2007 DVC Member Cruise - SSMC07 - October 21, 2007

[gamomof2]

Well we are officially booked on the DVC DCL Member cruise 2007. We are in room 6036 and have an early dining time.

Here are the links so far to help guide our way:

DIS/DVC S.S. Member Cruise 2007 Website
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/index.htm

2007 DVC Member Cruise DIS Member Roster
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/gallery/photoindex.htm

Pre-cruise resort stays - updated 10/15/07 11:30 pm

Beach Club Villas
gamomof2 - 10/19

Old Key West
ashleydoc - 10/14?
danandnan - 10/19
PKK/MJK - 10/20
DaveH - 10/14
krdisneybound - 10/19

Saratoga Springs Resort
joannel - SSR - 10/20
acourtwdw - 10/17

Animal Kingdom Lodge
rbcheek - 10/20

Animal Kingdom Villas
Tiggerguy2000 - 10/19
skelly_wi - 10/?

Boardwalk Villas
Cherylp3 - 10/14
madaboutpooh - 10/16
wdwlvr - 10/19
iwantmydvc - 10/20

Vero Beach
coachsting - 10/19

All Star Sports
wispy204


Offsite
seaulater - Radisson PC (port canaveral) 10/20
themallons - Radisson PC 10/20

[WDWLVR]

Congratulations! We hope to be joining you! If so we'd be happy to host the web page and meet like we have for the past 3 cruises. For an example of what to expect click on the monorailgreen link in my signature below and then on DVC.

We'll be calling on Saturday the 9th so wish us luck!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1254492 Here is the "live" thread from this years cruise that will give you a look into the cruise as well. We haven't had a chance to add it the trip report part to the web page yet.

[JanDave]

We'll be on the DVC member cruise! We just got off the Magic yesterday. Had a great week of cruising, as always. DVC called me an hour after we got off the Magic. Looking forward to meeting all of you through our posts and on the Magic.

Cruising with me is my DH - Dave.

Jan

[DaveH]

We are booked on the cruie also. DW-Beth and myself. We have late dining. This is our first cruise of any kind. We are looking forward to it.

[JanDave]

Hi Dave

Glad you are joining us on the cruise. This will be DCL cruise #8 for me.

We are booked for early seating. Our tablemates from our September 2004 Magic cruise are hoping to book a stateroom on Saturday.

Our stateroom is midship on deck 7. I can't remember the room number as I didn't have a pen/paper with me when I got the call.

We are just getting back to reality after being completely spoiled for 7 days on the Magic.

Jan

[gamomof2]

what size are the dinner tables on the Wonder? How many tablemates will DH and I have?

I've tried to bring the reservation up on DCL but there are either technical problems with the site right now or it won't recognize the DVC DCL reservation number. Maybe since it's a private charter for DVC.

Were former cruisers able to reserve things online before the member cruise? Complete online checkin or forms?

[madaboutpooh]

We did not get chosen for the lottery, but will be calling on the 9th. We have been on 2 previous cruises with DCL, Magic and Wonder. Hopeful we will be joining this cruise also. A question for any previous DVC Member cruisers:

Are there any tips for getting through and placing a reservation on Dec. 9th?

[jemiaule]

.

[DaveH]

I've tried to bring the reservation up on DCL but there are either technical problems with the site right now or it won't recognize the DVC DCL reservation number. Maybe since it's a private charter for DVC.


The reservation number showing on the DVC site is different than the DCL reservation number. I was given the DCL number on the phone and it is different than the DVC one. I was able to get on the DCL site on Saturday night, the first time I tried.

We are on Deck 7 near the rear eelevators in Cat 11 room. :cool1: :banana: pirate:

[JanDave]

what size are the dinner tables on the Wonder? How many tablemates will DH and I have?

I've tried to bring the reservation up on DCL but there are either technical problems with the site right now or it won't recognize the DVC DCL reservation number. Maybe since it's a private charter for DVC.

Were former cruisers able to reserve things online before the member cruise? Complete online checkin or forms?

Ursula: DCL doesn't recognize us yet. You can call DVC since it is our "travel agent" to request a table for either 4, 6, 8 or 10. For last week's Magic cruise, we requested a 4 top and DCL was able to accommodate our request.

If any of you get a dining time that you don't want (for example, you want main dining but are scheduled for late dining), let DVC know that you want to be waitlisted for main or late seating.

Once onboard, my suggestion is that if you want to change dining times and don't know if DCL was able to accommodate your request before the cruise, you can make the request again as soon as you board. We did this last week. We did not know if DCL was able to accommodate us for main dining before we got onboard. Once we boarded, we headed to the area where changes were being made. We found out that DCL had already changed us to early dining.

Repeat DCL cruisers may go online on the 90th day before the cruise to book Palo, spa, kids club, excursions, etc. New DCL cruisers can book on the 75th day. Online check in is available for all cruisers. For some odd reason that I cannot explain, I did not fill out my forms online. I filled out the forms when DCL sent me the forms.

Hope this doesn't sound too confusing. I'm still tired from our wonderful cruise.

Jan

[JanDave]

We are on Deck 7 near the rear eelevators in Cat 11 room. :cool1: :banana: pirate:

Dave: Great location! The 24 hour beverage station is on deck 9 aft. I spend my early morning hours there with a cup of coffee and a great view of the ocean or harbor.

Jan

[JanDave]

Welcome Jemiaule!

Glad you are joining us. Once the repeat DVC member cruisers can book for 2007, we'll get a lot of valuable information so that we can plan our cruise.

Jan

[WDWLVR]

what size are the dinner tables on the Wonder? How many tablemates will DH and I have?

I've tried to bring the reservation up on DCL but there are either technical problems with the site right now or it won't recognize the DVC DCL reservation number. Maybe since it's a private charter for DVC.

Were former cruisers able to reserve things online before the member cruise? Complete online checkin or forms?

Past Member Cruiser here. Your reservation should show up on the DCL site, you should also get a written confirmation from DVC (just like with a regular DVC reservation).

Yes you can book your reservations online. Concierge (guests in Cat 1,2, and 3) can do it at 105 days out, return cruisers at 90 days out, and new cruisers at 75 days out. I highly recomment the online check-in forms. Super easy to use and print out and check-in at the port is a breeze.

I posted a link in post #2 to the "live from" trip report from this Members Cruise or you can click on the monorailgreen link in my signature to get to reports from the 2003 and 2005 cruises. We hope to be joining you all on the 2007 cruise as well.

[PixiePop]

Hi all,

I booked the member cruise as well ..will be staying in a cat 6 aft. It will be me, DH and DS who will be 8. This will be our first members cruise and our 2nd Disney Cruise.

[gamomof2]

I spoke to DCL this morning and got our true DCL number. She said the reservation won't show up until DVC pays our account. She said that may not happen until the 75 day mark (which by the way she told me would be August 22).

I was finally able to get on. The DCL site says the 75 day mark is August 6.

If I can call DVC (who is acting as my TA) to request a table size what number should I call? The main MS number? A special DVC cruise number?

We're so jazzed about going. Already starting to plan our door signs.

[PBader]

We also booked Sat. Cat 6 mid ship, 8 pm dining. It will be me and DH (Alan).
Paula

[JanDave]

Welcome PixiePop and Paula:

We are so looking forward to the cruise, even though we just got off the Magic on Saturday. Former tablemates of ours from the 9/04 Magic plan to book on the 9th.

Jan

[JOANNEL]

We are also going to try Saturday. Wish me luck. This will be our first member cruise and 4th Disney but first on the wonder.I wish they would do 7 day member cruise. How do you get it all in in 4 days? Seven is never enough!!!

[jemiaule]

I spoke to DCL this morning and got our true DCL number. She said the reservation won't show up until DVC pays our account. She said that may not happen until the 75 day mark (which by the way she told me would be August 22).

That is really odd. I went to the DCL site yesterday, put in the number DVC gave me and my info came right up. You may want to try putting in your number and see if you come up too.

OH...Did you use points or pay cash? We did cash, maybe that is why we are already in the DCL system.

[gamomof2]

it works now, probably something I messed up. I looked around and all the info is right. Then saved some favorites for excursions and spa time.

[COACHSTING]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Last week, we received the e-mail which said we did not qualify for the opportunity lottery. Today, completely unexpectedly we received a call and were advised that we could book for the 2007 Member Cruise. Apparently, a number of people in the initial lottery were not able to book, so they started calling people who were initially not eligible. We were able to book a Category 5, Deck 7.

This will be our first cruise and we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. We will be depending on a veteran group ( IN know there will be many of you) to lead the discussion on helping us find our way to a great vacation.

Right now, we are looking to stay at Vero for a couple of nights, do the cruise, then finish at WDW.

For starters, how is a Category 5 on Deck 7? We have been booked for Room 7092.

We look forward to any help we can get and in advance, we appreciate the help.

[trishy]

We're In! Very happy to be going on our first Member cruise. Been on DCL 6 times (Magic) and going again next week (first time on Wonder).

We're on Deck 7 - got two cabins for the family. Cat 5 is comfortable. I think you'll like it.

Doesn't look like very many kids are going to be there??? We have 3 - ages 11, 14, 18 at the time of the cruise.

Should be fun! :goofy::mickeyjum

[madaboutpooh]

We also were not picked for the lottery but got the call today that we could book the cruise if we still wanted to. Of course we wanted to, my family and I are so excited to be going. We have been on two previous DCL cruises but this will be our first member cruise. Category 5 for us also. These staterooms are so comfortable for us too. It will be myself, DH & DD (age 10 but will be days from turning 11 at the time of the cruise). Since we are coming so far, from Arizona, decided to spend four days at The World before the cruise. Going to stay at the Boardwalk Villas.

[COACHSTING]

Hi again.... Just a few other questions..... Will deck 7 give a decent view or will it be obscured bhy lifeboats? Also, I have seen a graphic of the boat from a side view, showing each of the decks. I have seen the view from the top of each deck, but thought there was one out there wide a side view. Anyone?.....

[trishy]

Stateroom 7092 has a spectacular view. You'll be very pleased. There are no lifeboats obstructing your view from that deck. Not sure I understand the question about a side view, but here's a link to a picture of the Wonder shot from the side WONDER (http://proteinspill.com/albums/wonder06/100_0851.sized.jpg)

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your question. :)

[DVCkidsMOM]

Going on SSMC07 - yeah for myself, DH, DS and DD. This will be our second cruise ever, second DCL cruise and first on the Wonder. I'm so excited :cool1: Will be happer when I'm better informed - TIA for any info/tips.
I remember something about a specific dining rotation - what is the expected order: TAPT... ? Can I request in which venue we will start so that I choose which venue we see twice for dinner? I know we had a request for the 7 night cruise Jan 05. Do member cruises have themed nights as "regular" cruises. How representative of a member cruise are previous navigators? I know I'm getting way ahead here but the more information I have, the happier I am and the more flexible I will think I can be because "I am prepared." ;) I also recall we could book one each of the options at Palo - for this cruise that would be one brunch and one dinner. Should I expect similar policies on member cruises about one only with additional only per wait-list? Are wait-lists unlikely due to there being only 4 nights vs. 7 on our first cruise? I know if I call DCL and get our castaway club number(s) we can book most things 90 days out. Does each member of my party need this or can I book all four of us on a Castaway Cay excursion with only my club number. How important is it that I request an actual club card rather than just having the number? (If we were offerred them after Jan 05, we didn't keep them as we swore we'd never cruise again unless it was a member cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay which we've never seen...) I just know that a boat full of fellow DVCers is going to be great! :grouphug:

[JOANNEL]

Well, I just booked. we also got the phone call yesterday. I am so excited. She did say gratuities were not included. So why does this cost so much?

We took a cheap room just to get on. We just did the Veranda in Sept. This will be our first 4 day. i can't imagine doing everything in 4 days. seven never seems like enough.

I can't wait to get to know every one!!

have a great day.

[seaulater]

If I can call DVC (who is acting as my TA) to request a table size what number should I call? The main MS number? A special DVC cruise number?

We're so jazzed about going. Already starting to plan our door signs.

Hi Ursula! I am going on the cruise too! I wouldn't worry too much right now about requesting a table size. You will find as the thread gets going that there will probably be two volunteers who are willing to "link" dining reservations. Then what you do is give that person your reservation number and then they link all together and you are all on the same rotation as the other disboard'ers who want to link together and dine on the same rotation. If you know some people you want to personally link with, but not link with the same group, then you call MS at DVC and give them the other person's reservation numbers and they will link you together.

Basically, DCL will not give you information and will refer you back to DVC since the booking is with them and not with DCL. DVC is the "travel agent" in this case and everything will come through them.

[seaulater]

Well, I just booked. we also got the phone call yesterday. I am so excited. She did say gratuities were not included. So why does this cost so much?

have a great day.

I think the DVC person told you wrong as gratuities have always been included in the past, that is why the cost is so much higher than a normal cruise because it includes port charges and gratuities and you are "paying" for all the special gifts you get!

[seaulater]

Going on SSMC07 - yeah for myself, DH, DS and DD. This will be our second cruise ever, second DCL cruise and first on the Wonder. I'm so excited :cool1: Will be happer when I'm better informed - TIA for any info/tips.
I remember something about a specific dining rotation - what is the expected order: TAPT... ? Can I request in which venue we will start so that I choose which venue we see twice for dinner? I know we had a request for the 7 night cruise Jan 05. Do member cruises have themed nights as "regular" cruises. How representative of a member cruise are previous navigators? I know I'm getting way ahead here but the more information I have, the happier I am and the more flexible I will think I can be because "I am prepared." ;) I also recall we could book one each of the options at Palo - for this cruise that would be one brunch and one dinner. Should I expect similar policies on member cruises about one only with additional only per wait-list? Are wait-lists unlikely due to there being only 4 nights vs. 7 on our first cruise? I know if I call DCL and get our castaway club number(s) we can book most things 90 days out. Does each member of my party need this or can I book all four of us on a Castaway Cay excursion with only my club number. How important is it that I request an actual club card rather than just having the number? (If we were offerred them after Jan 05, we didn't keep them as we swore we'd never cruise again unless it was a member cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay which we've never seen...) I just know that a boat full of fellow DVCers is going to be great! :grouphug:

Here is just a brief rundown from SSMC06:

Sunday-sailaway celbration; Hercules the MUSE-ical; world series broadcast; theme was the DVC 15th birthday celebration.

