May 18, 2013 MAGIC EBTA - Who is with us?

[rbw5t]

Yep - early show followed by late dinner

Perfect, thanks everyone for the quick feedback. We'll try to get changed to the late seating!

 

[MandyGirl]

Perfect, thanks everyone for the quick feedback. We'll try to get changed to the late seating!

Great! Should be no problem changing to late. I just peeked doing a dummy booking and it was available.

 

[sdlong329]

I am not so sure about this. When our assist. server missed a night due to illness, the crew member that filled in for her told us he was pulled from the working in the galley and had never served before. While he was horrible, we knew it would be only for the night and understood. Our serve team was serving in the dining rooms after they left us, we saw them through the window while they were serving early dinner. We also had the server one time for lunch. It was a little uncomfortable.

I am not sure if the STAND BY SERVER is an industry standard, but know it exists on DCL (many situations are unique to DCL). The particular case I referenced was on the 2010 EBTA. Our long time server explained the situation to us, as did our Head Server. Our server on the 2010 EBTA is now Palo Server on the Fantasy, and our Head Server is now also on the Fantasy, working to become Palo Manager. I speak with various cast members online, send gifts and packages, so I interact with some of them on a regular basis.

STAND BY SERVERS are frequently utilized when there is a bug going around the ship, or after Cast Member Appreciation party at Senior Frog's.

When we were on a DCL Alaska cruise, we bumped into a DCL cast member during an excursion. We said we did not know they were working on the ship during the cruise ... he told us he was sailing STAND BY for a few weeks. While Stand By's do not receive gratuities when they do not work, they are provided with a pseudo-vacation of sorts.

While I have no answer as to what happened in your particular situation, I would agree, it would have been awkward (to say the least), had someone been pulled from a non server position, and charged with being some sort of server.

Steven

 

[Tink1987]

Thanks very much for the replies on dining - we have gone for the later dining due to wanting to see the shows first, then eat and then into a bar/evening entertainment

 

[MandyGirl]

Thanks very much for the replies on dining - we have gone for the later dining due to wanting to see the shows first, then eat and then into a bar/evening entertainment

Where's the LIKE button on DISboards?!?!?

 

[kcashner]

There are 2 shows and 2 dinner seatings each night. People dining late go to the 6:00 show (times do vary by a few minutes, check Navigator). People doing early dining go to 8:30 show. There is plenty of room in the theater for everyone to have a seat. There are sometimes matinees as well if there is no need for a rehearsal.

Rehearsals are held if there was a problem with the previous run of the show, if an understudy is known to be appearing that night, etc. These are closed to guests. No need for rehearsal will sometimes result in a post in the Navigator announcing the matinee. Great for families with kids.

Flying in the morning of a cruise....yes, I do personally know someone who has missed the ship. But as important to me is the fact that getting there the morning of is highly stressful for me. We have no direct flights. I have to be up well before dawn to get to the airport for one of the first flights out that day. Weather delays, lost luggage, etc.....I've flown in the day of when I had no options and when I was naive enough not to know of other choices. If at all possible, we fly in the evening before.

As to watching people miss the ship in port--yes, we've stood on deck 9 and watched people run down the pier. We've seen people ride on a small boat and be picked up by the Magic. Hint--if you hear an announcement at departure time asking a member of the XYZ family on deck 6 to please contact guest services immediately, that's a hint to go to a top deck and watch the possible action. It can mean that they got on board and someone's card didn't swipe in, or.....

A LONG time ago, the captain gave quite a stern lecture on the intercom about the all aboard time for our second port. At the gala, I said something and he remarked that "If 2500 people can get back on time, there is no excuse for 2."

We do excursions on our own, BUT I'm a compulsive nut case. I always arrange to be back at the port more than an hour before "all aboard" time. That way, if I've messed up a time change or something, I'm still covered, and I've allowed plenty of time for traffic, etc. If time were tight, I'd go with DCL.

I just looked at prices/availability for the last cruise out of Galveston before the TA....it's available, but the prices are higher than we are paying for the 14 nights. I didn't think we'd do it, but now I'm essentially sure.

Breakfast attendance--on previous TA cruises, they offered brunch on most sea days till about 1 or 2. Both breakfast and lunch food was available in Lumiere's. Yes, the consecutive time changes do start to get real old. That's one reason I prefer the WBTA.

