April 16, 2013 - Disney Magic out of Galveston

[teamadco]

For first time cruisers, like myself, I just learned about PAT, port arrival time. We are all assigned a PAT to check in at port upon completion of online check in. I was in no hurry to check in, thinking it was ore like airline check in...nope! You have to select your arrival time when you check in so if you planned on getting to port at a certain time go check in as soon as you can to guarantee the slot of your choice. I am learning as I go too...thought it was worth sharing.

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by teamadco

For first time cruisers, like myself, I just learned about PAT, port arrival time. We are all assigned a PAT to check in at port upon completion of online check in. I was in no hurry to check in, thinking it was ore like airline check in...nope! You have to select your arrival time when you check in so if you planned on getting to port at a certain time go check in as soon as you can to guarantee the slot of your choice. I am learning as I go too...thought it was worth sharing.

The PAT numbers are really to control crowds. A majority of cruisers like to arrive when the terminal opens, that is when the boarding numbers really play an important role. Once the rush is over the remaining passengers seem to trickle in and they can board when they arrive. (This only works once the crowd dies down). if you have a 1:00 boarding time but you arrive an 12:30, if there are no crowds they will let you board, however if there are still big crowds they may make you wait to board until you PAT time and your boarding number is called.

We always tend to arrive an hour or two after the initial boarding time and walk right on without an issue.

[rjeckols]

We are first time cruisers... and still learning the ropes!
Is it to late to join the FE list?

Family Name: Eckols
Disname: rjeckols
cabin: 6626
2 adults (one male and one female)
1 child (6 year old female)

Hope you have a good day!
Rachael
Austin, Tx

[rjeckols]

Thank you Julie for all your time!

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by rjeckols

We are first time cruisers... and still learning the ropes!
Is it to late to join the FE list?

Family Name: Eckols
Disname: rjeckols
cabin: 6626
2 adults (one male and one female)
1 child (6 year old female)

Hope you have a good day!
Rachael
Austin, Tx

Definitely not too late. I am not home now but I will get the list updated and sent out once I get home. I will send more details then

[Siblingts]

We just booked out 4/16 cruise. We have 7 people in two rooms and would love to join the FE group. This is our 2nd cruise! We went on the Dream in January. Please let me know what info you need from us!

Wendy

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by Siblingts

We just booked out 4/16 cruise. We have 7 people in two rooms and would love to join the FE group. This is our 2nd cruise! We went on the Dream in January. Please let me know what info you need from us!

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I can't post links right now (typing from my phone), but if you scroll back about 6 posts you should see my post about the FE stuff. I will post the link once I get home if you can't find it. I am planning on updating the spreadsheet once I get home, so I will include your name and then update once I get the rest of the information.

You may find the magic quite different than the Dream so if you have any questions please let us know. There seem to be a lot of first timers here but there are a few veteran cruisers too. This will be our 9th cruise and 7th on the magic so hopefully I can help

[Siblingts]

Here is our info. We did the FE on the Dream in January and we had soo much fun! I think the boys enjoyed putting the gifts in more than they enjoyed getting them.



Family Name (last name) - Hartnett
*DISname: Siblingts
Email: Siblingts at yahoo dot com
*Cabin # We are a GTY room
* # in party = 4
* # of Adults =2
Ages
* # of each genger (adults) = My mom and I are are traveling - Wendy Hartnett (tigger) and Lynda Homan (kid at heart loves the princesses)
*# of children = 2 boys - Nicolas (age 5) (fav character is Jake and the Neverland pirates) Brady (fav character is Stitch) is 10
Ages
* # of each gender (kids)
Our 2nd Disney Cruise. We went on the Dream in January.



We are traveling with the Furtado/Tran family

*Cabin # 7629
* # in party = 3
* # of Adults =1
Ages
* # of each genger (adults) = Mom is Poli Furtado
*# of children = 2 girls - Anna Tran (age 5) Bella Tran will be turning 9 on the ship. -- This is their 1st Disney cruise and Bella's bday!


Wendy

[Siblingts]

Julie,
I sent the info to your email, and also attached it here. When I get to 10 posts I am going to post a pic of our FE and door from January

[Siblingts]

I wanted to send the link to our photo of our door in January with our FE and magnets:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siblin...type=1&theater


I also found a Navigator that is similar to our trip:
http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2013...february-2013/

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by Siblingts

Julie,
I sent the info to your email, and also attached it here. When I get to 10 posts I am going to post a pic of our FE and door from January

I got the information and sent you an email. Please let me know if you did not get it and please check to make sure I didn't have any typos when putting into the spreadsheet. Thanks.

Julie

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by Siblingts

I wanted to send the link to our photo of our door in January with our FE and magnets:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siblin...type=1&theater /[/url]

Very nice. We actually have 2 FE's. A Winnie the Pooh themed one, my mother made a few years back and one I ordered off of ebay. The cruise I used the Pooh Bear FE, there was another member in our group that had a similiar themed FE and there's got stolen (yikes). They put a bag on their door with a note, We had some strange looks and a few questions about our FE. Really we didn't take theirs. Good thing we even had our name on it (but it is on the back .. sigh) It led to an interesting cruise. Not sure which one I am going to bring but .. just in case I do have a Pooh Bear one =). Really it is just because Eeyore is my fave char and it is somewhat of a joke in our family as my husband is named Christoper Robin .. named after the chracter in the books =) I'm sure he will love me for telling that .. but then again he knows I tell everyone =).