Monday-theme was "Disney Movies". Pirate night, Golden Mickey's; guest speaker Jason Surrell; presentation-Adventures by Disney; On the Nose gameshow with presentation by DVC (you received in your stateroom an assignment for which presentation to go to in the Walt Disney Theater, but you could really go to whichever one you wanted). Arrival into Castaway Cay about 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday-Sea Day; theme was Disney Animation. Disney Dreams in Walt Disney Theater; Guest Speaker: Jim Lewis and the DVC gang; presentation Adventures by Disney; Game show-Who Wants to Be A Mousketeer? DVC edition; Conversation with Roy E. Disney (2 times in the Walt Disney Theater); Jodi Benson autograph session (voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid); Guest Speaker: Bonnie St. John (world famous athlete); Martini tasting seminiar; 2006 World series on the jumbotron; Pajama bingo; galley tour

Wednesday-theme was Disney Music. Arrived at Castaway Cay first thing. Off ship by 8:25 a.m. DVC member group photo at Boat Harbor Beach; guest speaker: Dominic Carola who is a Disney Animator (would have been Don "Ducky" Williams, but he was unable to join the cruise at the last minutes); guest speaker: Michael Collier (WDW Ambassador); presentation by Adventures by Disney; Special performances by Jodi Benson (voice of Ariel in the Little Mermaid) and Jennifer Hudson (American Idol Star and upcoming movie Dream Girls) in the Walt Disney Theater; Til We Meet Again in the atrium; 2006 world series

Thursday-eat breakfast, kicked off the ship

Okay, that's kind of a rundown from 2006. There is not any free time. There is stuff continually going on between DCL regular stuff and all the add on's for the DVC member cruise.

On the CC # and about booking excursions: You will use your DCL reservation number to book your stuff online at the 90 day mark, not your CC#. But, since it sounds like you are now just going to get your CC #'s, make sure that you call back DVC and have them attach your CC #'s once you get them so you are sure to receive your CC gift when you arrive in your stateroom. Also, if you are wanting to book excursions, but want to be in the DVC member group photo, the photo has been taken at 10 a.m. sharp in the past, so take that into consideration when making excursion reservations.

On the Palo's you can book those at 90 days out also, but I know that once the reservations opened 90 days out they went pretty fast. If you can't get one at 90 days, I would try again daily, or try again at the 75 day mark.

There is a specific dining rotation, but on the Wonder you repeat the second night twice, i.e. TAAP, PTTA, APPT. Also, right now they are still doing 5:30; 5:45 and 6 for the first seating and 8, 8:15 and 8:30 for the second seating. The rotation you pick has the assigned time, so if you want the latest first seating (i.e. 6 p.m.) the rotation is already picked for you. So you need to decide if time is most important or rotation. We like the latest main seating at 6 p.m. so we did Parrot Cay twice, but since dry dock they have taken out all the leaves and darkened the dining room and we didn't mind it at all. I know some people don't like PC as well as the other two dining rooms.

Hope that helps!

[PixiePop]

I was told gratuity was included.

[krdisneybound]

I think the DVC person told you wrong as gratuities have always been included in the past, that is why the cost is so much higher than a normal cruise because it includes port charges and gratuities and you are "paying" for all the special gifts you get!

my thoughts right on target with yours, Linda

we should have lots of fun - lots of planning to be done - lots of time to do it :cheer2:

[JOANNEL]

I hope you guys are right. That would make sense. She also said we didn't need passports but suggested we get them incase we have to fly back from the Bahama's.

Do all of you have passports?

[seaulater]

I hope you guys are right. That would make sense. She also said we didn't need passports but suggested we get them incase we have to fly back from the Bahama's.

Do all of you have passports?

Yes, we have passports. They are going to be required soon by the US Government, I suggest you just go ahead and get them now and not worry about it later. One more thing you could check off your list!

[krdisneybound]

geez - I think I better check my passport - my 10 years is just about up

thanks for reminding me.

[JanDave]

Welcome to all cruisers just joining the thread.

Seaulater - your description of the 2006 itinerary has tired me out!! I know DH and I will skip some stuff in order to take advantage of the sunshine.

Cruising is just me and DH. This will be our 8th DCL cruise. We are so looking forward to it. We just got off the Magic on 12/2.

Jan

[seaulater]

Welcome to all cruisers just joining the thread.

Seaulater - your description of the 2006 itinerary has tired me out!! I know DH and I will skip some stuff in order to take advantage of the sunshine.

Cruising is just me and DH. This will be our 8th DCL cruise. We are so looking forward to it. We just got off the Magic on 12/2.

Jan

You are exactly right! The sea day was so busy, there was no time for relaxing! I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 days at CC! Especially the adult beach!

Just an FYI-I am cruising with my friend, krdisneybound (Kay). This cruise will be my 11th (I think). I have two cruises currently scheduled right now prior to this one (one with my daughter Jamie-our mother/daughter mini-vacation for her 15th birthday in April and the other one on May 12 for 2 weeks taking the Magic to the Med!) My DH can't come on the member cruise. The timing is bad for him and our daughter is in school, so that's why Kay and I are cruising together!

I have some friends who are cruising on the member cruise for the 1st time, so we got their 2nd room that they were able to book, since techinically we wouldn't have really booked until this Saturday. So we are booked and ready to go.

And besides, I'm meeting another of my cruise buddies this weekend in New York City (Georgie and Joe) and we are going to Beauty and the Beast on Broadway! So, now I don't have to worry about calling DVC this weekend!

YIPPEE!

[madaboutpooh]

I was curious or rather my daughter was curious as to whether there will be kids on this cruise since most kids are in school this time of year. She is 10 and will be days from turning 11 when we cruise.

[krdisneybound]

we'll have to start the countdown days soon - that is, when I find enough toes and fingers for it. :rotfl2: just kidding



You are exactly right! The sea day was so busy, there was no time for relaxing! I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 days at CC! Especially the adult beach!

Just an FYI-I am cruising with my friend, krdisneybound (Kay). This cruise will be my 11th (I think). I have two cruises currently scheduled right now prior to this one (one with my daughter Jamie-our mother/daughter mini-vacation for her 15th birthday in April and the other one on May 12 for 2 weeks taking the Magic to the Med!) My DH can't come on the member cruise. The timing is bad for him and our daughter is in school, so that's why Kay and I are cruising together!

I have some friends who are cruising on the member cruise for the 1st time, so we got their 2nd room that they were able to book, since techinically we wouldn't have really booked until this Saturday. So we are booked and ready to go.

And besides, I'm meeting another of my cruise buddies this weekend in New York City (Georgie and Joe) and we are going to Beauty and the Beast on Broadway! So, now I don't have to worry about calling DVC this weekend!

YIPPEE!

[PBader]

I was told that the gratuity was included also. MS said that it includes housekeeping and your waiters, but didn't drink servers etc...
We won't do all of the activities either---I enjoy my quiet time.
Paula

[trishy]

I was curious or rather my daughter was curious as to whether there will be kids on this cruise since most kids are in school this time of year. She is 10 and will be days from turning 11 when we cruise.

We're bringing the family!!! We'll have an 11 yr. old, 14 yr. old, and 18 yr. old at the time of the cruise. All of them girls. Glad to see there will be other kids there!!! We are really looking forward to this special cruise.

[krdisneybound]

good morning cruisers

Glad to see so many new names on this cruise. I'm sure each day we'll get more people joining

Have a wonderful day

[krdisneybound]

LINDA: Have a wonderful time at Beauty and the Beast. Say "HI" to Georgie and Joe for me

[JOANNEL]

Linda, Have fun in NY. that where I am originaly from. I love the city at Christmas time.

This cruise will be our 5th. 4th Disney. Did the Mariner one summer for a cheaper cruise. It will be just me(48) and dh(50). We have two boys but they will both be in college. We just did the double dip in Sept. I am looking forward to 2 days in CC again.

have a great day.

[madaboutpooh]

We're bringing the family!!! We'll have an 11 yr. old, 14 yr. old, and 18 yr. old at the time of the cruise. All of them girls. Glad to see there will be other kids there!!! We are really looking forward to this special cruise.

Oh, my daughter will be truely excited to hear that there will be kids on the cruise and one that is close to her age.

[seaulater]

I was curious or rather my daughter was curious as to whether there will be kids on this cruise since most kids are in school this time of year. She is 10 and will be days from turning 11 when we cruise.

On the SSMC06 there were 1951 passengers on board (and another 998 crew). Of the 1951, about 300-350 kids. Lots of younger kids. My daugher (14) no longer goes on them because she can't miss high school. Her last cruise was SSMC05 which was over Labor Day. She wants to go, but is worried about keeping her grades up for college since now it is all so competitive for kids to get in the college they want!

I'm sure that the pre-teen and teens will be able to find someone to hang with. The best place for the teens is The Loft. Even though there may be a small group, they will have a great time!

[Thistle]

We initially got the email that said we were out, then got the phone call that we were IN! So we're booked in a cat 11 on deck 5. We won't be bringing any children with us this time. Just the two of us. We might be bringing a service dog in training though. We get our new one next month so we'll see what kind of temperment she has first.

[DVCkidsMOM]

MadaboutPooh:
Our son will be 9 and our daughter 7 at the time. The only other cruise we were on was in late January after "school" was back in and there were plenty of kids. I'm sure your daughter will make friends in the "lab" or you could request to be seated with another family at dining. This is Disney - there will be kids and some of us adults will be having fun like kids ;-)

[madaboutpooh]

Glad to hear that there will be plenty of kids on the cruise. Since we had a hard time getting our daughter to leave the clubs I know she will meet some there. Thanks.

[krdisneybound]

just popping in to say "HI" to all


Linda, let us know how NY is today - hope your flight was a good one

[cobbler]

Pixie dust was sprinkled upon us and we were able to book :) :)

We are booked for a catergory 8 on deck 6. We chose the late eating assignment. It will be me, dh, ds11 (at cruise time) and ds6 (at cruise time).

This will be my family's first ever Member cruise, Disney cruise and first ever cruise period. Quite excited.

[Jaypd]

Hey All!!!!! Just popping in to say my family and myself are also on board. We are DW DS 7 DS 3 (time of cruise) I have to go back and read all these other posts make sure I did not miss anything. :cool1:


Also I have a question for anyone who did the member cruise before. We will also be on the 3 night cruise before the member one. We have the choice to get off and right back on the ship or do the normal check in. Will we miss anything given out upon check in? Other then the Castaway Club stuff which we are not worried about. I want all the goddies we can get from DVC pirate:

[Copper3]

Hey All!!!!! Just popping in to say my family and myself are also on board. We are DW DS 7 DS 3 (time of cruise) I have to go back and read all these other posts make sure I did not miss anything. :cool1:


Also I have a question for anyone who did the member cruise before. We will also be on the 3 night cruise before the member one. We have the choice to get off and right back on the ship or do the normal check in. Will we miss anything given out upon check in? Other then the Castaway Club stuff which we are not worried about. I want all the goddies we can get from DVC pirate:

I'm surprised they will let you stay on the boat but if they said you could you should get all the things you would normally get checking in normally. On the SSMC06 they did not let us to our rooms until 1:30PM. If they let you stay on the boat you can be the first on line for the buffets which is a definite plus.

To all who have booked, have a great time on the cruise! DVC will make you feel very special as will DCL.

Good luck to those trying to book tomorrow! If I were anyone calling in tomorrow I would make sure to be in chat for any tips others may have found. An example would be the dead air from last year's call-in, a lot of people didn't stay on the line missing out on their chance to book.

Kay and Linda, Have a great time! I'll miss sailing with you, maybe our paths will cross when you are in WDW.

[WDWLVR]

Hey All!!!!! Just popping in to say my family and myself are also on board. We are DW DS 7 DS 3 (time of cruise) I have to go back and read all these other posts make sure I did not miss anything. :cool1:


Also I have a question for anyone who did the member cruise before. We will also be on the 3 night cruise before the member one. We have the choice to get off and right back on the ship or do the normal check in. Will we miss anything given out upon check in? Other then the Castaway Club stuff which we are not worried about. I want all the goddies we can get from DVC pirate:

Jay you should be able to stay on board and still get the special packet they hand out at the pier. Just alert guest services. They usually hand out a welcome packet with special lanyards in it, a game card which is used for a raffle later in the cruise, and some other papers talking about add on incentives and special guests. Also the KTTW cards are different with a special design. Not sure if by staying on you can get these as I know when a few people needed new ones on SSMC06 they got the regular KTTW cards as replacements.

[fireplug]

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE CALLING TODAY!

SQuid

[JanDave]

Good Morning Everyone.

I, too, second the good luck for those calling DVC today. Our tablemates from a 9/04 Magic cruise are going to call and hopefully book the member cruise. A week ago today, we were just getting off the Magic. :sad2:

Cobbler: I live in MI, too -- Williamston, half way between Lansing and Howell. We're originally from the Detroit area.

I'm heading to Ann Arbor today. Going to a performance of "Ralph's World" with three of my grandchildren. I have no idea who or what Ralph is, but being with my precious angels is the main focus for me.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Jan

[WDWLVR]

We are in! Called right at 9 am and got our preference of rooms. We had been hearing through other cruisers that many categories were already sold out, but it appears they kept some of every category for today's call in.


