't wait to hear about the bachlorette party. My hubbie and I are heading to the world tomorrow and Friday night start the Matt and Julie fest!!!! I can't wait to see everyone again!!! We so need to buy into DVC. We are going to be staying at SSR so if you see some weird ppl looking like those in the below photo..say hi!!

[tinytink]

tinytink,We too did the DCL Eastern Caribbean's First Trip to Antigua Sept. 04 and we loved it,wonder weather they'll ever go back to Antigue?... :sunny:
a fat english gent, I wish I had know about the disboards back then. I didn't discover it until the month of our last cruise. This is also where I met Mark and Mary, who introduced us to so many other wonderful disers. They are truly caring wonderful people I like to call my dis friends!

About the Antigua cruise, it was lots of fun and we really enjoyed the stop at Antigua. Very nice port to stop at but it's not stroller friendly but we'll take it if it means we are getting back on the Magic. It was a last minute cruise for us because I just found out I was preggos with our 4th baby, so I wanted to vacation with the 3 kids before it would be too late for me to travel.

[MarkRG]

Good evening ladies and gents, since Mary hasn't been on I guess it falls to me to do it all tonight.

Castaway Cay day 2 was as good as day 1. Perfect day, maybe even better temperature wise than day 1. The day started out with a mostly futile hunt for special DVC rocks that you could bring to the member clubhouse on Deck 2 to get an additional prize with it. I have no idea what the prizes were, I know Linda got one, so maybe she can report later on what she got with it. The reason I say futile, is they put out 70 rocks before we docked, all on the beaches in visible places. What DVC didn't count on is there were people ready to go who swept the beach clean of every last one, we heard someone had 16 of them. But nonetheless a fun day on the island.

Mary went to an afternoon presentation with the WDW Ambassador and had good things to say of it. :)

The evening was a stage show with Jodi Benson and Jennifer Hudson, which was great! Jodi was in excellent form, and I was pleasantly surprised in a low key divaness from Jennifer, considering what Idol fans had been saying. Both were in excellent voice, and the show was VERY entertaining.

The farewell event in the atrium just ended, and for this cruise the only concrete info on the next is the following.

Jim asked if we'd like to go again, which got a loud cheer. He added a disclaimer something liek this doesn't mean we have another one going yet.

Another source of info is the Member Clubhouse on Deck 2 where someone said we should be watching for a mailing in about a month with info on the next event.

And that's about all I've been able to find out for sure.

It's now almost 11, and time to post the pictures.

The banners leading into the WD Theater:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc08.jpg
By request, the merchandise that was for sale:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc09.jpg
The signboard outside WD:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc10.jpg
Jennifer & Jodi:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069dvc11.jpg
Since There wasn't one from DVC, our own 'sand sculpture':
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069meet10.jpg
And Today's day gift:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag7.jpg
And tonight's incredible gift the 8.5x11 leather-like covered memory book:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/7069swag8.jpg

Pictures don't do the the last one justice, it has a solidness to it you can't know unless in person. It's also making people who're flying a bit of fret as it is quite heavy.

[MarkRG]

I can't wait to hear about the bachlorette party. My hubbie and I are heading to the world tomorrow and Friday night start the Matt and Julie fest!!!! I can't wait to see everyone again!!! We so need to buy into DVC. We are going to be staying at SSR so if you see some weird ppl looking like those in the below photo..say hi!!

Well...... for a thirdhand account, mostly over dinner, I think it was a great success. I hear they roved to many venues onboard, and it lasted until somewhere in the 1-2am range. There was some kind of impromptu Match your Mate that sounded like real fun when the two parties caught up to each other.

I have no idea on the bachelor party either as I was really wiped and just did my post and called it a night.

I'll be honest. I've bene a bit wiped for most of this trip. It's been a long summer for me with work, and this is the first real 'break' I've had of more than a day or two, so I really wasn't as involved as I've been in the past on these trips. I'm just now feeling really recharged as we near the end of this too short cruise, wish it was longer, but ah well.

I'm going to go now, probably wont' post anymore till we get back to dry land.

[2angelsinheaven]

Wow, thanks for sharing everyone. Those pins are incredible, very cool. Have a safe trip home, wether it be back to the world or back to your homes. Again, thanks for sharing.

[Cyrano]

Loved every photograph and recount of the cruise and DIS meets. :goodvibes

[Frankiesmom]

Thanks for the taking the time all of you and keeping us informed! Hope you all have a safe trip home! Angel

[CPM]

I have a few friends that are on this cruise. They seem to think there will be another DVC cruise next Oct. 21-25th. Not sure where they heard it from.
Anyway, they have met a few DISer's and said they are having a incredible time!!

[A fat english gent]

Originally Posted by A fat english gent
tinytink,We too did the DCL Eastern Caribbean's First Trip to Antigua Sept. 04 and we loved it,wonder weather they'll ever go back to Antigue?...


a fat english gent, I wish I had know about the disboards back then. I didn't discover it until the month of our last cruise. This is also where I met Mark and Mary, who introduced us to so many other wonderful disers. They are truly caring wonderful people I like to call my dis friends!

About the Antigua cruise, it was lots of fun and we really enjoyed the stop at Antigua. Very nice port to stop at but it's not stroller friendly but we'll take it if it means we are getting back on the Magic. It was a last minute cruise for us because I just found out I was preggos with our 4th baby, so I wanted to vacation with the 3 kids before it would be too late for me to travel.
__________________
Theresa


Theresa,now having found "diss" and reading so much about DCL on here we don't have to worry about MISSING things next time around,we've done two DCL cruises but we've never done palo's (ressies will be booked 105 out this time :lmao:),half the trips we knew nothing about,which shows to hit and which to miss, can you do this can you do that while on board,all these questions answered and much,much more...Thanks DISS..... :sunny:

Regards

Chris

[chip&dale&fun]

What a wonderful trip you all had - and may I chime in and say that you were truly spoiled - deservingly.....great gifts, performers, decorations.....but no announcement of another cruise - hummm.........

Everyone travel home safely!!!!!

[WDWLVR]

Morning everyone! Had a long post written this morning that disappeared on me so I'll keep this short. We are in Promonade Lounge waiting with the group for the party bus.


The cruise itself has been wonderful, even moreso with our great DIS friends. Some disappointments on the DVC side but nothing that really spoiled the trip for us.

I'll give a much more detailed recap once we are settled in at Boardwalk.

[Verandah Man]

Morning everyone! Had a long post written this morning that disappeared on me so I'll keep this short. We are in Promonade Lounge waiting with the group for the party bus.


The cruise itself has been wonderful, even moreso with our great DIS friends. Some disappointments on the DVC side but nothing that really spoiled the trip for us.

I'll give a much more detailed recap once we are settled in at Boardwalk.



Enjoy the rest of your trip!!! :wizard:

Thanks for the "live" reports over the past few days!!! :goodvibes

[ohiominnie]

The cruise itself has been wonderful, even moreso with our great DIS friends. Some disappointments on the DVC side but nothing that really spoiled the trip for us.

I'll give a much more detailed recap once we are settled in at Boardwalk.

So glad you had such a WONDERful time!!
4 days are just to short, aren't they? :lmao:

[TAKitty]

I had no idea that a members cruise was so magical! I just thought it would be the regular cruise with DVC members.

