Sept. 23, 2012 Pacific Coast - Wonder Cruise

[dennisbryce]

So excited
I received my daughters hair bows for the cruise
Here they are:

 

[jetskigrl]

So excited
I received my daughters hair bows for the cruise
Here they are:

Those are so cute!!!!!

 

[dennisbryce]

DD's Princess dress came today!!!
She has no clue she will get to wear it again with the princesses
She was so excited:

and we must not forget the luggage
I am going to have a harder time keeping this from her

 

[erbie]

DD's Princess dress came today!!!
She has no clue she will get to wear it again with the princesses.

I am going to have a harder time keeping this from her

When are you going to tell her? When you pull up to the port?

 

[dennisbryce]

When are you going to tell her? When you pull up to the port?

If I can make it that long

 

[erbie]

I have also been researching the ferry and water taxi options to get us over to Coronado Beach when in Port in San Diego so we can have 1 "beach" feeling day on this cruise.,,I say that in quotes since it will be late September --we enjoy Southern Cali beaches in March and they are chilly then- but I have heard that since the water has been warm all summer the early fall times are a bit warmer then the spring times are so we are looking forward to it.

AZ is blazing hot the last few days. Dreaming of that chilly SF September ;-)

I wouldn't count on it being chilly in September. That's usually one of our hottest months in So Cal, hotter than July some years. Not sure about SD, but since it's farther south than LA I would think it would be warmer, if anything. SF will likely be cooler, but it always is. Ensenada will also probably be relatively warm.

 

[fshagan]

I wouldn't count on it being chilly in September. That's usually one of our hottest months in So Cal, hotter than July some years. Not sure about SD, but since it's farther south than LA I would think it would be warmer, if anything. SF will likely be cooler, but it always is. Ensenada will also probably be relatively warm.

In SF, afternoons can be chilly even on warm days if the fog rolls in (which it often does while I'm on vacation there!)

 

[glindamood]

Good morning!

Crystal - this was a surprise cruise for DH's birthday and I think I kept it a secret for maybe 6 weeks and then I just could not contain myself.

Nothing new to report here - looks like another nice day out, no rain and NOT forecast to be in the 90's! That is a good day.

Enjoy!

 

[erbie]

If I can make it that long

Wow! Good luck! I think DH and I lasted two days after we booked before we told our kids. Also, my 10 year old in particular would be mighty suspicious about all the material and assorted stuff I bought and all the sewing I've been doing for the FE gifts.

 

[MadHatterMom2]

Here's an updated FE list #2:

MadHatterMom2 - me (Julie!), DH James, DD Anneliese (13), DS Alex (9) - Room 5520
4boons - Laura & Bill - Room 6134
AZ Pirates - not sure about the family members since I don't have the first list, so let me know your details - Room GTY/TBD
glindamood - Gail & David - Room 6511
ImDMouse - Brad & Diane - Room GTY

If anyone else wants to join, let me know. I'm thinking of closing out the list on Thursday, Aug. 23, one month before the cruise.

Thanks everyone.

Julie

 

[peja]

Here's an updated FE list #2:

MadHatterMom2 - me (Julie!), DH James, DD Anneliese (13), DS Alex (9) - Room 5520
4boons - Laura & Bill - Room 6134
AZ Pirates - not sure about the family members since I don't have the first list, so let me know your details - Room GTY/TBD
glindamood - Gail & David - Room 6511
ImDMouse - Brad & Diane - Room GTY

If anyone else wants to join, let me know. I'm thinking of closing out the list on Thursday, Aug. 23, one month before the cruise.

Thanks everyone.

Julie

Julie you are our neighbour on the cruise...I think we are across the hall from each other...I will check and make sure of that

 

[AussieMumma]

Happy weekend cruise mates!

My family has been considering all of the options for our in port excursions etc. We have decided to do a Giants game at AT&T Park and luck would have it they are even playing our D-backs! SCORE

I have also been researching the ferry and water taxi options to get us over to Coronado Beach when in Port in San Diego so we can have 1 "beach" feeling day on this cruise.,,I say that in quotes since it will be late September --we enjoy Southern Cali beaches in March and they are chilly then- but I have heard that since the water has been warm all summer the early fall times are a bit warmer then the spring times are so we are looking forward to it.

AZ is blazing hot the last few days. Dreaming of that chilly SF September ;-)

Oh we love Coronado Beach, have you been before? We actually almost booked 3 nights there for after the cruise! We decided though that we should really go somewhere that we haven't been before


What time should we expect to be off the ship when we dock back in LA? We aren't in a rush to get off, so the casual take your time at breakfast have one last look around time off the ship?!

We've decided that since we have those extra two days due to the flights, that we would go somewhere different, so we're going to fly to Las Vegas after the cruise for three nights then head back to Anaheim after that. So I thought I'd better get a rough idea of what time we can expect to make it to lax before I go ahead and book flights!

 

[ImDMous]

So.Cal residents question... how easy is it to purchase a California State flag? Full sized one for a flagpole. We have a collection of flags and I want to get the kids one. Do cities also have city flags and are they easy to obtain?

There is indeed a Flag shop in Seaport Village which is right downtown on the harbor next to the Hyatt.