As I noted in the 2nd post on the thread Mark and I will set up a web page for the cruise as we have in the past. Click on the monorail green link below to see past examples. I'll post something when it is up and ask for info. Mark also likes to make buttons for everyone so you can identify your fellow DISers on the cruise.

As Linda said earlier I'm sure as we get closer people will want to organize other things like dining and we can use the web page to list those things as well. Linda also gave me a good idea on the last Member Cruise thread of updating one of the early posts. So we'll try and do that on post #2.

Looks like it will be a good mix of lots of new Member Cruisers as well as some of us who have cruised before. I think between Linda, Kay and ourselves we have some 30 cruises between us and all of the Member Cruises so we would all be happy to answer any questions.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone before we sail. We've met some great friends through these cruise meet threads and I'm hoping the same will be true this time.

[Jaypd]

Grats WDWLVR for getting on board. I think with all the people going on this cruise there will be a lot more repeats. My family themself have 7 so lets see if we can count all the repeat cruises and break 100 :)

Copper3 they make you get off go into customs and then reboard right away. You still can't go to your stateroom until 1:30 like everyone else but hey at least you beat the crowd upon boarding. :)

[cherylp3]

I made it on board as well! Deck 6 cat 11 aft - everything I wanted yay!!

[IWantMyDVC]

Stateroom 2103 checking in!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone in October!

Good luck to those calling today

[Copper3]

Congrats Mark, Mary, Todd, Cheryl, Jim and April and anyone else who has booked today!!!

Congrats to those who booked before as well.

If anyone wants to get together before or after at WDW I would be game for anything. I can help setup any meets or dinners since I live so close.

[krdisneybound]

Hi Jeff:

will miss you on the cruise. sorry I missed your call. I was in Gainesville in surgery at that time. Just got back from the second surgery for this month also. Now I am on the road to recovery - again

I'll let you know when I get to WDW so that we can meet up with each other.

[tinytink]

Hi All,

We (me, DH, DD, DSx3, DM,DDad) will all be on deck. I can't wait to chat with everyone and start planning. I guess I should make one of those countdown thingies.

Mark, Mary and, Bear..we'll be seeing you three again, too.

[WDWLVR]

Great to see more people checking in and some familiar names as well.

Jay, you are right. We should total up how many cruises all the repeaters have and I bet we do hit over 100. Lots of experience to help those who are cruising DCL for the first time. I can't think of a more perfect cruise for a first one than 2 days at CC and a day at sea.

[PKK/MJK]

We made it too! We're bringing our DD and her SO for their first cruise. We're all very excited! I was sooooo afraid we wouldn't get through with this 'new system' but we called at 9am and had our ressies by 9:45. We were lucky! We're category 6, deck 6 aft--room 6100 and 6102!! It will be such fun to share this experience with our DD! :-)

[MarkRG]

Hi all! As Mary has said I'll be making buttons for everyone. When we get home from our trip, I'll wrap up the '06 site and start up a 2007 one.

I'll make this part clear right upfront - the website is for everyone! It'll be a central point of info for any events we as a group want to organize. To list events for the cruise if you want to help and organize something, just post or pm and let me know and I'll happily add it to the website. I'll also archive the member emails there as they show up from DVC as well.

here's a look at past versions of the site:

SS Member Cruise 2003 (http://monorailgreen.info/member/Intro.htm)

SS Member Cruise 2005 (http://monorailgreen.info/member2005/index.htm)

SS Member Cruise 2006 (http://monorailgreen.info/member2006/index.htm)

For right now, here's a logo for your signature. I have in the past made 'flipping' ones for past member cruisers, but I think I'll just stick to this one for this year.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gifIt's hosted here on the Dis, feel free to put this in your signature.

[PKK/MJK]

Thanks muchly!!! I've already added the logo to our signature!

[IWantMyDVC]

Thanks for the logo Mark, but I forget how to move it to my signature. I could use a repeat lesson when you get the chance. Thank you!
:surfweb:

[trishy]

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE CALLING TODAY!

SQuid

Are you going Steve?:mickeyjum

[tinytink]

Hi all! As Mary has said I'll be making buttons for everyone. When we get home from our trip, I'll wrap up the '06 site and start up a 2007 one.

I'll make this part clear right upfront - the website is for everyone! It'll be a central point of info for any events we as a group want to organize. To list events for the cruise if you want to help and organize something, just post or pm and let me know and I'll happily add it to the website. I'll also archive the member emails there as they show up from DVC as well.

here's a look at past versions of the site:

SS Member Cruise 2003 (http://monorailgreen.info/member/Intro.htm)

SS Member Cruise 2005 (http://monorailgreen.info/member2005/index.htm)

SS Member Cruise 2006 (http://monorailgreen.info/member2006/index.htm)

For right now, here's a logo for your signature. I have in the past made 'flipping' ones for past member cruisers, but I think I'll just stick to this one for this year.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gifIt's hosted here on the Dis, feel free to put this in your signature.
mark and mary.. thanks in advance for any and all the tips you have to help make our 1st member cruise/3rd Disney Cruise an awesome one.

[tigger1bounce]

Called at 8am Cst and was on hold 15 min was worried everything would be gone. I was able to get Cat 6 Room 6548 for myself Mari, DH Bob, and twin DD Ashlynne and Allison (they will be 2 at the time of the cruise). This will the first cruise for all and my 2nd DVC cruise (2003 missed the 2005 because pregnant DD born 9/7/05). We are leaving the other 2 DD (went in 2003) and the 2 DS (never cruise) at home. I am so excited!!! :cool1: :Pinkbounc :banana: :woohoo:
If anyone can help me move the logo to my signature I would appreciate it. Thanks

[MarkRG]

If anyone can help me move the logo to my signature I would appreciate it. Thanks

Welcome!

To add it, highlight and rightclick => copy on the following line:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif

Then go to Usercp=>edit signature and rightclick => paste where you want it. :)

[Jaypd]

We made it too! We're bringing our DD and her SO for their first cruise. We're all very excited! I was sooooo afraid we wouldn't get through with this 'new system' but we called at 9am and had our ressies by 9:45. We were lucky! We're category 6, deck 6 aft--room 6098 and 6100. We were told they were connecting rooms--but I don't think they are--but at least they're next to one another.

You are right 6098 and 6100 do not connect. 6100 connects to 6102

[ashleydoc]

Hi,
we are booked on this cruise,our first cruise since the MAy 2005 Panama crossing.

Ashley & Karen
London England

[PixiePop]

I can't wait to get to know everyone. This will be our first DVC cruise. :banana:

[Stitch#1]

Congratulations Mark, Mary, Cheryl & Todd!
And congratulations to all going on the SSMC07!

My family did the last 2 member cruises and had a wonderful time!
Mark sets up a great website and I encourage everyone to visit it!

[JOANNEL]

Thanks Mark I got it in my sig line. It's too bad we have sooooooooooooo long to wait.

[IWantMyDVC]

We got the signature, Thanks again for your help.
And another :thumbsup2 for Mark and Mary's website from the last cruise.

[IWantMyDVC]

Jeff,

We look forward to seeing you again before the cruise.

[gamomof2]

Thanks for the script for the signature. Looking forward to counting down the days. DH and I are the only ones going. We hope to book while onboard for a family cruise in 2008.

[PKK/MJK]

Well, I'm quite happy now!! The DVC lady this morning definitely assigned me rooms 6098 and 6100--and said they were connecting--which I later saw they weren't. When I went on the Disney Cruise Line site and checked our ressie, it said we had rooms 6100 and 6102--so we are adjoining/connecting. :-) It wasn't that big a deal--but for some reason knowing that someone spotted the error and fixed it made me very happy! :-) So glad I checked the ressie on-line.

[JOANNEL]

We has 6100 on the Magic this September. It did have a connecting door. I am not sure which side. I am glad you are with the people in the next room. Our neighbors were so loud!!. Their kids screamed all afternoon.

It's a great location. You will love it.

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif
We sail in 45 weeks!









This little weekly countdown is something I've done on our other cruise threads. I hope you enjoy it!

[socks68]

Hi everyone, we were able to book yesterday also. It will be our third member cruise. I'll be traveling with my sister and the friend who joined us last year for a girls only trip. We are booked in 5648.

[WDWLVR]

Hi Rose! Glad to hear you guys are going again. Now you have to promise to watch your step this time and not twist an ankle again! :)

[socks68]

Hi Rose! Glad to hear you guys are going again. Now you have to promise to watch your step this time and not twist an ankle again! :)

Thanks Mary. I am avoiding all stairs and the pools this time. I've hurt an ankle in WDW and on DCL. I figure my luck will hold until the next time I get to DL.

[cobbler]

Question for all you former DVC cruisers.

Is there a benefit to chosing the early dining seating as opposed to the late dining? I chose the late dining and just now wondered if we might miss out on any shows / things to do.

And if I do decide to change to an earlier dining, is there a penelty for doing so? Or can I not change it?

Thanks

[cherylp3]

the only difference was this year was Bingo times seemed more geared for the late seating times. The only problem you may have is if early seating is full you may need to waitlist it.

[WDWLVR]

Question for all you former DVC cruisers.

Is there a benefit to chosing the early dining seating as opposed to the late dining? I chose the late dining and just now wondered if we might miss out on any shows / things to do.

And if I do decide to change to an earlier dining, is there a penelty for doing so? Or can I not change it?

Thanks

As far as shows both seatings get the same ones. Early dining sees the show after dinner (while late seating is eating) and late seating sees the shows before dinner (while early seating is eating).

On most cruises early (or main seating as it is also called) usually fills up first but since Member Cruises usually have more adults than kids that isn't always the case.

I'd say if you want early dining to call and request it now.

[tinytink]

As far as shows both seatings get the same ones. Early dining sees the show after dinner (while late seating is eating) and late seating sees the shows before dinner (while early seating is eating).

On most cruises early (or main seating as it is also called) usually fills up first but since Member Cruises usually have more adults than kids that isn't always the case.

I'd say if you want early dining to call and request it now.
Another question for all those former DVC Cruisers...

Do they still have a pirate party and all the same stuff they usually have?

I am going to have to catch up on my reading and finish reading the 2006 trip report.

[krdisneybound]

Question for all you former DVC cruisers.
Is there a benefit to chosing the early dining seating as opposed to the late dining? I chose the late dining and just now wondered if we might miss out on any shows / things to do.
And if I do decide to change to an earlier dining, is there a penelty for doing so? Or can I not change it?
Thanks

If you are used to eating late, the late dining would be better for you. Late dining is usually over by about 10 pm. You won't miss the shows 'cause you can see them before you eat.

If you are used to eating early, it would be best to call and change it right away or at least get on the waitlist.

[socks68]

If you are used to eating early, it would be best to call and change it right away or at least get on the waitlist.

We were on hold from 9am to 10:20 when I hung up and then through right away. By that time we were told late dining was all that was available. If you call now you can get waitlisted for early dining.

[JOANNEL]

We are ealrly eaters, but I like late seating. You can enjoy the pool and sun a little longer. The only thing that really stinks is the character lines. They are really long before dinner and the characters are gone after dinner.

Have a good Monday.

[WDWLVR]

Another question for all those former DVC Cruisers...

Do they still have a pirate party and all the same stuff they usually have?

I am going to have to catch up on my reading and finish reading the 2006 trip report.

Yep we still had a pirate party. On strange thing is that it was the same night as the Golden Mickey's. So Mickey was in his formal attire in our pirate picture. :lmao: There is one special night show (at least based on the past 3) with a concert. Over the years we've had Andrea McArdle, Susan Egan and Jodi Benson/Jennifer Hudson. Can't wait to see what they have planned for 2007!

[WDWLVR]

Last cruise we did a photo gallery where members could see those who they were sailing with, when and where they joined DVC and their cabin numbers. We also did a mini navigator that we gave out on the cruise that listed cabn numbers for our members. We also last year listed birthdays and anniversaries. One of our members took on the task of posting the birthday/anniversary wishes in the thread. (Yes we have a birthday board here on the DIS but if you haven't registered your birthday they won't know about it, plus this way we can say happy birthday to the spouses and kids as well as anniversary wishes.) If anyone wants to take on this task I'm sure the group would enjoy it.


We do ask that you let us know up front if you want to be part of the buttons and mini-navigator. For real names we are asking for full names but will only post your first name on the grid. Tell us what name you want on your button and buttons are for everyone - not just the DIS members of your family. There is no cost for the buttons. They are gift from Mark and myself to our fellow cruisers. Really just a way for fellow DISers to recognize each other.



So please send the following information to member2007@monorailgreen.info (member2007@monorailgreen.info)
Please put 2007 Member Cruise in the subject line.

Edited to add - please use this special e-mail address as it will keep all info in one place. We also found out the link went to our old one but it has now been fixed.








Dis name of anyone in your party that has one.(required)
Real names of eveyone in your party (first and last)(required)
Cabin number(required- request if you don't want it published)
Birthdays of everyone in your party (optional)
Anniversary date (optional)
Year you bought into DVC and where you own (optional)
Early/late seating(optional)
Where you are staying the night before the cruise? (not for the grid on the web page but so we can try and coordinate a DIS meet the night before)
Button? yes or no (specify who is getting one- be detailed!)
Photo (.jpg or .gif please)
How many times have you cruised DCL before? (so we can figure out our total experience per Jay's suggestion)
















Please note that you can send us info for the buttons and still not be listed on the web page if you prefer. We have found however that many like the photo gallery as a way to "meet" each other before the cruise.

[WDWLVR]

One last post this morning. For those of you new to the cruise forums the cruise meets threads are a place to get to know each other. As such they can get a little off topic. In the past we've sometimes posted "getting to know you questions" so we can all get to know each other before the cruise. Of course the thread is also a great place to ask questions and options from those who have cruised before. Post a little, post a lot, but please post so we can get to know you!