Anyway, to take a member cruise do you have to pay only with points? We don't have enough points for our whole family to cruise.

[keishashadow]

Keeping in mind that the price was higher but all of your tips were "included" in the cruise fare. :)
Makes it suddenly a better deal...What amount do they give to the staff/same as suggested?

[basketrn]

That's it....I wanna go next year!!!!!! ME ME ME!!! :sail:

[ohiominnie]

Makes it suddenly a better deal...What amount do they give to the staff/same as suggested?

I believe so. You have the option at the end to up the tip above and beyond. :)

[ohiominnie]

Anyway, to take a member cruise do you have to pay only with points? We don't have enough points for our whole family to cruise.

Don't have to do it on points. Can do points. Can do cash. Can do a combination of the two....i.e. adults on points, kids on cash, whatever :)

[keishashadow]

sounds like so much fun, might have to work on DH & switch over our one planned for Dec.

there's a week in Oct. that isn't scheduled so far...would think it'd be the likely suspect.

[cobbler]

Glad everyone had a great time. Would love to hear more reports when everyone returns.

It looks like you had some fabulous gifts.

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the great reports! Awaiting the happy recaps.

[BWVPam]

Hi Mark and Mary


Loved all of your reports, sounds like you had an awesome time. Loved all the pictures of your special gifts. Makes me really want to do a member cruise next year. Not sure -- we have tentatively booked a short 3 day cruise for our anniversary in November.

[WDWLVR]

Greetings from Boardwalk as we do the final leg of our trip. Before I discuss today I want to try and recap what I said this morning that ended up in cyber-space.


I know a number of my fellow cruisers were really disappointed in this years cruise and I can't say I blame there. There were some disappointments here as well, but also some wonderful things. So here is one woman's opinion on what was great, what was good, and what was not so great.


The good:

The gifts this year were very nice, but while the thought was there DVC missed the boat on a few things. For one thing these large and heavy boxes make it hard for those flying (we don't have that problem as we drive). Also while the family scrapbook is a wonderful idea it is not scrapbook friendly as it used the cling pages that were popular years ago. These pages actually ruin pictures.

The decorating of the ship and terminal. The welcome home signs were really nice but again they lacked the extra something we had in past years. There was a 15th birthday cake in the resturant the first day but that was it. I really miss the little white chocolate disks wth the Member Cruise logo on it that we got on SSMC03. The banners etc. were nice but the them was a hard one to follow.

Michael Collier's presentation. Michael is on of two 2006 WDW Ambassador's. He gave a presentation normally reserved for cast members. It was really realy good and covered a lot of the company history.

The not so great:

The hard sell. One thing I always loved about DVC was that there was no pressure. Well I think this cruise they went a little overboard. At the game show "On The Nose" it seemed like each question turned into a sales pitch. At the end when they talked about what you would get for adding on it go so bad that I half expected them to say "and if you buy in the next 20 minutes you will get a set of ginsu knives". :)

The Jim Lewis talk. While it was really nice to get to see the whole executive team it was disappointing that there were no announcements made and even more so that there was no time for questions and answers.

The lack of communication before the cruise. We all love surprises but are monthly e-mail updates too much to ask? We don't need to know everything but knowing if there is a pre-cruise party before the dining booking window in the parks opens would be helpful. Knowing when the group picture on CC will be before the excursions booking opens would also be helpful. As we were lining up on the beach we saw a group go out on the echo tour. Sad that they missed the picture.

Most of all it was the lack of attention to details. Our embarkation photo had a normal 4 day digital frame around it that said we were going to Nassau and Castaway Cay. How hard would it be to have a special digital frame made with the cruise logo?

Last but not least the merchandise. Last year we could pre-order what we wanted and it was in our room waiting. The special Member Cruise pin was available before sailing with a certificate from your welcome packet. This year both were sold through the stores which opened at 6pm while first seating was at dinner. After dinner I hear it was crazy up there and for a time they thought things were sold out.



The great:

Loved the special entertainment on this cruise. The conversation with Roy Disney was second to none! Hearing about growing up with his Dad and Uncle Walt was amazing. We even got to see one of his newest shorts that hasn't been seen by the general public yet.

The concert featuring Jodi Benson and Jennifer Hudson. What a great mix of talent. Jodi is true class and has a beautiful voice. We loved her. Jennifer has definately matured in her talent since her Idol days and I think she will go far.

Far and away the greatest thing about this cruise were the wonderful friends we sailed with. Some are old friends of ours having sailed with us on past Member Cruisers or being with us at Member Homecoming. Some were brand new friends we met on the cruise meets board. All made it a wonderful experience. We had 91 people linked at early dining and it made dinner magical every night. The little gifts, the fun door magnets, and just running into each other all over the ship and island made it great fun!


Recap:

Had a great time on the cruise and loved everyone we met from the DIS group. DVC you let us down with your hard sell and missing the little things that made past cruises fun. Will we do the next one? We really want to, but would be very very sad if many of our friends chose not too.

Well that's it - one woman's opinion.

[BWVPam]

Mary - great report. and here I was thinking I wanted to do the member cruise next year.

Can't wait to plan another cruise. We will just have to wait and see what happens. I will be curiuos next week to see if they start releasing 2008 dates as it has been reported will be released in early November.

Have a safe trip home.

[tinytink]

Greetings from Boardwalk as we do the final leg of our trip. Before I discuss today I want to try and recap what I said this morning that ended up in cyber-space.


I know a number of my fellow cruisers were really disappointed in this years cruise and I can't say I blame there. There were some disappointments here as well, but also some wonderful things. So here is one woman's opinion on what was great, what was good, and what was not so great.


The good:

The gifts this year were very nice, but while the thought was there DVC missed the boat on a few things. For one thing these large and heavy boxes make it hard for those flying (we don't have that problem as we drive). Also while the family scrapbook is a wonderful idea it is not scrapbook friendly as it used the cling pages that were popular years ago. These pages actually ruin pictures.

The decorating of the ship and terminal. The welcome home signs were really nice but again they lacked the extra something we had in past years. There was a 15th birthday cake in the resturant the first day but that was it. I really miss the little white chocolate disks wth the Member Cruise logo on it that we got on SSMC03. The banners etc. were nice but the them was a hard one to follow.

Michael Collier's presentation. Michael is on of two 2006 WDW Ambassador's. He gave a presentation normally reserved for cast members. It was really realy good and covered a lot of the company history.

The not so great:

The hard sell. One thing I always loved about DVC was that there was no pressure. Well I think this cruise they went a little overboard. At the game show "On The Nose" it seemed like each question turned into a sales pitch. At the end when they talked about what you would get for adding on it go so bad that I half expected them to say "and if you buy in the next 20 minutes you will get a set of ginsu knives". :)

The Jim Lewis talk. While it was really nice to get to see the whole executive team it was disappointing that there were no announcements made and even more so that there was no time for questions and answers.

The lack of communication before the cruise. We all love surprises but are monthly e-mail updates too much to ask? We don't need to know everything but knowing if there is a pre-cruise party before the dining booking window in the parks opens would be helpful. Knowing when the group picture on CC will be before the excursions booking opens would also be helpful. As we were lining up on the beach we saw a group go out on the echo tour. Sad that they missed the picture.

