9/28/13. Disney Wonder 7 night Bahamian out of Galveston.

[Aggiegrl]

If enough people are interested, I've seen that many groups also do a meetup to put names with faces etc. < been dying to use that one LOL

I will volunteer to head that one up! Not really ready to get serious about it yet - I'd like to get an idea of our number when we get somewhat closer.

And I would love everyone's input/"votes" on what exactly it might be....
I've seen pajama breakfast, informally meeting in the atrium, booking an area with Disney (somehow??), cabin 'crawls' etc.

Monica

I'm up for just about anything. Some thoughts...

Right now it's not looking so good for a cabin crawl/tour sort of thing. After that price drop, most of us seem to be in the oceanviews on Deck 1!

I think we should have assigned character breakfasts on this itinerary, so I'd probably avoid breakfasts on sea days.

 

[texaschic]

I noticed on the spreadsheet that some of you have room numbers assigned. Why is that? we are GTY, which I believe means they will assign later. I didn't book anything special (room with a view etc) but I am considering it since the price was so great. however, is there a possibility that I could be bumped into a ocean view? do I just take my chances? someone please explain

 

[TexMicks]

It's my understanding that booking a GTY means that you are guaranteed a room in that category. Depending on the number of bookings, you could be bumped up to an oceanview cabin. Ours was a regular booking, so we got to pick from the map which room we wanted.

 

[Aggiegrl]

I noticed on the spreadsheet that some of you have room numbers assigned. Why is that? we are GTY, which I believe means they will assign later. I didn't book anything special (room with a view etc) but I am considering it since the price was so great. however, is there a possibility that I could be bumped into a ocean view? do I just take my chances? someone please explain

Most of the time, you should be able to choose your room from available cabins. If you booked online, the website sort of misses that step and you have to go back in and do it separately.

When the rooms in a category are close to being fully booked, DCL switches all reservations made after that point to GTY. That is the case right now with the 11Cs and 9Ds on our cruise. It sounds like you are in an 11C. Those of us booked into 11C and 9Ds using the WON code booked earlier than you, so there were still cabins available to select. Here's DCL text about this:

Sorry, there are no Category 11C staterooms available for selection at this time. You may either change the stateroom category or accept a guarantee (GTY) stateroom. Selecting "Choose Guaranty" guarantees the ship, sailing date and rate. A Category 11C stateroom will be assigned by the time documents are received. Selecting "Choose Guaranty" does not guarantee the stateroom will be on a particular deck or, for multiple staterooms, that the staterooms will be located near each other.

...and yes, with just the three of you the price difference for upgrading to the other rooms under that discount WON code isn't very much. The 11C (inside) is pricing at $2229, 9D (2 small portholes/deck 1) at $2329, and the 7C (Navigator's/enclosed/obstruction balcony) at $2629. All three categories are sold out to GTY status though, so you still won't get to choose your cabin.

 

[pllanez12]

Registered for FE. Gotta go. Haven't been on the boards for a while busy workin. Will read thru and and reply upcoming weekend. Phil

 

[Aggiegrl]

Something else to think about....

It is possible to link dining reservations. When you do this, they will seat the linked cabins together at the same table or very close to each other (in the case of very large groups) for dinner.

I would NOT link large groups of people together (like all of us). In the past, when this has been done, they have seated all the linked cabins together but sometimes split up families to "fill" the available table spots. It is possible to have large groups seated "perfectly," but it takes a lot of work on the part of the organizer and a bit of luck working with the DCL dining coordinator. Our group is looking to be quite large so I doubt this would be a good idea.

BUT, we might want to pair up with another family (or two) with similarly aged children. The dining tables are for 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, so keep those numbers in mind. You'll have to be on the same dining time as well.

 

[BiffMan]

Hi all! Big thanks to Aggiegrl for pointing me to this thread. Long time Disboards lurker, rare poster, but very happy to be going on our first cruise of any sort with everyone!

For those who have been on cruises before, how far out do they usually announce which night is Pirate Night or assign you your MDR rotation? I think I get how the MDR vs other meals works, just want to jump on Palo ressies as soon as the 75 day mark gets here!

Disney! Disney! Disney!!!

 

[sullins5]

Hi all! Big thanks to Aggiegrl for pointing me to this thread. Long time Disboards lurker, rare poster, but very happy to be going on our first cruise of any sort with everyone!