[jemiaule]

If you are used to eating late, the late dining would be better for you. Late dining is usually over by about 10 pm. You won't miss the shows 'cause you can see them before you eat.

If you are used to eating early, it would be best to call and change it right away or at least get on the waitlist.

We chose the late dining. We are in California and my tummy can never get used to the time difference in Florida. As it is eating at "5:00pm tummy time" (8:00pm eastern) will be a bit rough since we usually dine at home around 6:30-7:00.

Does the early dining usually fill up faster than the late dining?

[seaulater]

Hi,
we are booked on this cruise,our first cruise since the MAy 2005 Panama crossing.

Ashley & Karen
London England

Hi Ashley and Karen! It will be so great cruising with you again! Can't wait!
Talk to you soon!

[WDWLVR]

Linda - wanted to pass along a hello to you from Lisa (TKD Lisa). Mark and I ran into her on the Boardwalk while we were down at WDW this past week. She was asking about a number of the 2004 10 day cruisers and asked about you. I told her you were doing the Member Cruise and I would pass on her hello to you.

[krdisneybound]

Glad to see you back home safely, Linda - hope your w/end in NY was wonderful.

Hi Ashley and Karen. Glad you are on the member cruise with us

[seaulater]

We chose the late dining. We are in California and my tummy can never get used to the time difference in Florida. As it is eating at "5:00pm tummy time" (8:00pm eastern) will be a bit rough since we usually dine at home around 6:30-7:00.

Does the early dining usually fill up faster than the late dining?

Yes, the early dining always fills up first. If you are debating, I would get DVC to get you waitlisted now for the early dining cuz you can always switch to late later.

In the past, when we have booked with a shorter time period and been forced for the late dining, we have wait listed the early one, and it has always come through (just remember, you might not know until a week or two before that you got moved to the early dining!)

Well.........I'm back from New York. Had a great time with Georgie and Joe on our mini-meet. Loved Beauty and the Beast. It was extremely cold and windy, but I layered my clothes and it was fine. The windows at MACY's were awesome!

Glad to see so many get through and get the cruise booked. We will have a great time. I am going to email DVC about some issues I had with the 06 member cruise that hopefully they can resolve before 07 (i.e. like Mary said, having Golden Mickey's on Pirate Night and having the characters in Golden Mickey attire instead of pirate stuff). There is no reason that DVC doesn't have the clout to get DCL to switch Disney Dreams with Golden Mickeys so the characters can wear pirate stuff on pirate night. How hard can it be?

Also, hopefully, DVC will improve their communications with all of us for the 07 cruise, since the communications were poorly lacking for the 06 cruise. I know for me, I like knowing before I book my plane reservations whether they are doing a member get together prior to the cruise (i.e. Downtown Disney in September 2005 prior to the cruise) (also theme nights for dressing, etc.)

Hopefully with all the feedback they have received and additional feedback forthcoming they will be proactive in 2007 and realize that the members want to know this information so they can plan accordingly!

Okay, back to work. Just wanted to check in for the day.

Thanks to Mark and Mary for buttons, rosters, etc! It really helps in getting to know everyone.

Looking forward to cruising with everyone in 07!

[seaulater]

Linda - wanted to pass along a hello to you from Lisa (TKD Lisa). Mark and I ran into her on the Boardwalk while we were down at WDW this past week. She was asking about a number of the 2004 10 day cruisers and asked about you. I told her you were doing the Member Cruise and I would pass on her hello to you.

Thanks! Of course I remember her. I'll be at WDW for the half-marathon in January if anyone is planning on being there!

[WDWLVR]

Glad to see so many get through and get the cruise booked. We will have a great time. I am going to email DVC about some issues I had with the 06 member cruise that hopefully they can resolve before 07 (i.e. like Mary said, having Golden Mickey's on Pirate Night and having the characters in Golden Mickey attire instead of pirate stuff). There is no reason that DVC doesn't have the clout to get DCL to switch Disney Dreams with Golden Mickeys so the characters can wear pirate stuff on pirate night. How hard can it be?

Also, hopefully, DVC will improve their communications with all of us for the 07 cruise, since the communications were poorly lacking for the 06 cruise. I know for me, I like knowing before I book my plane reservations whether they are doing a member get together prior to the cruise (i.e. Downtown Disney in September 2005 prior to the cruise) (also theme nights for dressing, etc.)

Hopefully with all the feedback they have received and additional feedback forthcoming they will be proactive in 2007 and realize that the members want to know this information so they can plan accordingly!



Linda - you are right. Communication and details were the keys to what was lacking on the '06 cruise. We sent in a letter when we got home as well and hopefully they will listen to everyone's feedback.

DVC if you are reading here's a few simple requests:

1) Monthly e-mails to us just telling us the basics. I know you like to surprise us but if we could know things like will there be a party the night before, what day/time the group picture will be taken on, and what are the times we'll be at CC. All of these can help us planners.

2) Please don't delay our arrival at CC just to sell points. I know it is a business but we love the island and love to spend time there.

3) Please pay attention to the details like having the right ports on the embarkation pictures.

4) If you are going to have some kind of treasure hunt (like the rocks) make it something that won't play into the greed of a few. Some, like Linda, were lucky and got one. Many however didn't because of what we heard was one family gathering up the majority of them before everyone else hit the beach. Maybe more rocks, but only a few with prizes and only one per family allowed to be redeemed. Or go back to beach balls all over the beach so that each family can get one.

I'm sure others have ideas as well.

[gamomof2]

When we were able to book on Dec 2 I specifically asked about a pre-cruise get together like in 2005. The MS rep said that nothing was "definite" yet. I guess that's better than "nothing's planned".

We were in WDW in Oct 2005 and onsite the weekend of the pre-cruise party. I think that's what geared up DH to want to go. 2006 we didn't have the points or money when it was time to book. So this year we were bound and determined.

2007 here we come.

But we do have some stops before cruise time. We'll be at OKW Dec 28 (going to MM that night) then move over to SSR on the 29th. Then on Jan 3 we're doing one night at AKL for our 11 yr old DD. We'll Spring Break in Daytona Beach and do a day trip to WDW and then July 4th we're there on our way to Ft. Lauderdale (actually Weston).

So October we'll be our 4th time to WDW. Maybe we can squeeze in Christmas again next year. 5 times in one year, that will be a new family record.

[trishy]

Not having done a member cruise before and not understanding the overall issues involved, I still have to say those are sensible suggestions Mary and I hope DVC takes them seriously. One family was allowed to take multiple gifts from CC? That's plain selfish and greedy. I like the 'one per family' idea.

Question about the information you requested from each cruising family: Will this information, including pix, be viewable by only the 2007 Member Cruisers?

Looking forward to meeting everybody! I know it seems like we've got a long way to go, but it'll be here before we know it.

[WDWLVR]

Not having done a member cruise before and not understanding the overall issues involved, I still have to say those are sensible suggestions Mary and I hope DVC takes them seriously. One family was allowed to take multiple gifts from CC? That's plain selfish and greedy. I like the 'one per family' idea.

Question about the information you requested from each cruising family: Will this information, including pix, be viewable by only the 2007 Member Cruisers?

Looking forward to meeting everybody! I know it seems like we've got a long way to go, but it'll be here before we know it.

Thrishy - they weren't really gifts. DVC "hid" some special rocks on CC on our second day and we got a not about it in our rooms the night before. Linda might know more of the story since she was on the beach earlier than us. What we heard was that there were a limited number of these rocks (I heard everywhere from 40-80) and that one family took about 18 of them. Running down the beach and grabbing them as they went. By the time we got off they were no where to be found. You then could claim a prize which I believe was a hat for each rock. We would have just liked the rock as a momento of the cruise. Oh well.

As for the info - it is on our own site which doesn't get a ton of hits but also isn't password protected. We did the password protected version on our 2004 cruise and the feedback we got was most preferred we didn't do that. While we insist on a cabin number if you want a button (so we can deliver it if you don't make the meet) it doesn't have to be published on the site if you don't want it. Also things like birthdays you can just put month and days or the full date. It also doesn't have to be a birthday or anniversary on the cruise. Like I said last year we had someone who would post on the thread when it was someone's birthday just to celebrate.

So how much you want to share is up to each person. We have found in all the times we've hosted these pages (2004 10 day cruise, 2005 Member Cruise, 2006 Double Scoop Cruise,and 2006 Member Cruise) that it has helped people find other families with kids the same ages or someone from the same home resorts etc. On both the 2005 and 2006 cruises we found we had two families that had wives named Ann Marie (one was Annmarie) both married to men named Tom. Both owned at Beach Club and had joined the DIS at pretty much the same time. A true Twilight Zone moment!

[krdisneybound]

That was awful having Golden Mickeys and Pirates the same night.

What in the world were they thinking.

Hoping your e-mails/letters make them think that one again

[tinytink]

Linda - you are right. Communication and details were the keys to what was lacking on the '06 cruise. We sent in a letter when we got home as well and hopefully they will listen to everyone's feedback.

DVC if you are reading here's a few simple requests:

1) Monthly e-mails to us just telling us the basics. I know you like to surprise us but if we could know things like will there be a party the night before, what day/time the group picture will be taken on, and what are the times we'll be at CC. All of these can help us planners.

2) Please don't delay our arrival at CC just to sell points. I know it is a business but we love the island and love to spend time there.

3) Please pay attention to the details like having the right ports on the embarkation pictures.

4) If you are going to have some kind of treasure hunt (like the rocks) make it something that won't play into the greed of a few. Some, like Linda, were lucky and got one. Many however didn't because of what we heard was one family gathering up the majority of them before everyone else hit the beach. Maybe more rocks, but only a few with prizes and only one per family allowed to be redeemed. Or go back to beach balls all over the beach so that each family can get one.

I'm sure others have ideas as well.
Mary is there a reason why we can't just stay overnight at CC? Can you bring that up in your email about the 06 cruise? I was just "Wonder"ing and I would love to have that extra time at CC.

[MarkRG]

Mary is there a reason why we can't just stay overnight at CC? Can you bring that up in your email about the 06 cruise? I was just "Wonder"ing and I would love to have that extra time at CC.

A simple reason, bugs. Armies of them come out at night, the few people who actually live on the island retreat into insect proof housing overnight to avoid them. The ship wouldn't be so lucky.

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Thanks to those who have already sent in your info. Mark and I should have the new website and gallery up by the end of this weekend. We just got back from WDW yesterday and since we didn't know until Saturday morning that we were able to make it on hadn't done any advance work like in previous years.

[sugaswim]

well... i checked the first page of threads and i didn't see one of these yet...

so, who else is going??

my mom had been telling herself for weeks she had to remember to get up and call saturday morning to book the cruise. well it was about an hour and a half after the calling could start and my dad made some comment that made me think the cruise had been booked. so i said, oh we got on the cruise then? my mom freaks out because she totally forgot about calling. so at about 1030, mom calls... gets right through... dad gets on the phone, books it, and now... we are going! :banana:

[WDWLVR]

well... i checked the first page of threads and i didn't see one of these yet...



Holly - there was a thread already started but it seemed to be falling down the page. I went ahead and merged your thread in with it.

[sugaswim]

haha thanks... i knew there had to be one somewhere.

[seaulater]

Thrishy - they weren't really gifts. DVC "hid" some special rocks on CC on our second day and we got a not about it in our rooms the night before. Linda might know more of the story since she was on the beach earlier than us. What we heard was that there were a limited number of these rocks (I heard everywhere from 40-80) and that one family took about 18 of them. Running down the beach and grabbing them as they went. By the time we got off they were no where to be found. You then could claim a prize which I believe was a hat for each rock. We would have just liked the rock as a momento of the cruise. Oh well.

As for the info - it is on our own site which doesn't get a ton of hits but also isn't password protected. We did the password protected version on our 2004 cruise and the feedback we got was most preferred we didn't do that. While we insist on a cabin number if you want a button (so we can deliver it if you don't make the meet) it doesn't have to be published on the site if you don't want it. Also things like birthdays you can just put month and days or the full date. It also doesn't have to be a birthday or anniversary on the cruise. Like I said last year we had someone who would post on the thread when it was someone's birthday just to celebrate.

So how much you want to share is up to each person. We have found in all the times we've hosted these pages (2004 10 day cruise, 2005 Member Cruise, 2006 Double Scoop Cruise,and 2006 Member Cruise) that it has helped people find other families with kids the same ages or someone from the same home resorts etc. On both the 2005 and 2006 cruises we found we had two families that had wives named Ann Marie (one was Annmarie) both married to men named Tom. Both owned at Beach Club and had joined the DIS at pretty much the same time. A true Twilight Zone moment!

Here's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The ship was to be ready for disembarking about 8:30 a.m. The night before we got the "note" in our stateroom about finding the hidden rocks that were all over CC and you could redeem them for a "prize".

Well, I got up and watched the ship come in, and since I don't generally eat breakfast, I thought what the heck, I'll go for a walk. I was fourth in line to get off the ship. The ship was cleared by customs about 8:25 a.m. and I got off.

Some people (a family) started running towards the beach. I walked briskly to the beach and actually thoroughly enjoyed being the first one to walk along the shore and took pictures of my footprints in the clean, untouched sand, which I thought was pretty awesome!

I walked the whole shoreline, since I could see the "family" running ahead of me. I got to the stingrays and ran into a guy who had about 6 in his hand at that time. He said they (the "rocks") were just sitting on top of tables, chairs, etc.

I at least knew what I was looking for, so I high tailed it over to the bike path. I walked around the airplane on the runway, but didn't find any, then got to the trail. I figured since I guy had just passed me on a bicycle, that instead of entering the trail where it divides into the "entrance" and the "exit", that I would go in through the exit and walk the trail backwards. Well, about 50 yards down the trail I found a "rock" on top of one of the barrels. The rock is engraved "Disney Vacation Club" and on the back side it has a number on it. (I figured so they could keep track.)