Most of all it was the lack of attention to details. Our embarkation photo had a normal 4 day digital frame around it that said we were going to Nassau and Castaway Cay. How hard would it be to have a special digital frame made with the cruise logo?

Last but not least the merchandise. Last year we could pre-order what we wanted and it was in our room waiting. The special Member Cruise pin was available before sailing with a certificate from your welcome packet. This year both were sold through the stores which opened at 6pm while first seating was at dinner. After dinner I hear it was crazy up there and for a time they thought things were sold out.



The great:

Loved the special entertainment on this cruise. The conversation with Roy Disney was second to none! Hearing about growing up with his Dad and Uncle Walt was amazing. We even got to see one of his newest shorts that hasn't been seen by the general public yet.

The concert featuring Jodi Benson and Jennifer Hudson. What a great mix of talent. Jodi is true class and has a beautiful voice. We loved her. Jennifer has definately matured in her talent since her Idol days and I think she will go far.

Far and away the greatest thing about this cruise were the wonderful friends we sailed with. Some are old friends of ours having sailed with us on past Member Cruisers or being with us at Member Homecoming. Some were brand new friends we met on the cruise meets board. All made it a wonderful experience. We had 91 people linked at early dining and it made dinner magical every night. The little gifts, the fun door magnets, and just running into each other all over the ship and island made it great fun!


Recap:

Had a great time on the cruise and loved everyone we met from the DIS group. DVC you let us down with your hard sell and missing the little things that made past cruises fun. Will we do the next one? We really want to, but would be very very sad if many of our friends chose not too.

Well that's it - one woman's opinion.
Mary,

Thanks for th pro/cons of this cruise, it's great for those of us who have not been on one before. It gives us an idea of what to expect if we ever get lucky enough to do one the member cruises. Glad to hear you guys had fun!

[WDWLVR]

I realized I never gave a recap of today. :)

We awoke a little after 5:30 to the sounds of the ship being unloaded. We had already made the decision that we would skip early morning breakfast in the dining room and instead head up to Beach Blanket. We did alert our servers to this fact when we gave them their tip envelopes. This is the first time we opted for the buffet and we would definately do it again.

After breakfast we headed down to the Promonade Lounge to wait with everyone on the party bus. Soon we got the call that the bus was there and we were ready to go! The ride home was a lot more quiet than the ride there (could it be because Gail and John weren't riding home with us)? :lmao:

After being dropped off at Beach Club I waited in the Solarium with the luggage (and Gary, Cameron, Walker and all their luggage) for Mark to go check in, get the car and come back for me. This was all done quickly and efficiently and we were soon on our way to Epcot.

Dining around the world is a lot easier on a week day. We also went to see Nemo but it was down - glad we did it last weekend!

By now it was after 3 so we headed back to see if our room was finally ready. It was so Mark got the car and we had our luggage brought up and then we rushed to the bus. We got to Liberty Tree Tavern only a few minutes late and were soon being escorted to our tables. There seemed to be DISers all over Liberty Tree Tavern!

After dinner was a quick ride on Pirates and then we headed out of the park. We decided once again we would skip Illuminations as we were both beat. I've also got blisters on both my feet from the crocs so back to gym shoes tomorrow.

All in all another great day with friends. Hard to believe the vacation part will be over tomorrow and then we head for home.

[ohiominnie]

Far and away the greatest thing about this cruise were the wonderful friends we sailed with.

Sad that the NUMBER 1 thing that made this cruise great wasn't orchestrated by DVC. Guess they let the ball drop this cruise.

Of course, with a group like THIS.....how can that NOT be the best thing?????

[mrsdon]

I may get flamed for this, but it makes me so mad that people complain about the gifts we were given.
They didnt have to give us a thing. I loved all the signage and thought it was great. Again, DVC didnt have to do anything.
I liked being able to see the merchandise in the gift shop before buying it and found it worked better...
Just because Jim Lewis was on the ship and giving a talk doesnt mean that he had to make a big announcement. It would have been great if he had, but it was still interesting to hear his talk.
I thought the cruise was awesome and cant wait until they announce a new one.

[rkdahl]

I may get flamed for this, but it makes me so mad that people complain about the gifts we were given.
They didnt have to give us a thing. I loved all the signage and thought it was great. Again, DVC didnt have to do anything.

We absolutely loved the cruise and the many gifts! However, I have to agree that a bit more thought needs to be given to the logistics of members getting the gifts home. We had no choice but to leave much of our gifts behind. We flew to Orlando and we each had one suitcase with some space available. But there was no way we could get the albums, Mickey boxes, stationary, pin boxes, etc packed so we could travel home. We would be over our limit on volume and weight at the airlines. We gave some of our gifts to others who were driving and left some gifts behind.

So please don't take this as we didn't appreciate or enjoy the gifts. We loved them! But with maybe a 'member home shipping option' we could have kept everything. So with some additional DVC staff thought to the logistics of air travel or to the physical size/weight of gifts this could easily be made a dream come true!

[Donna]

We absolutely loved the cruise and the many gifts! However, I have to agree that a bit more thought needs to be geiven to the logistics of members getting the gifts home. We had no choice but to leave much of our gifts behind. We flew to Orlando and we each had one suitcase with some space available. But there was no way we could get the albums, Mickey boxes, stationary, pin boxes, etc packed so we could travel home. We would be over our limit on volume and weight at the airlines. We gave some of our gifts to others who were driving and left some gifts behind.

So please don't take this as we didn't appreciate or enjoy the gifts. We loved them! But with maybe a 'member home shipping option' we could have kept everything. So with some additional DVC staff thought to the logistics of air travel or to the physical size/weight of gifts this could easily be made a dream come true!

You can't ship from the gift shop like you do at disney world? If not, i think i would have bought a small piece of luggage or whatever size it would take to get the stuff home. You paid extra for that cruise and its a shame you couldn't take it all home.

[LindaBabe]

We absolutely loved the cruise and the many gifts! However, I have to agree that a bit more thought needs to be geiven to the logistics of members getting the gifts home. We had no choice but to leave much of our gifts behind. We flew to Orlando and we each had one suitcase with some space available. But there was no way we could get the albums, Mickey boxes, stationary, pin boxes, etc packed so we could travel home. We would be over our limit on volume and weight at the airlines. We gave some of our gifts to others who were driving and left some gifts behind.

So please don't take this as we didn't appreciate or enjoy the gifts. We loved them! But with maybe a 'member home shipping option' we could have kept everything. So with some additional DVC staff thought to the logistics of air travel or to the physical size/weight of gifts this could easily be made a dream come true!

I sure hope Disney doesn't pay attentio to this post!!! It would have been a simple matter to buy another bag of some sort, or even ask for a carton one could seal shut and take as luggage.

[chrissybear]

Thank you to all the cruisers that posted pics of the gifts and kept me informed of all that was happening on the ship. I was looking foreward to hearing some kind of special announcement from Jim Lewis, so I was a little bummed that that didn't happen. We went last year and had a great time. I loved getting surprises in our cabin every day, it just made it so much more magical.
Thanks again for taking the time to keep us informed!