For those who have been on cruises before, how far out do they usually announce which night is Pirate Night or assign you your MDR rotation? I think I get how the MDR vs other meals works, just want to jump on Palo ressies as soon as the 75 day mark gets here!

Disney! Disney! Disney!!!

Hi Biffman! I actually called last week to ask for a specific dining rotation, and the DCL agent said they haven't worked it out yet. I really want the same dining rotation as on the Magic...so I'll keep checking. Last time, it was within 4 or 5 months, so I'm sure we'll know soon!

 

[monimich]

I get motion sickness in most of those places too. I occasionally have problems on cruises, but it has never been severe enough to really effect my good time.

On the Magic in February, I had an issue on a day with rough seas while watching Nemo 3D in the Walt Disney Theater (all the way forward and a bit bouncy). Probably not the BEST choice I could have made. I tried to eat lunch with my family but I couldn't sit upright anymore. I took some Dramamine and laid down for a nap in a cold, dark room while my family ate lunch. By the time they were finished, I was much better.

I think considering your background, talk to a doctor and see what they can recommend for you. Dramamine works fine for me, so I just make sure and have some with me. I'm pretty sure you can get it from the medical clinic on board if necessary, but I like to have it on hand because my motion sickness comes on quickly.

Your cabin location is a great choice. Whenever I've started to feel a little off in the past, I'd move to the center of the ship on a low deck (like the atrium-good for people watching and usually live music). This cruise I'll just go back to our cabin.

Yes, we were going to upgrade one more time to veranda, but decided not to because of the seasick thing.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Hi all! Big thanks to Aggiegrl for pointing me to this thread. Long time Disboards lurker, rare poster, but very happy to be going on our first cruise of any sort with everyone!

For those who have been on cruises before, how far out do they usually announce which night is Pirate Night or assign you your MDR rotation? I think I get how the MDR vs other meals works, just want to jump on Palo ressies as soon as the 75 day mark gets here!

Disney! Disney! Disney!!!

As far as I know (but I could be wrong), your dining rotation assignment isn't "announced" anywhere before the cruise. It will be on your stateroom keys and in your room on embarkation day (maybe...we didn't have it in our room on the Magic). I'm not sure if you can call and ask that information. From what I've read, the dining assignments are done about 2 weeks ahead. You can call and request a certain rotation if you know what rotation you want. Since this is the first cruise with this itinerary, I'm not sure if they'll follow the same rotation they've used for other Wonder cruises in the past.

The pirate night will show up online on the "my cruise activities" area of your reservation screen. This is the area where you can sort of see a daily schedule of what you've booked, but they add the pirate night automatically to everyone's schedule. That area is locked off until you pay in full/are able to book excursions and specialty dining. The first people can book these things at 120 days out, so I guess we'll probably know about pirate night for sure at that time.

As always, you might try calling DCL and see if they have access to more information.

Later this afternoon I'm going to look at past itineraries and see what sort of deductive reasoning I can come up with. I'm guessing the first day at sea will be our formal night.

 

[BiffMan]

Hi Biffman! I actually called last week to ask for a specific dining rotation, and the DCL agent said they haven't worked it out yet. I really want the same dining rotation as on the Magic...so I'll keep checking. Last time, it was within 4 or 5 months, so I'm sure we'll know soon!

Thanks! Mostly we're just looking to duck Pirate Night and get in to Palo that evening if we can. Although I imagine there may be gold and platinum people ahead of us with that same thought.

Later this afternoon I'm going to look at past itineraries and see what sort of deductive reasoning I can come up with. I'm guessing the first day at sea will be our formal night.

That reminds me... Must get new clothes! We're not complete slobs or anything, but formal attire isn't something we regularly make use of so we'll definitely need to do a little shopping.

 

[ChloroFiend]

I'd expect that day 6 (Sea day after Nassau) to be Pirate night and concur with Aggiegrl that the first sea day (Day 2) will be Formal Night. Semi-formal night seems to be kind of a crap shoot; I'm going to guess Key West day but don't hold me to it.

Biffman-

If you're looking for formal wear, keep an eye on Macy's sales. I scored a really nice tuxedo from them for right around $99. I'm not much for the vest/cummerbund/bow-tie/french-cuffs look, so all I had to do was grab some tuxedo shoes; I had a white dress shirt and black tie already.

 

[sullins5]

Yes, we were going to upgrade one more time to veranda, but decided not to because of the seasick thing.