The rock is great. More valuable to me than the prize! After getting back on the ship I went down to the member clubhouse figuring I had the lucky rock and had just won a free cruise or 150 vacation points! :rotfl2:

Instead, they had me sign on the numbered line for my "rock" and I asked if I won the free cruise. They laughed, and said all rocks got the same exact gift. Yipee, I thought. Then they handed me a hat that says something like Castaway Cay Twice the Magic (which I got to thinking afterwards was the hat that they sold on the first Magic voyage that went to CC twice for the first time earlier in 2006). Figured they were leftovers that they brought over to the Wonder and that DVC bought them for some outrageously low price from DCL in a blowout sale.

I was told by the member clubhouse that there were 80 rocks placed out on CC by the CM's prior to everyone disembarking.

I suggested to DVC that they put a limit i.e. one per person, or one per stateroom, since one family had gathered up 18 rocks before 90% of the guests had even gotten off the ship.

I put my "rock" in my curio cabinet, because the rock is actually more valuable to me than the hat.

I'll take a picture of the "rock" and post it here so everyone can see when I am home and not at work!

Have an awesome day everyone.

[tinytink]

A simple reason, bugs. Armies of them come out at night, the few people who actually live on the island retreat into insect proof housing overnight to avoid them. The ship wouldn't be so lucky.
ewwe, no I would rather be at sea. I had no idea there was a bug problem, as usual thank you for your valuable insight.

[krdisneybound]

I suggested to DVC that they put a limit i.e. one per person, or one per stateroom, since one family had gathered up 18 rocks before 90% of the guests had even gotten off the ship.



that must be the family that put them all on e-bay for auction. there were a lot of them up right after the cruise. all of them did not sell, tho

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Found us on page 2. :sad1:

I must apologize as I think I got carried away with the excitement of a new cruise and posted about things I've done for past cruises. Mark and I will still be doing the web site and buttons as that is what we really love to contribute. Kay had pointed out to me that Linda has done navigators on her cruises as well so I've contacted Linda and she is more than happy to do them for us. You can still send the info to me since it is much the same info we need for the buttons and I'll pass it on to Linda when she's ready.

So please forgive me for my overactive enthusiasm.

A question for those of you who have cruised DCL before. Did you get involved with your cruise group, and if so what things did you/they do?

Also to Linda's earlier suggestion. Is anyone who posted on the first page of the thread willing to update it with info as the group makes decisions? Kind of a clearing house to work in conjunction with the website. Linda said this worked well on the repo cruise and 11 day cruise threads she's been on.

[sugaswim]

Here's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The ship was to be ready for disembarking about 8:30 a.m. The night before we got the "note" in our stateroom about finding the hidden rocks that were all over CC and you could redeem them for a "prize".

Well, I got up and watched the ship come in, and since I don't generally eat breakfast, I thought what the heck, I'll go for a walk. I was fourth in line to get off the ship. The ship was cleared by customs about 8:25 a.m. and I got off.

Some people (a family) started running towards the beach. I walked briskly to the beach and actually thoroughly enjoyed being the first one to walk along the shore and took pictures of my footprints in the clean, untouched sand, which I thought was pretty awesome!

I walked the whole shoreline, since I could see the "family" running ahead of me. I got to the stingrays and ran into a guy who had about 6 in his hand at that time. He said they (the "rocks") were just sitting on top of tables, chairs, etc.

I at least knew what I was looking for, so I high tailed it over to the bike path. I walked around the airplane on the runway, but didn't find any, then got to the trail. I figured since I guy had just passed me on a bicycle, that instead of entering the trail where it divides into the "entrance" and the "exit", that I would go in through the exit and walk the trail backwards. Well, about 50 yards down the trail I found a "rock" on top of one of the barrels. The rock is engraved "Disney Vacation Club" and on the back side it has a number on it. (I figured so they could keep track.)

The rock is great. More valuable to me than the prize! After getting back on the ship I went down to the member clubhouse figuring I had the lucky rock and had just won a free cruise or 150 vacation points! :rotfl2:

Instead, they had me sign on the numbered line for my "rock" and I asked if I won the free cruise. They laughed, and said all rocks got the same exact gift. Yipee, I thought. Then they handed me a hat that says something like Castaway Cay Twice the Magic (which I got to thinking afterwards was the hat that they sold on the first Magic voyage that went to CC twice for the first time earlier in 2006). Figured they were leftovers that they brought over to the Wonder and that DVC bought them for some outrageously low price from DCL in a blowout sale.

I was told by the member clubhouse that there were 80 rocks placed out on CC by the CM's prior to everyone disembarking.

I suggested to DVC that they put a limit i.e. one per person, or one per stateroom, since one family had gathered up 18 rocks before 90% of the guests had even gotten off the ship.

I put my "rock" in my curio cabinet, because the rock is actually more valuable to me than the hat.

I'll take a picture of the "rock" and post it here so everyone can see when I am home and not at work!

Have an awesome day everyone.


hahaha i had the funniest picture in my head while i was reading this of people running around looking for rocks :lmao:

[krdisneybound]

geez, I did a post earlier and it's not here. guess it fell in the twilight zone.

anyway, I was just bumping us up in case new cruisers wanted to find the thread.

hope everyone has a good day

[krdisneybound]

hahaha i had the funniest picture in my head while i was reading this of people running around looking for rocks :lmao:


funny you said that, Holly - I was thinking the same thing. :rotfl:

Next time Linda is going to have to walk a little faster :lmao:

[MarkRG]

geez, I did a post earlier and it's not here. guess it fell in the twilight zone.

anyway, I was just bumping us up in case new cruisers wanted to find the thread.

hope everyone has a good day

This might have something to do with it. They upgraded the boards this morning.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15959259

[krdisneybound]

This might have something to do with it. They upgraded the boards this morning.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15959259

oh - I thought something like that. It happened also when I was doing the b/day wishes for the day also. Thanks :thumbsup2

[JOANNEL]

It really amazes me when people are so greedy.

[seaulater]

It really amazes me when people are so greedy.

You got that right! It's like going into the DVC member get together on the ship and people walk in before you and take about a dozen pens and lanyards. Like they really have 12 of their closest friends/family with them NOT!

And of course, shortly thereafter, they show up on EBay along with the luggage tags we get for FREE!

Been a busy day, trying to get November financials out so I can get moving on to getting year end stuff on my list of things to do. I can't believe I've got to close out another year. Where has the time gone?

Guess I better finish my Christmas shopping too.............

[krdisneybound]

Good Morning Everyone:

Don't want us too far down the page today

Guess most everyone is out working or either doing their Holiday shopping

Have a good day and keep warm


Linda - glad you are home

[JOANNEL]

Hey Linda, you and I must do the same thing. I am doing month end also. I am so not looking forward to year end. Too much work!!!

have a great day.

[WDWLVR]

Hi everyone!

Got the starts of the member gallery done. Click here (http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/gallery/photoindex.htm) to get to it. It is a work in progress so any and all suggestions are welcome.

Also I heard from Ursula (Gamomof2) this morning and she's going to do the updates on page 1 -post 1. Thanks Ursula - that will be great as new cruisers join us.

[MarkRG]

FYI - If you get a white screen after posting, use your browser's back button and repost. Don't worry, it won't double post. The board is getting some upgrades and there's bound to be a few glitches.

[JOANNEL]

Mark, I am not getting and emails since they upgraded. Do we have to do anything to activate the threads we have subscribed?

[MarkRG]

The techs already are aware that email notification is broken and are working to get it back up. As of now I don't have any instructions, but I'll post if I hear anything.

[WDWLVR]

First time cruisers - the travel channel is rerunning their one hour show on Disney Cruise Line tonight at Midnight Eastern and I believe again on 12/18 at 3pm Eastern.

This show is a few years old and a few things are out of date on it (it shows the ESPN skybox that no longer exists) but still gives a good overview of the ship and what the rooms etc. look like.

[JOANNEL]

Mary & Mark, the web page looks great.

Thanks for putting it together. It's nice to see faces and names.

have a great Friday

[krdisneybound]

GOOD MORNING, CRUISERS

We are a little slow in posting and hopefully we'll get more people after the holidays are over.

Everyone is busy with other important issues right now.

Have a wonderful day

[cherylp3]

Hey everyone - Glad to be on the cruise.

Looks like we're going to have a great group.

Cheryl

[IWantMyDVC]

Well my DH and I have both gotten clearance on the vacation time for next October, so we can definitely go on the cruise

YEAH!!!!!!!!! :cheer2:

[seaulater]

Well my DH and I have both gotten clearance on the vacation time for next October, so we can definitely go on the cruise

YEAH!!!!!!!!! :cheer2:

Congrats! I always hold my breath when I turn in my vacation request also. This time I turned it in before we even booked, so I knew I was good to go!

Have a great weekend everyone!

[krdisneybound]

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

Don't do too much shopping

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Giving us a bump up from page 2. :)

Jim & April - happy to hear you have vacation cleared. You too Linda.
The benefit of working in a small office is my boss is really flexible. She knew about the cruise before we left for WDW and she's good with the time off. I just did up the 2007 vacation calendar for the team yesterday so my days will be the first ones on it.

[jemiaule]

Are most of you doing a few days at WDW too? We are only doing a couple before the cruise so we can do F&W at Epcot.

[krdisneybound]

Are most of you doing a few days at WDW too? We are only doing a couple before the cruise so we can do F&W at Epcot.

not sure if I will or not. As it gets closer, I'll make decisions.

My preference would be to stay before, as opposed to after

I'll be checking with my roommate and see what she will be doing also first

I am only 3 hours drive from the Port so it won't be hard to drive up the morning of the cruise

[gamomof2]

We'd like to come in early before the cruise. We could book SSR now but were wondering if cruisers try to stay at the same resort to make "meets" easier.

[WDWLVR]

We're driving down and have booked 2 nights before the cruise at Boardwalk (our home resort) and 2 nights after there as well.

Having a pre-cruise meet is always fun. Really up to what the group wants to do. In 2005 we had it at Pleasure Island right before the DVC party. Since there was no party last year we had it at the Beach Club which seemed convenient for a lot of people. I know we had a lot who stayed at BCV for the pool, some at BWV, some at OKW and some at SSR. We also had a number of members who live in the area so just came over for the meet.

We got plenty of time to plan but does anyone have ideas for where they would like to have a meet this year? Of course subject to change if DVC does throw us a party the night before.

Can't wait to see everyone's ideas.

[cherylp3]

It depends, I think beach club worked out well this year. Other ideas is the room at Wilderness Lodge ( iron spike room ) or perhaps somewhere at Saratoga.

[DaveH]

Our current thinking is the night before and the night after. Not sure yet.

[toddp3]

It depends, I think beach club worked out well this year. Other ideas is the room at Wilderness Lodge ( iron spike room ) or perhaps somewhere at Saratoga.

I think taking over the lounge at Saratoga wouldn't be so bad. Of course, that might be the Blackberry Lemonade talking.

[ashleydoc]

We will be staying at Old key West resort (home resort) for quite a few days before ,as coming from the UK we try to Vacation for 2 or more weeks when we can.So would love to meet up night before.

Will also be at OKW end Feb beginning March 2007 for anyone who would like to meet up then.

Ashley & Karen
London England

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif
We sail in 44 weeks!

[gamomof2]

Since it's during F&W I think I'm going to get 2 days before at SSR and then try to move it over to BCV at the 7 month mark.

We received our confirmation in the mail from DVC this weekend. It had 3 or 4 sheets of paper with info on it. Just makes it seem more real I guess.

[WDWLVR]

For those of you who have never cruised on DCL before I highly recommend going to the website www.disneycruise.com (http://www.disneycruise.com) and ordering the free DVD. I ordered the latest edition and it came this past week. Not feeling very well today (nothing major just a nasty cold) and I popped it into the DVD player. Really brought back some great memories of our cruises and makes me really look forward to October! sure is a nice way to spend an otherwise bad day. :)

[madaboutpooh]

We are going to be spending 5 nights at WDW either at Saratoga, which is our home resort or at Boardwalk. This might be a stupid question but what is F&W?

[WDWLVR]

We are going to be spending 5 nights at WDW either at Saratoga, which is our home resort or at Boardwalk. This might be a stupid question but what is F&W?

Food and Wine festival in Epcot. Booths set up by many countries with sample size portions of food, wine, and beer from those countries. A very popular event!

[cherylp3]

also there are food pairing dinners and parties for those who drink.

[madaboutpooh]

That sounds great. What are the dates? How much does it cost?

[WDWLVR]

That sounds great. What are the dates? How much does it cost?

Here is some info for you: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/index.htm

This talks about the 2006 food and wine festival but will give you a good idea of all that goes on.

[JOANNEL]

Good Morning every one!!!!

Only one week until Christmas. Is every one ready? Not even close here. My boys are 18 & 21 so they are gettig harder to buy for. I don't buy clothes any more since they are so picky.

Have a great day!!!!

[cherylp3]

Some of us are already Celebrating! My husband and I are Jewish, so we celebrate Hanukkah which began on Friday and lasts for 8 days.

Cheryl

[JOANNEL]

Then Happy Hanukah to you!!! I hope you have a great Holiday !!

[seaulater]

Happy Monday everyone! Just finished celebrating Christmas all weekend with DH grown kids and grandkids. Now, to get ready for this weekend!

My tentative plans for coming before and staying after will probably be that I fly out on the 5 p.m. flight after work on Friday night the 19 so I arrive around 11 p.m. (that way I have an extra day built in just in case of bad weather). Then I'll have all day Saturday before heading to the port. I have never stayed at the port on Saturday night and watched the Wonder come into dock or watch the Magic leave on Saturday, so that might be a fun thing to do. However, guess it depends on DVC and whether they will have a DVC meet on Saturday or not.