[Babs417]

Some people just like to complain. Just like in a reasturant! Just try to enjoy the monent. :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :)

[Donna]

I may get flamed for this, but it makes me so mad that people complain about the gifts we were given.
They didnt have to give us a thing. I loved all the signage and thought it was great. Again, DVC didnt have to do anything.
I liked being able to see the merchandise in the gift shop before buying it and found it worked better...
Just because Jim Lewis was on the ship and giving a talk doesnt mean that he had to make a big announcement. It would have been great if he had, but it was still interesting to hear his talk.
I thought the cruise was awesome and cant wait until they announce a new one.

Debbie,
So glad you all had a good time! Darla sent over Adie and Lisa's report and it sure sounded like you guys know how to have fun! we were booked on the cruise but cancelled to do food and wine the same time as Darla. Maybe DVC will do a 7 day sometime!

[bonzie1]

Hi All! We returned last night and made it into work today.

A special "HI!" to Julie + Matt! Have a wonderful wedding tomorrow!

Thanks to all who have posted pictures!

We definitely had fun and would like to return again should they announce a 2007 Member Cruise.

Mary, thanks for your recap. You were right on the money.

Our highlights this year were the speakers, and the entertainment. Jason Surrell, Bonnie - the inspirational speaker was Fabulous, ROY DISNEY was a thrill. I think Jim Lewis scripted talk held Roy back a bit, but nonetheless, it was wonderful to hear him speak. The Ambassador's talk was great too. Of course the ENTERTAINMENT was over the top.

The game show On the Nose had me very upset. While the facts they presented were fun and interesting, the sales pitch was unnecessary. :rolleyes: I would have rather gone to hear Jason's POC presentation a second time. I felt I wasted 1 1/2 hours of prime time. They should have allowed us to get on Castaway Cay earlier. After venting to my DH, I was able to calm down and enjoy Castaway Cay which was BEAUTIFUL! :goodvibes

I enjoyed meeting the different heads of DVC, but was very disappointed that there was not more news. Disney already had a press release of AKL being the next timeshare... but enough on that.

The gifts were very nice. Our luggage was packed to the gills!

My personal thoughts were it would have been more thematic if they moved Golden Mickeys to another night. Here we all were in Pirate costumes... and Golden Ears were given out (for the 50th anniversary... which was already ended ;) )... too funny! (but, yes, the ears did go with Golden Mickeys) They could have shown Disney Dreams on Pirate Night. We had already received the pirate chest gift at the POC II premiere in NYC, and thought it was a limited edition, so we were disappointed that more of them were given out on the Member Cruise.

We loved seeing familiar cast members and fellow cruisers. They made everything more special. :wizard:

Four days was definitely too short. A week long cruise would be better! :thumbsup2

[MarkRG]

I sure hope Disney doesn't pay attentio to this post!!! It would have been a simple matter to buy another bag of some sort, or even ask for a carton one could seal shut and take as luggage.

The fact was for a large percentage of the ship, there simply wasn't time/availability.

For Mary and myself, no big deal, we drove. For anyone who had time after the cruise, also no big deal. We ran into someone tonight here at Boardwalk who shipped their two albums home. We were told that their box of gifts weighed out at about 30 lbs!! And I believe that, as I said when I posted it, my picture did no justice to how substantial that gift is.

The albums were put into our staterooms while we were off at dinner or the show. Most probably didn't even go back to the rooms in between, as the last nights show with Jodi and Jennifer was probably the best or a good tie with the Roy talk. That leaves about an hour to figure out how to get that much extra off the ship for anyone who is flying home with direct tranfers to the airport, as you have to have all your luggage outside your stateroom by 11 for transfer to the terminal the following morning. And don't forget that 50 lb airline limit on bags. I don't know off the top of my head how many staterooms the ship has, but I doubt that the gift shops come anywhere near having enough luggage to buy to cover that, especially in that short a time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear they sold out of anything baglike. And they don't have any kind of pack&ship onboard either, so that wasn't an option, wish it was different.

Now, mind you, this didn't exactly kill the enjoyment of this trip. Just felt a bit bad for all the people who did have to do a mad scramble at the last minute for such a substantial item, or even outright abandon them.

Mary said it so much better, but I'd like to focus on one word that made this DVC event a bit less to the last few cruises.

Details.

There simply wasn't a lot of that. Some fantastic broad sweeping gestures, yes, and they were appreciated, and made it fun. On the flip side, things like the embarkation picture having the standard 4-day Wonder border, listing Nassau as one of our stops just wasn't right. And there were more, but refer to Mary's post about all of that. I was just listing that as an example to make my point that the details of these events are as important to me as the larger efforts. They give a sense of care and friendlyness that, outside of our DIS friends, was somewhat lacking this trip.

[nanajoyx2]

DH and I had a wonderful time on the cruise. We attended the second On The Nose gathering and we didn't notice any hard sell at all. Maybe TPTB were listening and they changed their tactics. We also loved the gifts but were concerned about how to get them home on the plane. Our flight was at 3:30 Thursday afternoon, so we went to the UPS store in Celebration and shipped the Mickey boxes and the photo/scrapbook albums home. It cost me about $28 to do this and they will arrive on Tuesday. It made things much easier and brought our number of carry-ons from 6 down to 3 - a much more manageable number. It was wonderful to meet so many of the members of the Member Cruise 2006 thread. I wish I had met more of you. Our dinner companions, Tina, Tim, Krystina, Haylee, Genie, and John were great. DH and I really enjoyed our conversations and your company. And I also must mention all the goodies given to us by several of the members. After I gather everything together (some of the items were placed in the Mickey boxes being shipped home), I will post a thank you message. It was fun to receive gifts at the BC meet and to find items in my fish while on board.

Elaine

[Minnie&Mickey]

It sounds like for the most part you all had a wonderful time. I am still hoping that my husband and I will get to try the next Member Cruise. From what I understand, there was no mention of a Member Cruise for 2007 while on the ship. Is the next DVC Cruise normally announced while on the ship? Since it wasn't mentioned, does this mean that there probably won't be one in 2007?

[bonzie1]

The Wonder has been chartered mid October in 2007... might just be the next DVC Member Cruise... BUT there was no announcement about it.

[MarkRG]

The only two pieces of concrete info we have is:

What Georgie just said, the Wonder is chartered for the Oct 21st, 2007.

And, someone at the Member Clubhouse said to look for an announcement in the mail in about a month.

I can tell you right now, they announce another and Mary and I will be there :)

[Minnie&Mickey]

The only two pieces of concrete info we have is:

What Georgie just said, the Wonder is chartered for the Oct 21st, 2007.

And, someone at the Member Clubhouse said to look for an announcement in the mail in about a month.

I can tell you right now, they announce another and Mary and I will be there :)
I guess I will keep crossing my fingers and wishing for a 2007 DVC Member Cruise.

[cgcw]

:wave: we're finally home and settling in after a sidetrip for the weekend to Michigan.

The absolute highlight of our trip was spending time with all our DIS friends. It was absolutely the best to see friends we met on previous trips as well as friends that I hope to vacation with again. ::yes::

The highlight of the DVC side was the presentation by Roy Disney. Our 12 year old didn't want to attend and went with because we told him he didn't have a choice. As we were walking out of the theatre, he told me he was glad that he went. It was a once in a lifetime opprotunity that had many in our group reaching for their kleenex.