Originally Posted by j2tyco View Post

My family has been considering all of the options for our in port excursions etc. We have decided to do a Giants game at AT&T Park and luck would have it they are even playing our D-backs! SCORE

I have also been researching the ferry and water taxi options to get us over to Coronado Beach when in Port in San Diego so we can have 1 "beach" feeling day on this cruise.,,I say that in quotes since it will be late September --we enjoy Southern Cali beaches in March and they are chilly then- but I have heard that since the water has been warm all summer the early fall times are a bit warmer then the spring times are so we are looking forward to it.

Giants game is an interesting idea. Since the Padres stink so badly, I haven't been to a ball game in forever. We'll have to think about that.

You can take the Ferry from the Broadway pier to the Coronado Ferry Landing, then take the 904 MTS bus from the Ferry Landing to the Hotel Del which has a great beach. The ferry is great, we use it all the time.

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

AUSSIEMOM
What time should we expect to be off the ship when we dock back in LA? We aren't in a rush to get off, so the casual take your time at breakfast have one last look around time off the ship?!


Per Disney:

Sun Sep 23 Los Angeles, CA 4:00pm
Mon Sep 24 At Sea
Tue Sep 25 San Francisco, CA 8:00am
Wed Sep 26 San Francisco, CA 10:30pm
Thu Sep 27 At Sea
Fri Sep 28 San Diego, CA 8:30am -9:30pm
Sat Sep 29 Ensenada, Mexico 8:30am- 4:30pm
Sun Sep 30 Los Angeles, CA arrive 9:00am

They suggest a flight no earlier than 1:00 pm.
I went ahead and made one for 12:45 pm and they said I would have to do the self-disembark, because my flight was before 1:00 pm. (because I'm using Disney transport to LAX)

I've never been on a cruise that I have dis-embarked at 9:00 am or after.....they have always wanted most passengers gone by that time.

 

[erbie]

I've never been on a cruise that I have dis-embarked at 9:00 am or after.....they have always wanted most passengers gone by that time.

Yeah, no kidding! They're rushing you out the door from the minute you wake up that morning. You have to be out of your cabin before breakfast and then you can't go back after. They can't guarantee a time, because the ship has to clear Customs, but I've never been on a ship after about 9:00 either. They have to turn the whole ship around with regards to cleaning and getting ready for the next batch of passengers, so the more time they have to do it, the better.

From what I understand, the LA disembarkation is a little less smooth and takes a bit longer than the CC one. They don't have the same amount of room for luggage in the port, so they have to do it in stages. I've gone on three out of LA, but two were repos, so I've only disembarked there once. And the one time we disembarked there, we only brought carryons, because it was the 2-nighter and we each only brought a small backpack. If you carry your own stuff off, and don't send anything the night before, you can get off as soon as Customs clears the ship. The staged diesmbarkation is just so there aren't a ton of people standing around waiting for their luggage which won't come out for another hour.

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

From what I understand, the LA disembarkation is a little less smooth and takes a bit longer than the CC one. .

Thanks Erbie!!

So you're saying the CC (California Coastal) takes less time?

 

[erbie]

So you're saying the CC (California Coastal) takes less time?

No, sorry, to be confusing. I was using CC to refer to Cape Canaveral. The CA disembarkation takes longer. In Canaveral they have a baggage area that can fit all the baggage from the ship, so they have it pretty much all out there by the time passengers start disembarking. In CA, they don't have enough room for it all, so they have to go in stages. They call passenger groups based on the character on the luggage tags they hand out the last day, and the luggage is brought out and placed in the baggage area in that order. So it takes longer because they have to do it in stages. If you carry your own, you don't have to wait, and you can just walk off the ship with all your stuff and go to Customs. But of course that means you have to bring it with you to breakfast, which is a pain.

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

Thanks, Erbie!!

I had seen PC for Port Canaveral...wasn't thinking of "cape"

 

[sandracox67]

What time should we expect to be off the ship when we dock back in LA? We aren't in a rush to get off, so the casual take your time at breakfast have one last look around time off the ship?!

Oh, dear, no. You get hustled (in the nicest way) off the ship as early as possible. Everything will be closed (except maybe the photographers), and access to most everything else is limited. You will get breakfast, but you are in fact in a rush to get off.

 

[jetskigrl]

What time should we expect to be off the ship when we dock back in LA? We aren't in a rush to get off, so the casual take your time at breakfast have one last look around time off the ship?!

We've decided that since we have those extra two days due to the flights, that we would go somewhere different, so we're going to fly to Las Vegas after the cruise for three nights then head back to Anaheim after that. So I thought I'd better get a rough idea of what time we can expect to make it to lax before I go ahead and book flights!

Ohhh, fun. I love Las Vegas

One of my favorite performers from there was doing a show here in LA last night so I got to take the kids and DH to see him. Now they understand why I always go see him play when I am in Vegas

For our MR trip in April, we weren't off the ship until almost 10:00. They didn't even start letting people off until close to 9:00, I think. I just remember them announcing that we had cleared customs while we were still seated at breakfast (second seating). They said we were a few minutes late arriving though. And even then it takes a while to get through all the tags. We were able to have our late breakfast and then hang out in Diversions (lounge) for quite a while before it was time to get off the ship.