Hi Monimich! Just an idea ...We used chewable Bonine last cruise and it was FAB!!! Two out of our crew (of 7) get carsickness bad, and thought they'd really be sick. One wore the transderm patch, the rest of us used Bonine the morning of embarkation. Unbeknownst to us, the Magic was in for a terrible storm, with swells up to 18ft. We went to dinner, and 1/2 the cruisers weren't there due to seasickness. DCL was passing out meds left and right.

I say all that NOT to scare you, but to just be prepared....Our doc recommended trying things at home first, so we liked the Bonine. No drowsiness or side effects. My dd who had the patch did get dry mouth, and eyes, and said next time she'd like the Bonine.

Hope this helps!!! We want you feeling f-i-n-e for your cruise!

 

[ChloroFiend]

Hope this helps!!! We want you feeling f-i-n-e for your cruise!

F'd up, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional? That doesn't sound too good.

 

[sullins5]

Hey everyone! Just talked to a cm and got so excited!I asked if I could request my MDR rotation, and he took the request, and asked about pirate night too! I thought (and was hoping for my rotation schedule) that it might be on a Tuesday night because when we were on the Magic, it was on a Tuesday for a 7 night cruise. The cm said "Yep, looks like it'll be on a Tuesday night". I love it in the middle of the week!

If they follow our last cruise's 7 night schedule, it'd be..
Sun..formal,
Tue..pirate
Thurs..semiformal

We loved it!
I'm getting too excited!

 

[Aggiegrl]

I'd expect that day 6 (Sea day after Nassau) to be Pirate night and concur with Aggiegrl that the first sea day (Day 2) will be Formal Night. Semi-formal night seems to be kind of a crap shoot; I'm going to guess Key West day but don't hold me to it.

I don't think semi formal will be on Key West night, because that is the day after formal night. I'd bet money on semi formal being on Thursday (Day 6-Sea Day). The Magic 7 and 8 nights from Galveston and the Wonder Alaskans are all doing semi-formal on the 2nd to last night.

Pirate night...on 7 night itineraries it is usually Day 4 or Day 5. On the Wonder alaskan cruises it's been on Day 5. On the Magic 7n Western from Galveston its been on Day 4. My very uneducated guess would be Day 4 after Castaway Cay. Since they stop the ship for the fireworks, doing it that day doesn't cut into the ships travel time since the next stop is just nearby at Nassau. Then again, I don't think it takes 2 full days to get back to Galveston from the Bahamas either.

Speculation sure is fun. We'll see how right the guesses are soon!

 

[Aggiegrl]

Hey everyone! Just talked to a cm and got so excited!I asked if I could request my MDR rotation, and he took the request, and asked about pirate night too! I thought (and was hoping for my rotation schedule) that it might be on a Tuesday night because when we were on the Magic, it was on a Tuesday for a 7 night cruise. The cm said "Yep, looks like it'll be on a Tuesday night". I love it in the middle of the week!

If they follow our last cruise's 7 night schedule, it'd be..
Sun..formal,
Tue..pirate
Thurs..semiformal

We loved it!
I'm getting too excited!

You posted this right before I posted my post. That's exactly what I was thinking.

What dining rotation did you request?

 

[sullins5]

You posted this right before I posted my post. That's exactly what I was thinking.

What dining rotation did you request?

Last cruise we requested PLA so that pirate would be in Parrot Cay and formal in Lumiere's (just feels like a formal restaurant). So, I called and wanted the equivalent. PTA...which should put us in Parrot Cay again for pirate night and Tritan's for formal. It probably doesn't matter, but we loved it!

 

[sullins5]

What's the best way to get to Hou to Galveston? There are some great prices for airfare today.....so I'm just checking...
OMG!!! Nevermind! I've been looking online today. Seems there's a plethora of options...lol !!!

 

[Aggiegrl]

Last cruise we requested PLA so that pirate would be in Parrot Cay and formal in Lumiere's (just feels like a formal restaurant). So, I called and wanted the equivalent. PTA...which should put us in Parrot Cay again for pirate night and Tritan's for formal. It probably doesn't matter, but we loved it!

That's exactly the rotation I was going to request. For the reasons you said, plus you only have AP twice...our least favorite restaurant. Did the agent confirm the rotation is PTAPTAP? I was wondering if it would be that or if they would throw us for a loop with something like PTAAPT.