Will we sail DCL again?? Definately!! Will we sail on another DVC Member Cruise? Sadly, we're leaning more towards not doing another one again. The gifts were awesome but the overall feel (for me, IMO) was very different from last year. I'm glad we had the opprotunity to express our comments to DVC on their survey -- I hope for those sailing again on another member cruise, the DVC Planning listen to the feedback offered.

[bonzie1]

:wave: we're finally home and settling in after a sidetrip for the weekend to Michigan.

The absolute highlight of our trip was spending time with all our DIS friends. It was absolutely the best to see friends we met on previous trips as well as friends that I hope to vacation with again. ::yes::

The highlight of the DVC side was the presentation by Roy Disney. Our 12 year old didn't want to attend and went with because we told him he didn't have a choice. As we were walking out of the theatre, he told me he was glad that he went. It was a once in a lifetime opprotunity that had many in our group reaching for their kleenex.

Will we sail DCL again?? Definately!! Will we sail on another DVC Member Cruise? Sadly, we're leaning more towards not doing another one again. The gifts were awesome but the overall feel (for me, IMO) was very different from last year. I'm glad we had the opprotunity to express our comments to DVC on their survey -- I hope for those sailing again on another member cruise, the DVC Planning listen to the feedback offered.

WELCOME HOME! Glad you made it back safe and sound!

Do you, or does anyone know of a specific address to write to DVC to share comments about the cruise, both positive, and otherwise, along with suggestions for future events? I'm looking for a specific address to be sure the letter will be read. i.e. DVC Special Events, Jim Lewis

As I posted earlier, we enjoyed the cruise... what was there not to enjoy!

The speakers were phenominal. Roy Disney was once in a lifetime. The gifts were nice. I may have set my sights too high for this cruise, or perhaps DH and I are into Disney events too much. For a cruise which was supposed to be about DVC's 15th birthday celebrating milestones, I didn't catch the link between the theme and the execution. Yes the pins reflected the theme, like words on paper. But the only glimpse into the future was the animated short that Roy Disney worked on and the news that the Wildlife series will be released as a part of Disney's Treasures (which we went out and reserved as soon as we got back home). If Roy Disney hadn't announced either of those things, we would have had no new news from DVC.

We had already received 2 of the stateroom gifts, and while they were nice (golden ears + treasure chest), we didn't expect to receive them again. We received the chest, which we love, when we went to the paid event Pirates in the Big Apple, pirate: where we saw Jason Surrell, and got to see the midnight premiere of Dead Man's Chest. It was a fun time. At the end we were presented with a nice gold package, which when opened, showed a replica of Davy Jone's Locker. We were thrilled! I thought that would be unique for those of us who went to the premiere. Of course we were disappointed to see them again in our stateroom on this cruise.

Last year's themes carried into the dining rooms on board as well as the theater. This year's themes competed with the dining room + the theater. Pirates Night being the same as Golden Mickeys. To have a photo shoot dressed in Pirate gear with a formal Mickey + Minnie? To have a Bon Voyage picture without a special backdrop... to have Bahamas on the border?

AGAIN, THE CREW + CASTMEMBERS WERE FANTASTIC!

We will go on the next cruise. Why? Because we do love them. Yes, we know they cost more, and that the increased costs do pay for the tips and our stateroom goodies. I would just welcome the chance to share my thoughts DVC with the hopes that future cruises can be even more special. We love Disney and DVC, and want to come on a special cruise to learn NEW things and special announcements, not hear about things we already know about DVC.

[Diana Lyn]

Hi everyone!

We got home last night on a flight where after we landed, the flight attendant described the landing as cross between Star Tours and the TOT. :scared1:

First off the highlight of this entire vacation for me was the friendships made. It really was the greatest time ever and I can't thank you all enough for making our vacation so memorable!

Georgie, your description of the cruise was dead-on. Phenominal speakers and excellent entertainment for sure. The gifts were awesome.

My biggest disappointment was in the lack of extra touches that we've seen in the previous member cruises. There were no Mickey hands to wave at sailaway, no beach balls at Castaway Cay, the formal Mickey/Minnie on Pirate Night, The Nassau on the sailaway pic, things like that. I found there was a HUGE communication gap between DCL and DVC and I think the problem was there. One of the DCL store workers confirmed that for me with the problem with the DVC merchandise. He told me straight out--DVC did not tell them where the merchandise was and how much they had and therefore they spent a while telling people things had sold out where in fact there were cartons of them. He agreed that pre-ordering was definitely the way to go and didn't understand why DVC didn't continue last years practice to ensure everyone got what they wanted.

The hard sell bothered me because I don't need convincing to buy DVC, I already a member. I was there to celebrate my membership to enjoy the magic, not be pushed to buy DVC. Not answering questions about AKL and totally dodging SSMC07 was also not impressive in my book. MS reps have confirmed, travel agents have confirmed, there's even been people who have been given points info....yet DVC still denied SSMC07. I also found the DVC staff less attentive to members. On 03 and 05 every where you turned there was another DVC staffer talking to you, smiling, adding that extra magic to DCL. On this cruise, I noticed they were always in groups of 2s and 3s having lots of fun--like they were on vacation and just passengers along with us but the only DVC person who said 2 words to me was the person we talked about adding on with. No "Hi's" no "Welcome Homes" nothing.

I wasn't on SSMC06 for the gifts, and I'm not complaining about what I got or didn't get. I was on it for the extra magic of feeling "home" on DCL and DVC didn't convey that message to us. DCL did an amazing job as always, but I still think DVC dropped the ball when it came to giving that "Home" feeling onboard.
And I'm not even touching the "rocks" fiasco!! :lmao:

[#1Mouse]

:wave2: Hey Everyone! We made it home about 2 PM today. We had a great time meeting up with everyone starting with the DIS meet at BCV on Saturday. The Party Bus was a riot - what a great trip! The linked Dining was great to have alot of our friends near by all the time! Two days at CC was wonderful and meeting up with the DISer's at the end of the family beach was alot of fun. Konk Koolers with plane fuel RULE! Julie's Bachlorette party was alot of fun. We crashed the guys party that they were having in Diversions - good thing too, since they were all sitting around staring at the TV's :happytv: . Before we fell asleep hanging out with the guys we found a quiet place to hang out in the Promanade Lounge - ok, it was quiet until we got there.:rotfl:

The MNSSHP party was alot of fun - we spent most of the evening with Cindy and her family and Erin and her family. We ended up with a ton of candy - I sure hope Mary (iluvdisney) doesn't eat it all on her drive home! The Wishes Cruise was alot of fun especially since we shared it with so many of our DIS friends!

We did so many things the few days at WDW after the cruise that on the way home we realized we never used Storm Along Bay - which was the reason we booked BCV.

We had a great time. Our main intention of booking the Member Cruise was another chance to cruise with our friends and it proved to be a great cruise. We really have to do this again...........how about next week ;)

[bonzie1]

:wave2: We had a great time. Our main intention of booking the Member Cruise was another chance to cruise with our friends and it proved to be a great cruise. We really have to do this again...........how about next week ;)

I'm ready :thumbsup2 . :cold: .. it's way too cold here in NJ already!!!