Afterwards, I don't like flying home on Thursday since I lose the whole day and then it's not worth it to just work Friday, so I plan on staying through the weekend, hanging out at the food and wine festival and the concert series (saw Gloria Gaynor this year!) at Epcot and then flying home on the Sunday night 5 p.m. flight.

I'm just a creature of habit. Usually book the same flights everytime.

[trishy]

Happy Hanukkah

We're staying at VWL before the cruise and most definitely partaking in the F&W @ Epcot. It's a great time to be in WDW. We went last year and had a blast. The family just got back from WDW/DCL last night and had a great time (got to watch the shuttle launch, too), but we all agree that October is better.

Ready for Christmas for the most part. Just have to pick up odds 'n ends but other than that, the main part is done. Christmas could come tomorrow and I'd be ready.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I love this time of year.

[cherylp3]

Thank you Happy Holidays to all of our fellow cruisers.

[jemiaule]

Getting there....slowly but surely!!

Last night my mom watched DS6 and DS4 so we could wrap gifts and get them under the tree. At the very end we were almost out of paper so the last few gifts look kinda patchwork crazy as used left over bits to finish up LOL!

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc and so on everyone. :thumbsup2

[madaboutpooh]

Here is some info for you: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/index.htm

This talks about the 2006 food and wine festival but will give you a good idea of all that goes on.

Thanks for the link. It looks like a lot of fun.

[krdisneybound]

Just popping in to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all

Can't get out to shop but still have the warmth of family and friends to be around constantly

[IWantMyDVC]

With work, school, my two ds, and dd - I wish the cruise left right away - none of this waiting until October stuff; a vacation would be great.

[krdisneybound]

April: it will be here before we know it - after the first of the year, it goes pretty quickly

[cobbler]

Bumping us up.

Watched the Travel Channel special. Makes me excited about going. Also ordered the DVD. This will be our family's first time cruising - ever.

Anyway, I posted a thread on the regular forum about stepchildren and passports, if any of you have expirence in this area can you give it a quick read and let me know on a few questions I have please??

Thanks!

Hopefully will get my email for the website done soon, busy time ya know ;)

[cobbler]

Another question for all you past cruisers.

What are the restaurants and how will the rotation work?

What are some different costs on the ships that we might want to plan for? Pictures cost about. . . ? What kinds of souvineirs do they have?

Any info a cruise virgin might like to know ;)

[Bob74]

Hello all, I been a long time reader of these forms, but this will be my first post.

My DW, DD, and child on the way will be joining you all on 2007 member cruse. It will be DW and my third cruse, but our first member cruise. We cant wait.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

[IWantMyDVC]

Where are folks staying before the cruise? If we are going to meet up like last year, I just want to make sure we pick a resort reasonably close . . . we can only book at Boardwalk right now, but then we can always try and switch at the 7 month mark!

[seaulater]

Another question for all you past cruisers.

What are the restaurants and how will the rotation work?

What are some different costs on the ships that we might want to plan for? Pictures cost about. . . ? What kinds of souvineirs do they have?

Any info a cruise virgin might like to know ;)

Welcome! I am so excited when I hear someone is going on their first cruise! You will LOVE IT!

The restaurants are Triton's, Animator's Palate and Parrot Cay. You will be assigned a dining rotation. The second restaurant is repeated the third night, so for the 2006 Member Cruise we did Animator's the first night, Parrot Cay the second and third nights and Triton's the fourth. You will see us cruisers refer to "rotations" as APPT, or PTTA, or TAAP (first letter of the restaurants). As we all talk on the boards, you will probably see someone "volunteer" who wants to link reservations. That means that you one person calls and gets all the reservations linked together so you are in the same dining room on the same night and you move together. If you want to do that, in the past Mark and Mary have posted on their website (the link at the bottom of their signature) so you can check that kind of stuff out. Also, we have someone who has posted that they would update page 1 of this thread with that information also. I am not sure what post that would be, but it will be on page 1. Then I just bookmark that page and click on it so I have the latest updates easily at my fingertips.

On the photos from Shutters. When I was on the ship in October, the prices (for packages) were:

10 6 x 8 $84.95
15 6 x 10 $119.95
20 6 x 8 $149.95

What I do is keep gathering all my photos together, I buy a package up front, and then I take the ones I am thinking of keeping to my stateroom, discard the ugly ones, and keep looking each day. When I reach my 10, I start laying out the photos on the bed in my stateroom and then start taking back photos and they will let you trade back in for another one you like better. For me and my family, this seems to work pretty well. Especially since the walls in Shutters become covered with hundreds if not thousands of pictures in a very short time!

I hope this answers a couple of your questions. Keep asking away, as many of us here has cruised many times before.

[WDWLVR]

Hello all, I been a long time reader of these forms, but this will be my first post.

My DW, DD, and child on the way will be joining you all on 2007 member cruse. It will be DW and my third cruse, but our first member cruise. We cant wait.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

Welcome to the DIS and the DCL forums! Glad to have you joining us on the Member Cruise! Always nice to see new people joining.

[WDWLVR]

Where are folks staying before the cruise? If we are going to meet up like last year, I just want to make sure we pick a resort reasonably close . . . we can only book at Boardwalk right now, but then we can always try and switch at the 7 month mark!

I don't think the group has made a decision yet as to where we are meeting up. A few places kicked around is Beach Club (where we had it last year), the Iron Spike room at VWL and I think someone also mentioned SSR.

We're booked at Boardwalk both before and after and will most likely keep those reservations as we want to do F&W at Epcot.

[seaulater]

Bumping us up.

Watched the Travel Channel special. Makes me excited about going. Also ordered the DVD. This will be our family's first time cruising - ever.

Anyway, I posted a thread on the regular forum about stepchildren and passports, if any of you have expirence in this area can you give it a quick read and let me know on a few questions I have please??

Thanks!

Hopefully will get my email for the website done soon, busy time ya know ;)

The passport deadline has now been pushed back to January 1, 2008.

On the stepchildren, here is what the Disney Cruise Line website says:

What is the Minor Authorization Form — and how do I complete it?
If you are traveling with a child of whom you are not the parent or legal guardian, you must complete this form and have it notarized by a notary public. You can download the form in a pdf file and print it. Bring the notarized form with you to the port terminal.

You can go to the Disney Cruise Line website for more information, but since I have stepchildren also, I found that when they were minors and cruised or travelled with us it was better to have the signed, notarized statement by my husband's ex since he was not the custodial parent. I always felt it was better to have it and not be asked then to not have it and be asked. (By the way-I was never asked for it, but then it was before Sept. 11th and things have gotten alot tighter since then).

Okay, hope that helps!

[joeleshand]

Glad to be sailing with all of you. We did not get originally picked but ms called us 2 days before Dec. 2 and said they had alot of people not responding to the 1st timers. So we jumped in. We sailed 2 years ago on the Wonder, but not a DVC cruise. Looking forward too meeting alot of memebers. I will be sailing with my ds 14, ds 4, and hubby. Whats so special about the DVC cruises other than it disney. I really like the 2 days at cc, maybe because of the 4 year old. Not too sure about our room, last time we were on deck 5, this time on deck 2. Anyone stayed on deck 2? We took the early dinner and are staying 3 nights after at Wilderness Lodge.

[cherylp3]

I stayed on deck 2 in 2005 I think, some of the rooms can have noise. Ours 2131 was not noticeable at all.

[cherylp3]

Here are a few links for you regarding deck 2
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1298825

http://www.dcltribute.com/faq/deck2noise.htm

[WDWLVR]

Whats so special about the DVC cruises other than it disney?


For us it is the special entertainment and presentations. Here are some of the highlights from our previous Member Cruises.


On the first one (2003) we got to take a tour of the ship by a Disney Imagineer who helped design and pick things for the interior spaces. We also had a concert by Andrea McArdle.

On the second (2005) we got to hear a talk by Art Linkletter, a presentation by the current WDW Ambassador and a concert by Susan Egan.

On the third (2006) we got to hear a talk by Roy Disney, a presentation by the current WDW Ambassador and a concert by Jodi Benson and Jennifer Hudson.


Looking forward to seeing what they have planned for 2007.

[cherylp3]

Bumping us up!

[MarkRG]

Hope everyone's holiday is a fun one!

A little laast minute FYI:



http://www.disboards.com/images/icons/icon4.gif IMPORTANT - ALL READ from Webmaster Alex
Over the holiday weekend we will be upgrading the boards to the latest version of the VBulletin software. This upgrade will involve major downtime for the boards. I will be bringing them down around 5pm on Friday and it will take 24 to 48 hours to upgrade them.
The new VBulletin has a host of exciting new features, this should really make the boards a better place for all of us.
Alex

[Jaypd]

Back to the top. We needed a bump

[cherylp3]

Just a note that you can pull up your reservations on disneycruise.com

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif
We sail in 43 weeks!

[WDWLVR]

Mark and I used the DIS downtime to finish up some things on the website and to do some updates to the member gallery (welcome Jaypd's family).

2007 DIS Member Cruise Web Page (http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/index.htm)

2007 DIS Member Cruise Gallery (http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/gallery/photoindex.htm)

Mark & Mary's 2006 Member Cruise Trip Report (http://monorailgreen.info/member2006/index.htm)

The main web page is where we try and keep track of all the things going on like e-mails received from DVC etc. You can get to the Member Gallery from the main page or from the link above. Also from the main page you can see our trip reports from the 2003, 2005, and 2006 cruises. We just updated the 2006 one and you can get to it directely from the link above.

Ursula if you can add the links to the 2007 DIS Member Cruise Web Page and 2007 DIS Member Cruise Gallery to your first post it would be greatly appreciated (you should be able to just cut and paste the links).

Thanks everyone!

[seaulater]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Santa brought us a 7 day cruise on the Disney Magic for Thanksgiving Week 2007! Yipee! Another cruise on the horizon.

[WDWLVR]

Nice present Linda! Santa was very good to you. Be sure and get me your info so we can add all your cruises into the count!

Also I'm giving us a bump up from page 2. :rotfl2:

[cherylp3]

Mary ( or someone else) when can repeat (castaway club) cruisers add palo excursions etc..? Also when do new cruisers add palo and excursions?

Thanks Cheryl

[IWantMyDVC]

Mary,

Thanks for the links to the cruise pages - it was nice to see who some of Dis'rs we will be traveling with are.

[WDWLVR]

Mary ( or someone else) when can repeat (castaway club) cruisers add palo excursions etc..? Also when do new cruisers add palo and excursions?

Thanks Cheryl

Those in concierge (cats 1, 2, and 3) can do all that 105 days out.

Repeat cruisers (Castaway Club members) can do all that 90 days out.

First time cruisers can do it 75 days out.

Booking starts online at Midnight PACIFIC time. So 1 am Moutain, 2 am Central and 3 am Eastern.


Jim & April - thanks! It is fun getting to know each other before cruising!

[COACHSTING]

Hi all.... Hope all had a great holiday and best wishes for 2007. We anticipate that a lot of information will be forthcoming on this board concerning the 2007 cruise. One thing we may want information on early concerns Trip Insurance. Can anyone advise if this option is worth it given the short duration of the cruise? Can anyone advise on cost and how it works? Thanks very much in advance..... Bill O'Leary

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Bill! We take out travel insurance for all our cruises. For one thing this one will still be in Hurricane season. We've traveled in hurricane season before without any problems but you never know if the trip could be changed due to it. For example on the 2005 Member Cruise we ended up disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral.

We have never had to use our travel insurance but know that when it comes to cruising it can be used for more than just a cancelled cruise. On our May '06 cruise one of our travel mates got sick and was quarantined to their room for a full day and missed Castaway Cay. She was able to file that with travel insurance and get reimbursement for that day.

We use Travel Guard which is the brochure that DVC sent with our confirmations. I know last year there was talk about other insurance companies, but honestly I can't remember who was suggested.

Hopefully others will chime in and give you their experience as well.

[JOANNEL]

Good Morning all, I hope every one had a great Christmas. I could use some sleep. I have been cooking for days it feels like. Now it's back to the diet, and back to work. It was nice to be off for four days.

We use USAA for our trip insurance.

have a great Wednesday.

[cherylp3]

Try Travelex or insuremytrip.com not sure how points are handled.

Also just so that you are aware the Travel guard does not reimburse 100%.

David from the 2006 cruise called travelguard
Here is how they compute the cost..
Take the number of points, multiply it by $5 a point. Take 5.15% of this value and that is the basic premium. For the Medical, add $3.65 per person per day.

So, for example a cat 5 room for 2 is 400 points. The insured value is $2000. The premium would be like $103. without the medical.

Here is a link to a post on the Disboards
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=882735

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

I hope we can represent the newcomers with our questions as I am sure this has all been done before by the pros. Thank you for the info on trip insurance. It is very helpful.

Now, on to our next question. We are thinking of visiting the Vero Beach Resort for a few days before we depart on the cruise. With that being said, we are really not sure where the boat sails from. I think it's Port Canaveral, but I thought that was right next to Ft. Lauderdale. Then we found info that says it is near Cape Canaveral, which is near the launch facility. Does anyone have the EXACT address for the departure point?

We are thinking of flying into Orlando, renting a car at MCO, then leaving it at the cruise departure point, then either taking the Disney bus back to WDW or renting a car again for the return so we can purchase groceries, etc.

Or, we can search for a weekly rate and then park the car at the port and bring it back to WDW on the weekly rate. Any idea of cost for parking at the port?

Are these ideas logistical?


I hope these questions help other first-timers. Thnanks in advance for any help.:thumbsup2

[MarkRG]

I hope we can represent the newcomers with our questions as I am sure this has all been done before by the pros. Thank you for the info on trip insurance. It is very helpful.

Now, on to our next question. We are thinking of visiting the Vero Beach Resort for a few days before we depart on the cruise. With that being said, we are really not sure where the boat sails from. I think it's Port Canaveral, but I thought that was right next to Ft. Lauderdale. Then we found info that says it is near Cape Canaveral, which is near the launch facility. Does anyone have the EXACT address for the departure point?