 

[kcashner]

My DDs are 12 and 10. My 12yr old sounds a lot like your DD. My 10yr old is much more outgoing and it really helps her sister open up. I'm hoping since there will not be a massive amount of children on this cruise that my 10yr old can go to the Edge with her sister or have her sister move down to the lab with her.

Is your 10 yr old a 4th grader?

The Lab age is thru age 12, so there is never a problem with a 12 year old going into the Lab. The Edge is 11-14, Vibe 14-17.

On our last TA, there were about 400 kids, most of them quite young. A normal Magic cruise is over 1000 kids.

There are also lots of family activities that your kids can do together outside of the programming.

OK, I read thru a few more back pages....another vote for an umbrella stroller for 3 year old. If you want something more substantial for excursions, you can borrow a big one from Guest Services. An umbrella stroller is lightweight, folds up small, and you can get them for $18 at Target (also check out used stuff places). If you don't end up using it, you won't feel too bad about getting it. Maybe the parents have one already.

If you have an issue with servers, talk to the head server. That's the only way things get fixed. With the two new ships, there have been cases of people put in regular assignments too early and then pulled for more training when things didn't go well. We should have a well experienced crew on this trip (she says, fingers crossed). I've heard there will be a lot of crew transition between our cruise and the first Med. Makes sense as the airfare will be a lot cheaper for DCL that way for any CMs living in Europe. Many will return from vacation for the first Med and many will go on vacation after our cruise.

 

[twopeasonepod]

I, too, recommend an umbrella stroller. If her parents don't have one, there are some great options that go up to 50 or 70lbs that can be used long after the cruise but can be stored nicely.

About flying in...I am still deciding on that one. Our flight is non-stop so that obviously helps, but I hear those that prefer to fly in early and I get why. For me it means that some people won't be able to see me for six weeks (instead of four), so I have to think about it more. Plus if our flight is cancelled (super rare since we don't have the same weather anomalies), we can still easily get to LAX or SFO or somewhere else and jump over to IAH, as there are plenty of flights after ours out of HNL. I totally hear the concerns. I just have mine to consider as well. I'm glad I still have time to decide!

 

[NancyIL]

Yes, I understand ... some people likely HAVE missed the ship. ONE MORE TIME ... do you know them? Compare that number against how many were successful. Then, compare those figures to re chances of hiccups, or bumps in the road ... flying multiple legs increases the chance of an issue ... nothing more ... nothing less. If you are flying the night before debarkation ... you can STILL miss the ship if there are delays or cancellations with your flight ... what's your point?

No, Steven, I don't personally know the people who flew in the day the ship sailed and missed the boat. However, I have read reports of that nature on the DIS and Cruise Critic. While someone could leave home the day before and still have flight delays - the chances of being able to get to the ship are greater when more time is allowed. THAT is my point!

 

[Viking_53]

- Any reason why you are nervous about flying Southwest? We've been flying Southwest for years!

You bet - I'm a permanent star gold member on United with my million mile status. My wife is from Texas, and has had bad experiences on Southwest before we were married. I realize it's over 7 years ago, but she's more nervous than I am. I have a lot of status on United, and have been treated right. I have nothing on Southwest. BTW - we are actually flying on Air Canada back from Frankfurt - United's times didn't fit, but hoping the direct Lufthansa flight opens up to use my mileage instead.

 

[Viking_53]

Hi Mandy!

We have late dining too. We actually had main dining but the Disney TA convinced me to change to late because of the time change and the kids club. I had no idea, so I was really grateful to her for the advice. Hopefully, they'll put us close to you and maybe we'll still get another family to sit with us.

We'd be interested in linking up with others for dining as well. We have main dining, and our daughter (5) gets pretty hungry by 5:30PM. I'm not sure if the time change would make a lot of difference. Do we actually lose 1 hour/day as we go across the Atlantic on the 6 sea days? I don't know if any of us can wait until 8:00 PM to eat

 

[MandyGirl]

We'd be interested in linking up with others for dining as well. We have main dining, and our daughter (5) gets pretty hungry by 5:30PM. I'm not sure if the time change would make a lot of difference. Do we actually lose 1 hour/day as we go across the Atlantic on the 6 sea days? I don't know if any of us can wait until 8:00 PM to eat

Between Galveston and Barcelona, I believe we will be losing an hour on seven different evenings (the first is prior to Castaway Cay). An 8:30pm dining will end up being 1:30 by disembarkation. We have a 6- and 2- year old and chose late dining for that reason. We try to grab fruit at Goofy's Galley or something nutritious for them if they get hungry earlier. They did do pretty well with late dining on the WBTA, even with the time change going the opposite direction.