[crzy4dals]

:mickeyjum :donald: :goofy: :stitch:

Here is my contribution to the review. From a 1st time cruisers perspective, being on the cruise was absolutely FAB - U - LOUS! We were in awe the entire time we were on board. The sad thing was the DVC did not do much to WOW us it was the cruise line cast members that impressed us on a daily basis. The DVC staff seemed to be on vacation with their families along with us. They did not provide any extra MAGIC or feelings of "Thanks for being a part of the DVC family and coming on this special cruise just for you." Rich and I enjoyed the presentation with Roy Disney. I wish it was not so "SCRIPTED" by Jim Lewis. The nightly shows by DCL were AWESOME.

It was great to meet everyone that I have been talking with here on the DIS. I know that our cruise experience was enhanced by the knowledge you all shared.
We had great table mates Jacqui, Barry, Tyler and Cameron. Nick and Tyler were a HOOT at dinner each evening. Julies traveling bachlorette party was enhanced by our visit from Christian - your cruise director. ;) And wouldn't you know it the men found our party while Christian provided his Marital Advice.

CASTAWAY CAY - need I say more. It was truely beautiful pulling in on Monday morning. The ocean was as smooth as glass. The beach was beautiful. On Wednesday, we pulled straight in. The day was a bit cooler than on Monday but very nice. We rode bikes around the island before we went back on the ship. KONK KOOLERS rock :drinking1

We were so pleased with the DCL staff that we too booked another cruise. I think it would be so exciting if we could find a date that works for the majority and cruise again.

Thursday - To the Boardwalk - Rich and Nick hit the pool and I got 2 loads of laundry done before we got our room around 12 We retrieved our luggage and went to Beaches and Cream ate lunch and returned to the room and CRASHED!!!!!!!! As much as we would have liked to joined everyone at LTT - that NAP was G O O D. We met up with Lily and Ted and walked back to the meeting place. There we found Amy and family, Diana and family, Cindy and family, AND Gail and family. We were the ROWDY bunch on Splash Mountain. It was a great evening riding rides, getting CANDY. Nick and Walker has a great time together on the rides.

Thn ther was the plane ride home. I HATE DELTA!!!!!! We had a layover in Atlanta. Our gate never changed the plane was scheduled to leave on time. IT was all TOO good TO be true! we boarded the plane and sat at the gate for 30 minutes while they tried to locate a passengers :dog: dog who seemed to not be in the luggage area!!!!!! Low and behold the dog took the earlier flight to Cleveland. When we made it to the CLE airport Rich went to see if his Dad was outside while Nick and I went to wait for the luggage to make its trip on the "luggage mover" when I look over and see not only the missing dog but our luggage sitting in the middle of baggage claim. Seems the 8:15 flight was full but they had plenty of room for extra luggage and a DOG.

I want to thank all of you for making this cruise a wonderful family memory for my family. NOW back to reality in the morning :scared:
THANK YOU

[IleneF]

It sounds like for the most part you all had a wonderful time. I am still hoping that my husband and I will get to try the next Member Cruise. From what I understand, there was no mention of a Member Cruise for 2007 while on the ship. Is the next DVC Cruise normally announced while on the ship? Since it wasn't mentioned, does this mean that there probably won't be one in 2007?

Well here is my DD thoughts. A question came up about the DVC cruise items not being auctioned this year and DD thought maybe because they will use them again before the year is out?! I suppose it's possible.

[cgcw]

Do you, or does anyone know of a specific address to write to DVC to share comments about the cruise, both positive, and otherwise, along with suggestions for future events? I'm looking for a specific address to be sure the letter will be read. i.e. DVC Special Events, Jim Lewis

Hi Georgie,

I couldn't agree more with what you wrote! Definately my thoughts on target!

I don't have an address specific to Jim Lewis. I did not have a chance to fill out my survey and drop it in the box on Thursday. But.....I did call our guide Friday morning and we had a very long talk about the cruise. I had the chance to voice my thoughts on the lack of detail & my disappointments on this cruise. I know she took notes as she told me she had several pages of my comments. I also asked her for an address where I can mail my survey - which will go out in the mail tomorrow -- because I think the planning team needs to hear my constructive criticism.



Anyway, this is the address I was given: Sue VanWinkle

DVC Marketing
200 Celebration Place
Celebration, FL 34747



Sadly, I heard that the new trend of DVC is going to be the hard-sell to the existing members. That in itself makes me sad -- as DVC has never stooped to the level of some timeshares. I've always felt that we did the pressuring to buy, not the other way around. In fact, when we bought our initial contract, we were ready to sign and our guide actually tried to push us out the door with a pre-arranged ride to see Fantasmic at MGM. We had to convince her that we wanted to finish the deal that night, not the other way around. I remember walking away feeling proud of the investment we just made knowing it was a great one. I sincerely hope that I can continue to feel pride in my DVC ownership.


Diana, you made a very good point when you said that the feel of this cruise was very different, especially from the planning team. I agree 100% with you that it didn't seem like they were there to get to know their members and it certainly appeared as if they were enjoying their vacation -- not working as it did last year. I have no doubt that a lot of planning went into this cruise. One would have thought that they would have enjoyed the opprotunity to share in the excitement with the members who were actually sailing.


Gail, I'm right there with you in cruising again. But, can we make it the week after next, I still need to recoperate from this one. I need a good night sleep. And, did you mention that idea to John yet?

[#1Mouse]

Thanks for the address Cindy. I did turn in my survey on the ship with my comments good and bad.

FWIW, I'm not sure that the On the Nose presentation was so much a hard sell, but it was CHEESY & TACKY! DVC is a class act and doesn't need to stoop to the less than desirable infomercial. Maybe sales are down a bit, but they really need to rethink their new strategies for building up sales.

Other than the couple of CM's at the Sales Desk, I thought the rest of the team seemed to be on their own vacation. Last year the Event Team along with Jim Lewis could be seen all over the ship talking with DVC Members. This year they traveled in their little packs oblivious that there were Members around. Now you all met John and realize he can get just about anyone to talk to him - but not this Event Team!

No Cindy, I haven't passed the idea of a cruise next week on to John. He did say NO to any cruises in 2007 and since we have 2 months left to 2006, I guess I should take that opportunity ;) He did ask me last night how many points it would take for a studio from now until the end of March - I think he's sick of me complaining about the cold!

[Copper3]

Now you all met John and realize he can get just about anyone to talk to him - but not this Event Team!

Ain't that the truth! John was certainly the most energetic. It floored me when he said he was running out of energy at the Contemporary dock.


No Cindy, I haven't passed the idea of a cruise next week on to John. He did say NO to any cruises in 2007 and since we have 2 months left to 2006, I guess I should take that opportunity ;) He did ask me last night how many points it would take for a studio from now until the end of March - I think he's sick of me complaining about the cold!

Gail,

The new room codes come out either Wednesday or Thursday for 1/1/07 thru 2/14/07 for passholders/florida residents. Also, there is free parking hopping attached for everyone thru 3/8/07 excluding 1/12-14/07 (MLK weekend). I can see it in your future, a trip in January and a trip in February.

[#1Mouse]

Thanks Jeff, just what I need......someone to help dig a bigger hole for me :rotfl: I usually have another trip planned before I leave Florida but I don't have any concrete plans for one just yet. That must have been why it was so hard to leave yesterday. Deanna and I have talked about coming down for a week in February when she has her Winter Break. I guess that's not too far away. :Pinkbounc I'm sure John will come with us, but it will depend on his work schedule.