We are thinking of flying into Orlando, renting a car at MCO, then leaving it at the cruise departure point, then either taking the Disney bus back to WDW or renting a car again for the return so we can purchase groceries, etc.

Or, we can search for a weekly rate and then park the car at the port and bring it back to WDW on the weekly rate. Any idea of cost for parking at the port?

Are these ideas logistical?


I hope these questions help other first-timers. Thnanks in advance for any help.:thumbsup2

We've done this before, and it is not too hard.
Port Canaveral is just north of Cocoa beach, and it's right at the east end of the Beeline, now Beachline/528. Here's a MapQuest link: click here (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&searchtype=address&addtohistory=&country=US&location=Ph9tCWeqW80Wu3S1Sy15LKooVJjJamxTvNFY9wwf9 tv9rxd2Wf%2brnJAr4t3AKR0pMfInMd5VE%2b%2bGH7Qslj1OQ g%3d%3d)

A few car rental places offer shuttles to/from the cruise terminals, Avis, Budget, and one other I can't think of right now. We've done a one way where we drive to the port drop off party with luggage, then one person returns the car and shuttles back, very easy :) DCL has a very nice dropoff area where porters will take all your dcl tagged luggage for delivery to your stateroom.

I'm not sure of the rate, but it used to be $10 a day to park a car at the port.

[WDWLVR]

I hope we can represent the newcomers with our questions as I am sure this has all been done before by the pros. Thank you for the info on trip insurance. It is very helpful.

Now, on to our next question. We are thinking of visiting the Vero Beach Resort for a few days before we depart on the cruise. With that being said, we are really not sure where the boat sails from. I think it's Port Canaveral, but I thought that was right next to Ft. Lauderdale. Then we found info that says it is near Cape Canaveral, which is near the launch facility. Does anyone have the EXACT address for the departure point?

We are thinking of flying into Orlando, renting a car at MCO, then leaving it at the cruise departure point, then either taking the Disney bus back to WDW or renting a car again for the return so we can purchase groceries, etc.

Or, we can search for a weekly rate and then park the car at the port and bring it back to WDW on the weekly rate. Any idea of cost for parking at the port?

Are these ideas logistical?


I hope these questions help other first-timers. Thnanks in advance for any help.:thumbsup2

The following is taken from the DIS DCL FAQ (link in my signature). It is a source of lots of great info for first timers. Of course we love answering questions here too so no worries.


Directions to the Port:

Disney Cruise Line
9150 Charles M Rowland Drive
Port Canaveral, FL 32920

From Orlando & WDW:

Take I-75 south to Florida's Turnpike. Take the turnpike south to exit 254. Take the Bee Line Expressway 528 east 50 miles to Cape Canaveral. You will cross two bridges on 528. If you look to the left you should be able to see the ship. :) At this point follow the route 401 exit for the Disney Terminal.

From MCO:

Follow the airport signs to the North Exit and take the Bee Line Expressway 528 east 43 miles to Cape Canaveral. You will cross two bridges on 528. If you look to the left you should be able to see the ship. :) At this point follow the route 401 exit for the Disney Terminal.


We stayed at Vero one night before our December 2004 cruise and really enjoyed it. Vero is located about 1 hour south of Port Canaveral (which is by Cape Canaveral where Kennedy Space Center is located).

If you rent a car some of the locations have shuttles to and from their offices to the port. I know we've used Avis in the past and this is the case. I think Budget might offer a shuttle as well.

If you park at the port you will be charged a daily fee of I believe $12 per day which needs to be paid up front either with cash or a credit card.

We have in the past done a one way rental from MCO to the port and then taken the bus back to WDW. Very easy to do and you don't even have to book the bus ahead of time. If you are doing it this way you can go to guest services on the ship and let them know you want the bus back to WDW. They will then charge it to your shipboard account and put a sticker on your KTTW card.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask away with any questions!

[MarkRG]

I can't seem to fix my previous post.

Here's as near as an exact map link as I can make: New Mapquest link (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&searchtype=address&addtohistory=&country=US&location=Ph9tCWeqW80Wu3S1Sy15LKooVJjJamxTvNFY9wwf9 tv9rxd2Wf%2brnJAr4t3AKR0pMfInMd5VE%2b%2bGH7Qslj1OQ g%3d%3d)

[seaulater]

The following is taken from the DIS DCL FAQ (link in my signature). It is a source of lots of great info for first timers. Of course we love answering questions here too so no worries.


Directions to the Port:

Disney Cruise Line
9150 Charles M Rowland Drive
Port Canaveral, FL 32920

From Orlando & WDW:

Take I-75 south to Florida's Turnpike. Take the turnpike south to exit 254. Take the Bee Line Expressway 528 east 50 miles to Cape Canaveral. You will cross two bridges on 528. If you look to the left you should be able to see the ship. :) At this point follow the route 401 exit for the Disney Terminal.

From MCO:

Follow the airport signs to the North Exit and take the Bee Line Expressway 528 east 43 miles to Cape Canaveral. You will cross two bridges on 528. If you look to the left you should be able to see the ship. :) At this point follow the route 401 exit for the Disney Terminal.


We stayed at Vero one night before our December 2004 cruise and really enjoyed it. Vero is located about 1 hour south of Port Canaveral (which is by Cape Canaveral where Kennedy Space Center is located).

If you rent a car some of the locations have shuttles to and from their offices to the port. I know we've used Avis in the past and this is the case. I think Budget might offer a shuttle as well.

If you park at the port you will be charged a daily fee of I believe $12 per day which needs to be paid up front either with cash or a credit card.

We have in the past done a one way rental from MCO to the port and then taken the bus back to WDW. Very easy to do and you don't even have to book the bus ahead of time. If you are doing it this way you can go to guest services on the ship and let them know you want the bus back to WDW. They will then charge it to your shipboard account and put a sticker on your KTTW card.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask away with any questions!

We've done the same thing. Since we are always "renting" a car. We rent at MCO and then drop everyone off at the port and then DH or myself drives the car over to the car rental place and then catches the free shuttle to the ship (about 5-10 minutes max). Then when we return, we do the same, one of us gets off the ship, heads on the free shuttle to the car rental and then the rest of us get the luggage and wait at the curb. DH calls when he is ready to pull in on our cell phone so we know he is coming and what kind of car he is in!

It is alot cheaper that way then parking the car at the port AND paying rental fees and parking fees.

In addition, when the SSMC05 had to port in Ft. Lauderdale unexpectantly, all I did from Castaway Cay when we got the word was go online via the internet on the ship and change my car pickup point to Ft. Lauderdale instead of Cape Canaveral. It worked out great and actually was a little cheaper than picking up at the port. Figure that one out!

Okay, that's what we have done.

[WDWLVR]

http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/header1.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/header2.jpg http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif FIRST EDITION http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/title_ahoy.gif
We're excited to be delivering the first edition of S.S. Member Cruise 2007 Cruise News, your exclusive source for information about next year's magical Member voyage. http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/title_welcome.gif
Congratulations! You're among the hundreds of lucky Disney Vacation Club Members sailing aboard the S.S. Member Cruise 2007. Before you know it, we'll be welcoming you onto the Disney Wonder® in Port Canaveral for an incredible 4-night journey. From October 21-25, 2007, you'll enjoy two stops on Disney's private island paradise, Castaway Cay, plus a fun-filled day at sea and plenty of Caribbean sunshine. We're planning a whole new roster of special events, Guest Speakers, and Member surprises, so it's never too early to start dreaming of what might happen onboard the S.S. Member Cruise 2007!
http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/title_count.gif
You're probably already counting down the time until the cruise begins—and so are we! To help you keep track, visit dvcmember.com (http://www.dvcmember.com/) today to download your own Vacation Countdown (an option available on the homepage). Then you'll know exactly how many days remain until October 21, 2007, when the S.S. Member Cruise 2007 sets sail.
http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/title_lookout.gif
In the coming months, watch your inbox for more editions of Cruise News. In future dispatches, we'll reveal more about our special itinerary and share the details of the unique daily themes, Guest Speakers, and special events that will make our voyage unforgettable.
"Sea" you real soon,
http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/signature.gif


http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/pic1.jpg http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/pic2.jpg http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/banner.gif (http://www.disneycruiseline.com/) http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif © Disney DVC-MBR-48-E1 http://f.chtah.com/i/51/276236051/spacer.gif This is a promotional e-mail. If you do not want to receive future commercial e-mails at this e-mail address from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. (200 Celebration Place, Celebration, Florida 34747), or other Disney entities, that advertise or promote Disney Vacation Club products or services, click here.http://dvc.chtah.com/a/hBFku4bAQdwcTA3jE-$AOZbnJEU/spacer.gif

[WDWLVR]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1307002

Just saw this thread over on the CB. Kay (krdisneybound) and her DH are both in the hospital and needing some prayers.

[seaulater]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1307002

Just saw this thread over on the CB. Kay (krdisneybound) and her DH are both in the hospital and needing some prayers.

Thanks Mary for posting.

I called Kay today to find out how she and Harry are doing. As many of you know, Kay had surgery earlier this month. She was home from the hospital, however, she was unable to even hardly get to her front door and couldn't walk. She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale and the doctor had to open her back up from her surgery because she now has an infection from the surgery. She is in isolation and has an open wound on her stomach which she thinks is going to be open for 3-4 weeks. She was very positive on the phone and said she is going to beat this thing!

As many of you know, her husband, Harry, has been battling cancer, and he had developed some blood clots in his lung so he was in the hospital and the doctors were thinning out his blood. She expected that he was going to go back home (maybe today from the way it sounded.)

That's the latest. Please send pixie dust their way! I know our family will keep them in our prayers.

[Copper3]

Thanks Mary for posting.

I called Kay today to find out how she and Harry are doing. As many of you know, Kay had surgery earlier this month. She was home from the hospital, however, she was unable to even hardly get to her front door and couldn't walk. She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale and the doctor had to open her back up from her surgery because she now has an infection from the surgery. She is in isolation and has an open wound on her stomach which she thinks is going to be open for 3-4 weeks. She was very positive on the phone and said she is going to beat this thing!

As many of you know, her husband, Harry, has been battling cancer, and he had developed some blood clots in his lung so he was in the hospital and the doctors were thinning out his blood. She expected that he was going to go back home (maybe today from the way it sounded.)

That's the latest. Please send pixie dust their way! I know our family will keep them in our prayers.

Prayers and pixiedust: for Kay and Harry to get well and come home soon.

[trishy]

That's very sad. We'll be keeping them both in our thoughts. :hug:

[JOANNEL]

I would like to wish every one a happy and safe New Years Eve. Have fun and be safe.

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif
We sail in 42 weeks!

Wishing you all a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

[cherylp3]

A happy new year to all!!

[tinytink]

A happy new year to all!!

A safe and happy new year to all my fellow DVC cruisers. party:

Extra PD to Kristen and Harry wishing you two a speedy recoverypixiedust: pixiedust:

[seaulater]

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Stay safe. May all your Disney Dreams come true in 2007!

[Thistle]

:hourglass Happy New Year to all!

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Happy 2007! We sail this year!

[cherylp3]

Yay we will be sailing in 10 months!

[IWantMyDVC]

Happy New Year to all!!!!party: party: party:

[seaulater]

Happy 2007 everyone!

Mary-thanks for posting the 1st issue of cruise news! I had to change my email address from my office to home to get these and I don't check that address everyday! That is a great reminder that it is there for me.

Doing year end stuff. trying to get it posted before we leave for WDW this Thurs. evening for the 1/2 marathon on Sat!

[WDWLVR]

Mark has also added the first issue of cruise news to the website (and we'll the others as we get them). So if anyone is ever missing them you can find them there. See links in post #1

I've got a few updates to do on the Member Gallery and will try and get to those tonight. Wanted to do it over the long weekend but got caught up in the circle journal from the last Member Cruise.

Speaking of which, April if you haven't already go over to the yahoo group and sign in. Amy was looking for you.

Linda have a good time at the marathon.

[WDWLVR]

Member Gallery Update

I finally got the updates done. Please stop by the Member Gallery (link can be found in post #1) to meet:

Cobbler and her family

DaveH & CrazyBoutDisney - btw Happy Anniversary to you both! Their anniversary was yesterday 1/1!

[cherylp3]

Welcome Cobbler and Happy Anniversary to DaveH and Crazyboutdisney!

[CrazyBoutDisney]

Thank you for the anniversary wishes! We are REALLY looking forward to our first cruise!!

[COACHSTING]

Hi folks, and Happy New Year to all. We were wondering if there are any new updates on the cruise. Has it sold out? Besides the news DVC just put out, is there a way to tell if we are going to fill this cruise? We are hoping for a great experience with some veteran cruisers and some new folks trying the DVC Cruise for the first time.

Thanks so much to all of you who provide so much information and devote so much time to ensure that everyone has a great time at ALL of the DVC activities.

[tinytink]

Thank you for the anniversary wishes! We are REALLY looking forward to our first cruise!!
Dave and Beth, Happy Anniversary and welcome aboard.

We are also in VA not very far from you at all. My DSIL lives in Herndon, we should plan a mini meet before we cruise. Are you guys flying down or driving? We are still debating which will be cheaper for us since we are bring my DP with us for their Anniversary.

Theresa

[cherylp3]

for you folks near VA: Anyone near Lorton?, we're visiting PA/NY in July for Magicmeets.

To Coach: I don't think its a 100% sold out but If I recall correctly- I read on another board that someone was on a waiting list for a lower cost cabin.

[CrazyBoutDisney]

for you folks near VA: Anyone near Lorton?, we're visiting PA/NY in July for Magicmeets.