Julie

[jarudinski]

Hi everyone,

I was asked how tipping works on the cruise .... so ... Disney now has auto-paid tipping system. Tipping can be a touchy subject as people like to give what they feel is justified. You still have final control over your tips ... this is how it works on the ship and the "reccommended" tipping structure by disney. I am not saying you do or don't have to tip this amount .. so please don't get upset with me =)

You can pre-pay your tips up to 3 nights before leaving home via the DCL web-site. I have never done this so not exactly sure how it is done.

The "reccommeded" tip amount will be automatically added to your bill. You can add/remove/chnage the tipping amount by going to guest services on deck 3. (If you decide to do this I would reccommend not doing this on your last day, before dinner as the lines can get a bit long during these times). The auto tipping is for the dining staff and your stateroom staff.

The reccommeded tipping amount is baded on per-person/per night. Yes even the little ones count in the total. (But as I said before you can adjust the final amount if you feel you want to tip less or more than the reccommended amount .. Personnaly I always end up tipping more as they do such a wonderful job)

The breakdown of the reccomended tips are as follows:
Dining Room Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $4 x 4 nights ==$16
Dining Asst. Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $3 x 4 nights ==$12
Dining Head Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $1 x 4 nights ==$4
Stateroom -- Per Person/Per Night -- $4 x 4 nights ==$16

If you order drinks from the bars there is a tip already added to your bill when they bring it for your signature. If one is not added automatically, the custom 15-20% is adequate.

Other tips you may consider ..

Palo Servers (These are different than your normal servers and not everyone eats here). At the end of dinner you are presented a bill which includes the
service charge. You can add a tip of your choice to the bill. The servers do not get the dining room fee ($20 per person I believe).

Room Service -- You will not be charged for room service as this is a free service. Tips can be given in cash as they don't always have a slip to sign. $1-$2 per person is fine.

Shore Excursion Tour Guide -- I have not been on a shore excursion where they did not ask/hint for tips at the end. You are not obligated to tip and if you feel as though they did a good job, tipping is appreciated. $1-$2 per person is good. Cash is the only way to tip them.

Baggage Porters at terminal -- $1-$2 per bag. Cash is the only way to tip them.

Kids Counselors -- Unless things have changed, they are not allowed to accept tips. If you feel as though there is someone you want to reward, gifts of candy, snacks, pre-paid phone cards are appreciated.

Concierege Staff -- They did not used to be able to accept tips, but I have heard this has changed. I have never sailed concierege before (this is our first time .. yeah). From my understatnding tips if given are at your choosing.

At the end of the cruise you are also given a feedback form. You may recoginize any CM on it. I hear they get lots of kudo's if they are recoginized. You will be given these forms on the last night of the cruise. I also hear Disney takes these forms very seriously, so be sure to fill it out =)

[wallawallakids]

Originally Posted by jarudinski

Hi everyone,

I was asked how tipping works on the cruise .... so ... Disney now has auto-paid tipping system. Tipping can be a touchy subject as people like to give what they feel is justified. You still have final control over your tips ... this is how it works on the ship and the "reccommended" tipping structure by disney. I am not saying you do or don't have to tip this amount .. so please don't get upset with me =)

You can pre-pay your tips up to 3 nights before leaving home via the DCL web-site. I have never done this so not exactly sure how it is done.

The "reccommeded" tip amount will be automatically added to your bill. You can add/remove/chnage the tipping amount by going to guest services on deck 3. (If you decide to do this I would reccommend not doing this on your last day, before dinner as the lines can get a bit long during these times). The auto tipping is for the dining staff and your stateroom staff.

The reccommeded tipping amount is baded on per-person/per night. Yes even the little ones count in the total. (But as I said before you can adjust the final amount if you feel you want to tip less or more than the reccommended amount .. Personnaly I always end up tipping more as they do such a wonderful job)

The breakdown of the reccomended tips are as follows:
Dining Room Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $4 x 4 nights ==$16
Dining Asst. Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $3 x 4 nights ==$12
Dining Head Server -- Per Person/Per Night -- $1 x 4 nights ==$4
Stateroom -- Per Person/Per Night -- $4 x 4 nights ==$16

If you order drinks from the bars there is a tip already added to your bill when they bring it for your signature. If one is not added automatically, the custom 15-20% is adequate.

Other tips you may consider ..

Palo Servers (These are different than your normal servers and not everyone eats here). At the end of dinner you are presented a bill which includes the
service charge. You can add a tip of your choice to the bill. The servers do not get the dining room fee ($20 per person I believe).

Room Service -- You will not be charged for room service as this is a free service. Tips can be given in cash as they don't always have a slip to sign. $1-$2 per person is fine.

Shore Excursion Tour Guide -- I have not been on a shore excursion where they did not ask/hint for tips at the end. You are not obligated to tip and if you feel as though they did a good job, tipping is appreciated. $1-$2 per person is good. Cash is the only way to tip them.

Baggage Porters at terminal -- $1-$2 per bag. Cash is the only way to tip them.

Kids Counselors -- Unless things have changed, they are not allowed to accept tips. If you feel as though there is someone you want to reward, gifts of candy, snacks, pre-paid phone cards are appreciated.

Concierege Staff -- They did not used to be able to accept tips, but I have heard this has changed. I have never sailed concierege before (this is our first time .. yeah). From my understatnding tips if given are at your choosing.

At the end of the cruise you are also given a feedback form. You may recoginize any CM on it. I hear they get lots of kudo's if they are recoginized. You will be given these forms on the last night of the cruise. I also hear Disney takes these forms very seriously, so be sure to fill it out =)

Thank you for this!

BTW, We will be neighbors!!! What room are you in? We are in 8516!

[jarudinski]

Originally Posted by wallawallakids

Thank you for this!

BTW, We will be neighbors!!! What room are you in? We are in 8516!

We are in 8546. Just down the hall =)