Thanks for the info on the free park hopping attached to the tickets. My AP is good until Sept but Deanna's expires this Dec. I wasn't sure if I was going to renew hers or just buy her regular tickets.

[BriarRose59]

Hi everyone!

We arrived home last yesterday afternoon. We stayed at SSR in The Springs from Thursday until Sunday. I loved it! We have stayed in Congress Park before, but I think I like The Springs better.

Anyway, I wish I could have met more DIS members while on the cruise. My mom was traveling with me and she can't take the heat too well so I didn't even try to come up for the meet on Sunday afternoon. She got too hot on Monday at CC and was not feeling well the rest of the trip. We even shortened our days in the parks, but she just never got to feeling like herself. Oh well, she is resting now that she is sleeping in her own bed and should be better in a couple of days.

I enjoyed the cruise for the most part because I got to relax and spend time with my mom, but I have to say I was also disappointed in what I felt like was the hard sell during the On the Nose gameshow. I also agree that the gifts were lovely, but the weight was excessive. I heard someone mention that it would have been nice if they had given us a postcard on the last evening with a picture of the photo album and box and said that this gift would arrive at our home within a week after the end of the cruise. Plus now we will need to try to find acid free pages to put in the album because I won't use the pages that are in there because they will cause the pictures to deteriorate. The pins were great and the packaging was nice. The rocks thing on CC was a nice idea, but there should have been a limit of 1 rock per cabin or family. The food was great the entire cruise. I enjoyed all the speakers also. The shows were great, as I would have expected from Disney. Since I had not been on a DVC cruise before, I had nothing to compare it to, but I have to agree with the lack of theming towards DVC on this cruise and the pirate night and The Golden Mickeys being on the same night was poor planning.

A special thanks to Robin for getting the MNSSHP t-shirts for my mom and I. We wore them to the party Thursday night and had a lot of compliments. I think we sold more than one since people could see them clearly on us instead of the shirt being crammed onto a rounder in the store.

All in all it was a lovely experience. I can't wait to read more from the rest of the group and see Julie's wedding pictures.

Rochelle

[Copper3]

For those planning 2008 cruises, the cruises will be released on 11/1 for cruises 3,4 and 7 days up to 4/24/08.

[Copper3]

Thanks Jeff, just what I need......someone to help dig a bigger hole for me :rotfl: I usually have another trip planned before I leave Florida but I don't have any concrete plans for one just yet. That must have been why it was so hard to leave yesterday. Deanna and I have talked about coming down for a week in February when she has her Winter Break. I guess that's not too far away. :Pinkbounc I'm sure John will come with us, but it will depend on his work schedule.

Thanks for the info on the free park hopping attached to the tickets. My AP is good until Sept but Deanna's expires this Dec. I wasn't sure if I was going to renew hers or just buy her regular tickets.

When is her break? My mom was talking about bringing Casey down then if it's not too expensive to fly down. I think her break is February 19-20 for President's day.

[glewis1123]

Hubby and I would love to take the DVC cruise - but we have a 13yr old son - were there many DVC'ers who brought their kids???

or - was it mainly an adult cruise

I truly enjoyed reading all the updates of the cruise happenings and want to thank all of you who took the time to post.

[IleneF]

I usually have another trip planned before I leave Florida but I don't have any concrete plans for one just yet. That must have been why it was so hard to leave yesterday.

YIKES! Me too, Gail. I hate the feeling of no trip planned. I'll have to do something about that in a few days I guess. I'm thinking January sounds good. Maybe when Michelle goes back down to Daytona I'll sneak in a few days. :-)

[#1Mouse]

When is her break? My mom was talking about bringing Casey down then if it's not too expensive to fly down. I think her break is February 19-20 for President's day.

I'm not sure of the dates, but if Feb 19 is Presidents Day then that would be the week she has off. That would be cool if she and Casey could meet. I know Casey would have had a blast with Mary, Deanna, Cameron and Nick.

[#1Mouse]

Hubby and I would love to take the DVC cruise - but we have a 13yr old son - were there many DVC'ers who brought their kids???

or - was it mainly an adult cruise

I truly enjoyed reading all the updates of the cruise happenings and want to thank all of you who took the time to post.

On the Member Cruises there have been alot less kids than normal cruises. Could be the time of the year that the cruises are planned. I would bet he would find someone his age on the cruise. We brought our 12 yo daughter and she had a great time with 3 kids from the DIS.

[glewis1123]

On the Member Cruises there have been alot less kids than normal cruises. Could be the time of the year that the cruises are planned. I would bet he would find someone his age on the cruise. We brought our 12 yo daughter and she had a great time with 3 kids from the DIS.

Thanks for the info - this will be a good incentive to our 13 yr old son - now that he's in middle school, we don't allow him to take time off of school (unless he's sick) if he falls below honor roll -

[Eeyore77]

Hi there everyone.... Chris and I got back to West Palm Beach on Friday AM at around 1 AM. We decided while we were on the cruise that we were going to attend the MNSSHP on Thursday so we headed right over to WDW from the port.

It was soooo nice to finally get to meet all of you guys and gals on the ship. I hate that Chris and I did not get to hang out more, but we had late dining so that seemed to interfer with going to most anything. I most hated the fact that I did not get to go to Julies Party. As a future Disney Bride Myself I think it would have been great to get to hang out with all of you, but with late dining we rarely ever got out of dinner until after 10. We did go to 80's night that night and I was chosen to be a Go Go for the second time... :rotfl:

Anyway I had a great time on the cruise as I could never have a bad cruise on DCL, but as everyone else has said DVC let us down. If there is another Members Cruise in 2007 we will just have to see if the points and the cost skyrocket, and that will determine if we go or not. The gifts were great and I have no issues with those at all. I already have the pins displayed in the Apt. If I could change one thing about the trip it would be that there needed to be more activities and less talks. The Roy talk was fantastic, but I felt that there seemed to be less in the activities dept. then there has been on previous regular DCL cruises I have taken. This was my first members cruise, but it was my 3rd DCL cruise.

Now on to the task of working on my wedding again. Speaking of did anyone go to Julie's Wedding? I am now counting the days till mine and until we head out on our next cruise on the Wonder for our Honeymoon.....

Thanks for all the added touches you guys gave the cruise with the stuff left on the doors and the fishes. That really was nice to feel included in a group on board...

[Stitch#1]

I'm not sure of the dates, but if Feb 19 is Presidents Day then that would be the week she has off. That would be cool if she and Casey could meet. I know Casey would have had a blast with Mary, Deanna, Cameron and Nick.


Do I hear a trip in my near future!? :lmao:
We don't have our next trip planned yet. Right now I need to switch to holiday mode and get thru that.

[#1Mouse]

Do I hear a trip in my near future!? :lmao:
We don't have our next trip planned yet. Right now I need to switch to holiday mode and get thru that.

I just reread my post, what I meant to say was that if Casey could have gone on the cruise she would have had a great time with Mary, Deanna, Nick & Cameron. Don't worry I'm not trying to plan your next trip - I'm having enough trouble trying to get mine planned :rotfl2:

[iluvdisney]

I left WDW on Sunday and drove down and visited with my sister and her family after checking out of OKW.
Left my sister's place in Palm Bay (about an hour south of Port Canaveral) around 3:30 pm - around 3 in the morning (Monday) my eyes decided to glaze over and I stopped at a rest area in KY to rest my eyes and woke up 2 hours later and drove the rest of the way.
Of course I had stopped and filled up with gas - paid $1.99 in South Carolina and grabbed a few munchies on the road.