 

[Viking_53]

Between Galveston and Barcelona, I believe we will be losing an hour on seven different evenings (the first is prior to Castaway Cay). An 8:30pm dining will end up being 1:30 by disembarkation. We have a 6- and 2- year old and chose late dining for that reason. We try to grab fruit at Goofy's Galley or something nutritious for them if they get hungry earlier. They did do pretty well with late dining on the WBTA, even with the time change going the opposite direction.

Thanks for the (quick) reply. I've sent a note off to our travel agent to ask about this.

I'll reiterate that we wouldn't mind meeting up with some people here (whether it be early or late dining). On our last (and it was our first) cruise, we were able to have both sets of Grandparents join us on the cruise, so we had a table of 7 each night.

To summarize, it will be myself (50), DW Marci (44), and my daughter Alyssa (5).

Thanks,

Chuck

 

[kyra's mommy]

Thanks for the (quick) reply. I've sent a note off to our travel agent to ask about this.

I'll reiterate that we wouldn't mind meeting up with some people here (whether it be early or late dining). On our last (and it was our first) cruise, we were able to have both sets of Grandparents join us on the cruise, so we had a table of 7 each night.

To summarize, it will be myself (50), DW Marci (44), and my daughter Alyssa (5).

Thanks,

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

I don't know how large the tables can be. Just today, we linked up with two other families for sure and a possible third. I haven't heard for sure if nitrame is going to link up with us. So for right now, we have 11. I would certainly be open to making the group larger if it's possible. Feel free to contact me.

Erica

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

Hi

My Mum and I just booked this cruise tonight and we have second seating dining.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone

I also sent a request for the FB page.

 

[mboekhoff]

This is contradictory ... limiting the number of staterooms, but going back to make multiple deliveries to the same staterooms? It is not uncommon for groups to have 60 staterooms, and/or 100+ guests (on a 7-night cruise). Each FE group is different ... some have different suggestions (I do not call them rules). Some individuals prefer to give individual gifts to each person in the group, while others give one gift per stateroom. On a 7-night cruise, we typically hand out FE's, breaking the ship into different groups (different decks, depending on who is participating). On the larger ships, it does not take more than 30 minutes per day, over 2-3 days.

Giving multiple gifts to specific individuals over multiple days closely resembles a Secret Mickey ... though that is usually for a single person or stateroom, versus multiple staterooms. Of course, anyone and everyone is able to do as they wish.


Steven

When we were on the EBTA in 2011, Most people (including me) gave more than one gift for FE. Small stuff, like chapstick, small toys, candy, or magnets, but did so multiple times over the 2 week period. It is my understanding that Secret Mickey is one larger gift with a dollar amount of something along the lines of 20 dollars, not small gifts. To each his own though, it just seems more fun on a longer cruise to have the excitement last for the whole thing, not be over with in a couple of days. I don't think ANYONE wants to do an FE group with 60 cabins or 100 individuals. WOW, that would just be too much work I could be wrong though who knows.

 

[MandyGirl]

Hi Chuck,

I don't know how large the tables can be. Just today, we linked up with two other families for sure and a possible third. I haven't heard for sure if nitrame is going to link up with us. So for right now, we have 11. I would certainly be open to making the group larger if it's possible. Feel free to contact me.

Erica

Previously when linking, I have been told on the phone the largest is 12 but if doing 16 they will split into 8 and 8. Not sure if that is accurate though.

Here is a thread of other scenarios for the Magic: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2482648

 

[mboekhoff]

Welcome Aboard

Hi

My Mum and I just booked this cruise tonight and we have second seating dining.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone

I also sent a request for the FB page.

 

[hmhaase]

We are joining you all on this cruise. We can't wait. I have been reading the thread and we also would like to link up with some one for dinner possibly. It is myself, DH, and DD(6). I saw someone else mention they were doing southwest from Denver, that is how we are getting to houston as well. I found a one way rental for only $60 to galveston. How much is the DCL transfers? And when I had called they said they had no transportation from Hobby? If anybody is interested in having dinner, we are right now signed up for the late dining. Thanks

 

[MandyGirl]

Hi

My Mum and I just booked this cruise tonight and we have second seating dining.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone

I also sent a request for the FB page.

Welcome aboard!!