We are about 40 minutes from Lorton! Would love to try to hook up with you as you pass thru. That goes for you, too, Theresa! I work retail, so I have a rather crazy schedule, but I'm sure we can work something out. We plan to fly in October, to save time :teeth: Hoping we can spend a couple of days in the parks before heading for the boat.

[seaulater]

for you folks near VA: Anyone near Lorton?, we're visiting PA/NY in July for Magicmeets.

To Coach: I don't think its a 100% sold out but If I recall correctly- I read on another board that someone was on a waiting list for a lower cost cabin.

When I talked to DVC last week when I booked our Thanksgiving 2007 cruise, I asked cuz I was curious. The CM told me it was sold out but there was a waiting list if anyone wanted to be put on it.

I know our good friends Georgie and Joe were on the wait list for the SSMC06 and at the 90 day out mark they got in after people cancelled.

[jemiaule]

Besides the news DVC just put out, is there a way to tell if we are going to fill this cruise?

What news?

[cherylp3]

I believe the coach is referring to the first email newsletter we received. Its on page 14 or at http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/email/email1.htm

What news?

[jemiaule]

I believe the coach is referring to the first email newsletter we received. Its on page 14 or at http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/email/email1.htm

Stunning...I never got one. Better call and check what email they are sending things to.

[cobbler]

I didn't get the email either. But I sure do get the ones trying to sell me more points before the discount ends ;)

[WDWLVR]

For those of you who didn't get the e-mail did you sign up for it on the Member site? There was a link in the Member Cruise area that said to sign up for Member Cruise e-mails.

[tinytink]

We are about 40 minutes from Lorton! Would love to try to hook up with you as you pass thru. That goes for you, too, Theresa! I work retail, so I have a rather crazy schedule, but I'm sure we can work something out. We plan to fly in October, to save time :teeth: Hoping we can spend a couple of days in the parks before heading for the boat.

WE are only at 10 miles(Annandale, VA) from Lorton so if would be great to all meet up for a mini dis meet.

We still have some time to check out airfare for the 8 of us going. I really don't want to pay the same for airfare and transportation as we for the whole cruise.:confused3 If you get a good deal let me know about it please.:thumbsup2

We would also like to get there a day early and stay at one the the hotels near port so we can get there nice and early to get a low number boarding pass.:woohoo:

So if anyone else has any good ideas on the cheapest way to do this let me know. ty

[cherylp3]

We'll be in the Lorton area on July 18th at night.

Also can anyone recommend a hotel nearby for a hotel snob (me).
Usually we go Starwood but I can't tell what is close and what's not.
( We have both Starwood and Marriot rewards. ) The only place I don't want to stay is that comfort inn. When we were there years ago, they gave our room to troops deploying out.

[seaulater]

We'll be in the Lorton area on July 18th at night.

Also can anyone recommend a hotel nearby for a hotel snob (me).
Usually we go Starwood but I can't tell what is close and what's not.
( We have both Starwood and Marriot rewards. ) The only place I don't want to stay is that comfort inn. When we were there years ago, they gave our room to troops deploying out.

The Marriott opened up a new Residence Inn right by the port. Drove by it when going to get the rental car in October and asked the driver about it and he said it was very nice. He said they have a free breakfast in the morning and that you can actually leave your car in their parking lot for free while on a cruise.

Never have stayed there..........yet! We are Marriott rewards people too, so I am sure we will try it out at some point.

[cherylp3]

To clarify: Looking for a hotel in Lorton VA

[tinytink]

To clarify: Looking for a hotel in Lorton VA
I don't recommend any hotels in or near Lorton. I can't even remember any decent ones around there. I know they opened up a TownPlace Suites and a Courtyard by Marriott near I95 which is about three exits from Lorton (less than 10 miles) It is the one in Springfield 22150. here is the website http://marriott.com/search/findHotels.mi

Most of the other hotels are pretty old and I while I have not personally stayed in them I would not even recommend them.

[cherylp3]

thanks, I'm willing to travel up to 30 minutes. I plan on leaving around 10-11 to get to the train by 2pm.

[CrazyBoutDisney]

I totally agree with Theresa--don't even think of trying to get a hotel in Lorton. The ones I know up by the Springfield Mall are not too bad, but they are not new by any stretch of the imagination. Nor are they 4-star hotels. If you are REALLY picky, you might do better doing a search at either the Starwood or Marriott site. On the Starwood site, I see at least 2 that would be relatively easy for you to get to within your 30 minute limit--check out the Sheraton Crystal City or Sheraton Reston. On the Marriott site, I'd say look into Courtyard Springfield or Fairview Park Marriott. Both are closer to Lorton than the Sheratons. The Courtyard Potomac Mills is also a good possibility--easy access to I-95, it's only a few years old, and it's only 2 or 3 exits south of Lorton.

Both websites list hotels in Alexandria, Arlington, Washington DC and even Maryland, but I don't think any of them would fit your 30 minute driving limit. Distance might seem small, but given the traffic gridlock we suffer around here on a daily basis.......

[tinytink]

I totally agree with Theresa--don't even think of trying to get a hotel in Lorton. The ones I know up by the Springfield Mall are not too bad, but they are not new by any stretch of the imagination. Nor are they 4-star hotels. If you are REALLY picky, you might do better doing a search at either the Starwood or Marriott site. On the Starwood site, I see at least 2 that would be relatively easy for you to get to within your 30 minute limit--check out the Sheraton Crystal City or Sheraton Reston. On the Marriott site, I'd say look into Courtyard Springfield or Fairview Park Marriott. Both are closer to Lorton than the Sheratons. The Courtyard Potomac Mills is also a good possibility--easy access to I-95, it's only a few years old, and it's only 2 or 3 exits south of Lorton.

Both websites list hotels in Alexandria, Arlington, Washington DC and even Maryland, but I don't think any of them would fit your 30 minute driving limit. Distance might seem small, but given the traffic gridlock we suffer around here on a daily basis.......
The two in Springfield TownPlace Suites was built in 2003, the Courtyard was built in 2001, the Courtyard in Potomac Mills(city is Woodbridge) was built in 2004. I just found this the Residence Inn will be opening a new one in Springfield February 2007. I drive by the two open ones pretty often (my parents live near there, kids doc, our dentist, and credit union is within a a couple of blocks and we live 3 miles away) and there are very few cars parked at the hotel and they are not that heavily visited as some as the other hotels. Good luck in your searching.

Here are the addresses for the hotels:

TownPlace Suites
6245 Brandon Avenue
Springfield , VA 22150

Courtyard
6710 Commerce Street
Springfield , VA 22150

Residence Inn
Amhearst Ave and Backlick Rd
Springfield, Virginia 22150 USA

The one near Potomac Mills:
Courtyard
14300 Crossing Pl.
Woodbridge , VA 22192

[tinytink]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1307002

Just saw this thread over on the CB. Kay (krdisneybound) and her DH are both in the hospital and needing some prayers.
Does anyone have an update on Kay and Harry?

[CrazyBoutDisney]

Thanx for updating me, too, Theresa! I haven't been to Springfield for about a year and the only hotels I'm really familiar with there are the ones right there by Kaiser and the mall. Wasnt that a Days Inn on Commerce by ToysRUs? Once they tore down Blackies and started construction on the "Mixing Bowl", I've avoided that area as much as possible. Good to hear it's improved so much!!

[acourtwdw]

We will be staying at Old key West resort (home resort) for quite a few days before ,as coming from the UK we try to Vacation for 2 or more weeks when we can.So would love to meet up night before.

Will also be at OKW end Feb beginning March 2007 for anyone who would like to meet up then.

Ashley & Karen
London England


We will also be at OKW from 2/28-3/7 but have waitlisted for bwv because of ESPN the weekend(many of the sports stars stay there).

My sister and I will be on the member cruise again this year.

Amanda

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347SS2007.gif
We sail in 41 weeks!

[JOANNEL]

Welcome Amanda.

Can any one with more computer skills than me, tell me why the ticker sin't working?

Have a great Sunday!!! My boys go back to college today. So I spent most of yesterday baking & shopping. I will miss them, but this house will not miss all the teen age boys. It needs some serious cleaning.

[tinytink]

Thanx for updating me, too, Theresa! I haven't been to Springfield for about a year and the only hotels I'm really familiar with there are the ones right there by Kaiser and the mall. Wasnt that a Days Inn on Commerce by ToysRUs? Once they tore down Blackies and started construction on the "Mixing Bowl", I've avoided that area as much as possible. Good to hear it's improved so much!!
Hi Beth, I remember Blackies because I would go past it on the way to school. It was replaced by the Courtyard by Marriott. The TRU is now the Waterford a reception place for weddings and stuff. There are still those dingy hotels near the kaiser but I do agree the about trying to avoid the mixing bowl traffic back then, it's 1000x better now.

[Zoom]

Hi just need info abt member cruise for this yr. When, itinerary, and how long
thanks!

[cherylp3]

According to the member website the ship is full
The cruise will be October 21-25, 2007 - it is 5 days 4 nights.
If you want to get on this year I recommend you call member services to see if you can be waitlisted.
If you are dvc member and want more info go to
http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/member/justForMembers/specialEventsDetail?id=SpecialEventMemberCruise200 7DetailPage

[seaulater]

We are home from Marathon weekend, a day late, but not a dollar short! How often does that happen? Flights were overbooked yesterday, so thanks to our lucky stars, we took the bump and got 3, yes 3, $400 vouchers! So we now have $1,200 for future flights in the next year! (more trips to Orlando!)

YIPPEE!!!!!!

The 1/2 was great. I am sore, but recovering. Congratulations to our friends, Alex, Carolyn and Shari who did the Goofy Challege and completed the 1/2 and the full marathon! We also got to see our good friends, Georgie and Joe who have been on the last two SS Member Cruises!

By the way, on our flight to Orlando last Thursday night, I was sitting one row in front of Tom McAlpin and his wife (in first class). They had been skiing in Park City for the week. He told me to look for the big announcement next week on 2008 itineraries, but then our friend, Ken found the info on the boards and shared it with us while we were in Orlando. Just wondering if the Magic is headed back to the west coast or if they will take the Wonder?

I would have loved to have been able to say to Tom, oh the announcement that DCL is going back to the westcoast in May 2008? It's already been on the disboards, the secret is out! :rotfl2:

[WDWLVR]

Giving us a little bump back to the first page. I have some udpates to do to the gallery and hope to get them done in the next day or two. Work has been a little crazy. :)

[krdisneybound]

Good Afternoon friends and cruisers:

Just want all to know that Harry and I are home from the hospital.

Harry was in for 7 nights and 8 days and I was in for 21 days and in isolation the whole time. It was sure risky for a while for me.

We are both on the mend and just have to get our strength up now.

In the 21 days I went from 189.2 lbs. to 150.0 pounds and I sure don't want to lose anymore. Everyone that sees me now remarks that - WOW, how did you do that so quickly.

I don't recommend my way of losing weight to anyone. LOL - way too expensive.

THANKS FOR ALL THE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS and good vibes. They surely reached us. I shall never forget all the good wishes.

Thank you so very much.

[krdisneybound]

Just one more quick post to all: This is a good story.

OK, GUYS - here is a wonderful story:

About 1-1/2 years ago Harry and I went to K Mart to buy something in the garden dept. It was a non tax day and we paid by Chase CC. Spent under $50.

About a year later we got a notice that a Class Action lawsuit was being filed 'cause K Mart did not take the tax out and charged us. We didn't even know. So I filled out the papers and sent them in.

Back in October about a week before I went to Gainesville for one of the surgeries, I got a notice that the Class Action lawsuit was over and to fill out this particular paper and that if everyone sent in this paper, we would get approx. $130.

WELL, GREAT - $130 is free money. YEA

Then I forgot about it.

While I was in the hospital, my sister, Dianne, brought me some mail and this thick envelope came from K-Mart. I opened it and inside was:

a check for $4,000
and $800.00 in $50 gift cards.

I was SHOCKED to say the least.

Apparently a lot of people didn't send in their last paper.


SO THE MORAL OF THIS IS:

Always join a Class Action lawsuit. You never know what will happen.

I was very happy.

[seaulater]

Just one more quick post to all: This is a good story.

OK, GUYS - here is a wonderful story:

About 1-1/2 years ago Harry and I went to K Mart to buy something in the garden dept. It was a non tax day and we paid by Chase CC. Spent under $50.

About a year later we got a notice that a Class Action lawsuit was being filed 'cause K Mart did not take the tax out and charged us. We didn't even know. So I filled out the papers and sent them in.

Back in October about a week before I went to Gainesville for one of the surgeries, I got a notice that the Class Action lawsuit was over and to fill out this particular paper and that if everyone sent in this paper, we would get approx. $130.

WELL, GREAT - $130 is free money. YEA

Then I forgot about it.

While I was in the hospital, my sister, Dianne, brought me some mail and this thick envelope came from K-Mart. I opened it and inside was:

a check for $4,000
and $800.00 in $50 gift cards.

I was SHOCKED to say the least.

Apparently a lot of people didn't send in their last paper.


SO THE MORAL OF THIS IS:

Always join a Class Action lawsuit. You never know what will happen.

I was very happy.


Sounds like a cruise is in your future! :cool1:

Glad to hear all is well and you guys are hanging in there!

[sugaswim]

hello fellow cruisers! it's been several weeks since i've posted! between getting ready for the magic's 10 night christmas cruise and the marathon last week and getting a new job i've been so busy! hope everyone is doing well!

[danandnan]

:cool2: Well here we go again we booked for the 2007 members cruise. We had such a great time in 2005 we had to do it again. We will two doors down from last cruise we will be in 2576. We will stay a few days before at the Old Key West. Hope to meet a few old cruisers. CAN"T WAIT

[cherylp3]

Thank you TinkTink and Crazyboutdizney, I chose the Courtyard in Springfield VA.
I also was able to use my Marriott points and get the reservation for free (yay)