05/09/2009 May 9, 2009 7-Night Eastern St Maarten... Watch Out!

[DisneyTampa]

Hi everyone!

We had to make a very tough decision and cancel our cruise today. There were a few reasons that we did this. The first is that I got accepted into the Disney College Program and I wouldn't be able to get the time off to go on the cruise. The other reason is finances. We would have been able to pay it off but we didn't like how tight it was making our budget. With prices of everything going up money is just not going as far anymore.

We are hoping that when the economy settles down, we can book for 2010.

We wish you all the best and know that you will have a BLAST!! I can't read all of the trip reports when you get back!

 

[scottie]

Hi everyone!

We had to make a very tough decision and cancel our cruise today. There were a few reasons that we did this. The first is that I got accepted into the Disney College Program and I wouldn't be able to get the time off to go on the cruise. The other reason is finances. We would have been able to pay it off but we didn't like how tight it was making our budget. With prices of everything going up money is just not going as far anymore.

We are hoping that when the economy settles down, we can book for 2010.

We wish you all the best and know that you will have a BLAST!! I can't read all of the trip reports when you get back!

We will miss you, but make sure to enjoy the college program!

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Hi everyone!

We had to make a very tough decision and cancel our cruise today. There were a few reasons that we did this. The first is that I got accepted into the Disney College Program and I wouldn't be able to get the time off to go on the cruise. The other reason is finances. We would have been able to pay it off but we didn't like how tight it was making our budget. With prices of everything going up money is just not going as far anymore.

We are hoping that when the economy settles down, we can book for 2010.

We wish you all the best and know that you will have a BLAST!! I can't read all of the trip reports when you get back!

Congratulations on the College Program!!!!

I know what you mean about the economy....we will be watching the price of the Canadian dollar and if it keeps dropping, we too may end up cancelling our cruise...It's hard to believe that just over a year ago the value of the Canadian dollar was higher than the US dollar and now it's about $1.25 CDN = $1 US

 

[airtime247]

We're fortunate in that our cruise is already paid for and we are using DVC points for our resort stay before and after the cruise. It's the airfare that is making us cringe right now. I'm checking regularly but it's still over $2000 for the three of us! Earlier this year, it was only around $900. I really regret not buying then!

Elaine, I hope you don't have to cancel your cruise. I'm sure everything will work out!

-steve

 

[DisneyTampa]

Thanks everyone for all the support!!

Elaine - I really hope that prices will go down and you will still be able to go!

Steve - Hopefully airfare will go down soon so that you can book your flights.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Elaine, I hope you don't have to cancel your cruise. I'm sure everything will work out!

-steve

Steve....it will have to get REALLY bad for us to cancel....I mean we've still gone to WDW when the exchange rate was $1.60 = $1....our dollar gained a few cents today....so it's heading in the right direction....

We don't have to worry about flights as we will be driving.....

 

[scottie]

We don't have to worry about flights as we will be driving.....

Just curious, what kind of drive time are you looking at?

 

[scottie]

I was thinking this morning that DD who will be 12 when we sail may have a different place to go onboard, and not the Lab. So I did some checking and my brain didn’t fail me, the kids age 11-13 (per a DCL e-mail) go to Ocean Quest on level 2. They didn’t have this option on the Wonder so it will be new for our DD. One thing that has peeked my interest is the fact the kids have in/out privileges and so the staff doesn’t require them to notify the parent they are leaving. Just some food for thought, for those of us with kids in the age range to go to Ocean Quest.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Just curious, what kind of drive time are you looking at?

The drive is about 22 hours but we break it up into 2.5 days since I am the only driver.

 

[scottie]

The drive is about 22 hours but we break it up into 2.5 days since I am the only driver.

Oh boy, I think I would go crazy driving all that way!

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Oh boy, I think I would go crazy driving all that way!

The drive really isn't that bad...this trip will be our 10th time driving....we have all our stops planned for each day so it breaks up the drive and by having my car it allows us to buy whatever we want!!!! The last few trips I had my trunk so full that I doubt we could have fit a quarter or a dime in it!!!!

 

[scottie]

The last few trips I had my trunk so full that I doubt we could have fit a quarter or a dime in it!!!!

Sounds like our last trip to Hilton Head this past June! Between the luggage, outlet mall buys, and gifts the kids and wife bought I could barely see out the back window of my wagon for the 11 hour ride back!

 

[scottie]

Hope everyone has a happy and restful Thanksgiving!

Cant believe how excited I am already getting to head out to sea again! The Disney Cruise DVD just arrived the other day and I think the kids have about burned a hole in it with all the watching!

 

[j2bmickey]

Well we have been chatting some more about hotel options for the night before the cruise. We have decided we are going to wait for about a month or two out and try to snag a room at the Hyatt inside the Orlando Airport for the night via Hotwire. If you book directly thru the hotel then it is about $200 a night. If you can find it on Hotwire then prices seem to run about $60-$80 per night. I think the kids would love swimming outside on the top while planes are flying all around.

If we cant get Hyatt via Hotwire then I think we are just going to do something via priceline near the airport.

That's a good idea. Is the Hyatt the one that shows up as the 3 1/2 star inside the airport?

 

[scottie]

That's a good idea. Is the Hyatt the one that shows up as the 3 1/2 star inside the airport?

I believe the Hyatt one shows as Four star hotel, MCO area, 4.5 rating with over 100 reviews. Cant promise you end up with Hyatt based on the above selection but very likely.

 

[j2bmickey]

Hope everyone has a happy and restful Thanksgiving!

Cant believe how excited I am already getting to head out to sea again! The Disney Cruise DVD just arrived the other day and I think the kids have about burned a hole in it with all the watching!

Well we survived our first roadtrip to Disneyland. The crowds actually weren't as bad as I was expecting. I don't know if my expectations set the tone, or if the economy had an affect, or if it was just our cunning use of the fastpass system.

At any rate we had a blast and it definitely sets the mood for getting ready for the cruise.

I am sorry to hear that some had to cancel and hopefully remaining circumstances will be kind to the rest of us.

 

[scottie]

For anyone who booked on SouthWest for the flight into Orlando- or plans to use them... Their website shows the flights for the trip home may open for booking as early as next Tuesday.
I cant wait to book our return flight and have that portion of our trip taken care of!!

 

[dollysmom]

Scottie - will you be doing Maagens Bay through Disney or on your own?

 

[Eeyore77]

Hey there... Life got in the way recently and I have been gone from the board for a bit. So have there been any decisions made on the FE and the names, logos, etc for our cruise group?

 

[airtime247]

Well we survived our first roadtrip to Disneyland. The crowds actually weren't as bad as I was expecting. I don't know if my expectations set the tone, or if the economy had an affect, or if it was just our cunning use of the fastpass system.

At any rate we had a blast and it definitely sets the mood for getting ready for the cruise.

I am sorry to hear that some had to cancel and hopefully remaining circumstances will be kind to the rest of us.

I'm glad you had a great time at Disneyland. We probably just missed you. We went with some friends from Dec 1-4 and had a fantastic time as well. The crowds were very light and about the only line that was too long for us was the line to meet Tinkerbell and friends. We ended up making that our first stop one day and were the second group in. Small World and Haunted Mansion Holiday overlays had moderate lines but moved quickly. They were both awesome.

We now have no trips planned until the cruise and are ready to start planning the details. I sure wish Disney would hurry up and release their park calendars for May!

-steve