I arrived back at home to the baby crawling and smiling around 2:30 pm so it wasn't too bad.

Didn't even turn my computer on yesterday since I was a bit on the tired side after unpacking the car.

I just want to say that I had the best time with all of you! All of the meets and parties and fun stories made me laugh so hard that I want to do it all over again!!!

Will check in again when I'm finished unpacking and getting to the Halloween stuff around here.

[Stitch#1]

I just reread my post, what I meant to say was that if Casey could have gone on the cruise she would have had a great time with Mary, Deanna, Nick & Cameron. Don't worry I'm not trying to plan your next trip - I'm having enough trouble trying to get mine planned :rotfl2:

Hey I'm always open to suggestions. Especially since we don't have anything planned right now.

[seaulater]

Hello all. Finally read the posts and I will try to post a trip report this weekend of our experience.

Georgie's thoughts are right on the money. Although this cruise was great, it was not outstanding. I didn't get to spend much time with everyone since I was with my mom and sister so I missed out on some of the time I usually spend with my disboard friends.

I noticed someone asked about the "rocks". Yes, I did get a rock. And I can honestly say, the rock is already in my Disney Curio Cabinet at home proudly on display. There were 80 rocks on CC the second day we were there. I was the 5th person off the ship and I walked all down the family beach to the stingrays and the family ahead of me had already picked up a "bunch". So I headed out to the bike path and that is where I found mine. I was hoping that since the rocks were numbered, one would be "special" and I would get a free cruise or something out of it HAHAHA.....but everyone received a LE hat that says "Twice the Magic" with the Disney Cruise Line ship on front and then on the side it said Castaway Cay, 2006.

Got to thinking about that and in my mind, the hats were left from the Magic's double dip at CC in 2006 and since we double dipped, we got the "Twice the Magic" hats. I value the rock more than the hat (honestly).

Anyway, I am finishing planning a conference for 130 that I am flying to Vegas for on Saturday. So, I'll work on typing my trip report and have it posted with pictures this weekend.

[WDWLVR]

That's the thing - we wanted the rock as a display piece not for the prize. Sadly the family that grabbed a bunch probably didn't even take them home. Too funny about the hat as we have one of those already. We did the May double dip and while they didn't have them on that cruise a kind DISer picked one up for us on the August double dip.

[rkdahl]

I see the 2007 DVC Member cruise is now announced and information is on the DVC Members Only web site. Looks like points have gone up about 6-8 points for basic inside/outside cabins and more for high end staterooms. Cruise is the week of Oct 21st-25th, 2007 and on the Disney Wonder again. Same route as this year with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. Also a new reservation selection process for those who have never sailed on a member cruise, that starts today!

Sure is strange they didn't announce this on the cruise last week? pirate:

[Mickey&JoshNut]

I see the 2007 DVC Member cruise is now announced and information is on the DVC Members Only web site. Looks like points have gone up about 6-8 points for basic inside/outside cabins and more for high end staterooms. Cruise is the week of Oct 21st-25th, 2007 and on the Disney Wonder again. Same route as this year with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. Also a new reservation selection process for those who have never sailed on a member cruise, that starts today!

Sure is strange they didn't announce this on the cruise last week? pirate:

Here's the post that I posted back on 10-25-06

I have some friends on this cruise so I have been reading the thread in hopes that they would post (hi Linda, Nancy, Georgie & Joe ).

I have read people asking about a member cruise next year but that DVC has not announced anything. I saw this post on the main cruise thread this morning and think this may be your answer as to whether or not there is a member cruise next year.



We had a 7day land and sea booked for Oct 14/07 followed by a 4 night cruise on Oct 21/07. Disney chartered out the Wonder for the Oct 21st sailing. I asked Costco to have Disney move up both our booking one week. A Costco TA called me today saying that both bookings have been moved up by one week (keeping the original price as they have both gone up $300+ each) we were also upgraded from a Cat 6 to a Cat 4

It seems DVC & DCL did have the information - strange that they wouldn't make an announcement onboard.

[Stitch#1]

I see the 2007 DVC Member cruise is now announced and information is on the DVC Members Only web site. Looks like points have gone up about 6-8 points for basic inside/outside cabins and more for high end staterooms. Cruise is the week of Oct 21st-25th, 2007 and on the Disney Wonder again. Same route as this year with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. Also a new reservation selection process for those who have never sailed on a member cruise, that starts today!

Sure is strange they didn't announce this on the cruise last week? pirate:
They probably didn't announce it onboard because of the way they are doing reservations for the next cruise which will basically exclude anyone who has done a memeber cruise before and wanted to avoid a little riot over that.

Set Sail on the S.S. Member Cruise 2007
Enjoy a dream vacation with fellow Disney Vacation Club Members as you experience a fantastic 4-night Caribbean cruise. If you've been unable to join us on a past S.S. Member Cruise because these popular excursions book up so fast, here's some great news. This year, Disney Vacation Club is introducing a new Reservation Selection Process especially for first-time S.S. Member Cruise sailers. From November 2 - November 19, 2006, Members who've never experienced an S.S. Member Cruise can apply for a spot to make a reservation during the first booking date on Saturday, December 2, 2006. During the second booking date on Saturday, December 9, 2006, all Members will have the chance to book a stateroom reservation on a first-call, first-served basis, while availability lasts.

[bonzie1]

They probably didn't announce it onboard because of the way they are doing reservations for the next cruise which will basically exclude anyone who has done a memeber cruise before and wanted to avoid a little riot over that.

Set Sail on the S.S. Member Cruise 2007
Enjoy a dream vacation with fellow Disney Vacation Club Members as you experience a fantastic 4-night Caribbean cruise. If you've been unable to join us on a past S.S. Member Cruise because these popular excursions book up so fast, here's some great news. This year, Disney Vacation Club is introducing a new Reservation Selection Process especially for first-time S.S. Member Cruise sailers. From November 2 - November 19, 2006, Members who've never experienced an S.S. Member Cruise can apply for a spot to make a reservation during the first booking date on Saturday, December 2, 2006. During the second booking date on Saturday, December 9, 2006, all Members will have the chance to book a stateroom reservation on a first-call, first-served basis, while availability lasts.

Thanks for the information! I've been off the boards, and home sick so this is the first I'm reading about next year's member cruise.

I smile about your comment about a "little riot" :lmao: I think there would have been a MAJOR one on board if that announcement was made. You're going to tell people who got up early (if you were on the Weat coast), waited on hold, and were so excited to finally get a spot and book the '06 DVC Member Cruise, that because they did this, they will be shut out of the next cruise? Even now, hearing that DVC knew what they were planning all along with the advanced booking, while we were all sailing together, and telling us just how special we were on the cruise leaves a bad feeling. It also sheds light on why the presentations were so scripted.

Why not really stick your neck out and see if you could work with DCL to take both ships out (adjusting the schedule of the Magic) on an identical cruise... same itinerary... same special guests instead of punish those who really want to take a cruise. They could even plan to have the ships pass each other and do a special fireworks display... :wizard: