09/12/10 - DVCers Take Over the Wonder (S.S. Member Cruise 2010) - Thread #1

[PinGirl]

Quick Question:

What is everyone thinking about transfers to the port? Or are you staying the night before the Cruise at the Port?

I have read a few threads, but for those of you who have done the member cruise before is there a reason to arrive early as unlike with a regular cruise this cruise is sold out and from what I understand the reason people arrive between 10 and 10:30 is for a port upgrade?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Pingirl

 

[erionm]

Can anyone explain the times for dinning? What are they for main and late?

On the Disney Wonder, the Main Seating is at 5:45 p.m.; the Second seating is at 8:15 p.m.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-dining/dinner-times/

 

[dvc4life]

Hey Chris,,,, I am a banana fan also. They seem to be my trademark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Hit it , Boys,,,,,,,

Bill

Another banana lover! He is such a fun little guy. go bananas, go bananas!

Thank you for the compliments on my dog Yes, he is a Champion Golden Retriever. I breed and show Champion Goldens and compete at dog shows. His name of course is Disney

Yes, I love your dog photo too! We have a golden retriever but she looks nothing like that. I think ours is part Kangaroo. She really likes to jump. No matter how much we try to get her to stop. But she is a good dog. Ours is named Tessa.

Quick Question:

What is everyone thinking about transfers to the port? Or are you staying the night before the Cruise at the Port?

I have read a few threads, but for those of you who have done the member cruise before is there a reason to arrive early as unlike with a regular cruise this cruise is sold out and from what I understand the reason people arrive between 10 and 10:30 is for a port upgrade?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Pingirl

I believe we will be renting a car and driving to the port. We like to arrive at the port early so we can get on the ship ASAP. After all, that is what we are there for, right?????? Plus we like to people watch and just be there. We are weird. Plus last year we met some great people from the Dis Boards that we hung with the rest of the cruise. Wish they were going again because they were just so much fun to be with but they are lucky to be going on the Transatlantic cruise on, I think, the 18th of Sept. So they were not able to go on this members cruise.

Right now the plan for us is to go to Vero Beach before the cruise, drive to the cruise and then drive to BLT that we have booked for after. We can't wait to stay there. We just bought in on the 2009 Members Cruise so this will be the first time for us to stay there. And we are super excited about it.

 

[BigDogHU75]

Quick Question:

What is everyone thinking about transfers to the port? Or are you staying the night before the Cruise at the Port?

I have read a few threads, but for those of you who have done the member cruise before is there a reason to arrive early as unlike with a regular cruise this cruise is sold out and from what I understand the reason people arrive between 10 and 10:30 is for a port upgrade?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Pingirl

It really depends on you and your family. Since we drove to FL this year, we stayed at BCV before the cruise. Staying at BCV was beneficial because we had our pre-cruise WDW cruise meet at BCV. After the cruise we stayed at AKV. Since we had a car, we did not have to worry about ground transfers.
Those who stayed at a Disney resort prior to the cruise without a car, paid for Disney transportation to the port. Someone from the '09 thread looked into a "party bus" to transport those staying at the resort to the port, however, not enough people signed up. Others, hired a car service since it was cheaper that Disney's transportation given their family size.

Some of the posters in the '09 thread stayed at the Raddison near the port. Early on, one poster checked to see if we could get a group rate. However, the group rate was not truly a discount. About a month before the cruise, the rooms at the Radisson were less than $100. I think people got to the Radisson by renting a car or hiring a taxi service.

Like Chris said, getting to the port early gives you the advantage of getting on the ship early. I wish we had gotten to the port early because byt the time we got on the ship Parrot Cay was already full and we did not want to have lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet since DS was cranky. Plus, I would have loved to explore the ship more. Note, try not to carry too much onboard with you. That is another eason why we did not want to do lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet. I overpacked.

 

[3DAN]

Time flys like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why did the banana go out with a prune?
Because he couldn't find a date!!!!!!!!!!
BA(NA)squared

GO!

Bill

 

[3DAN]

Say it aint so, we're on page two. Banana power, activate!!!!!!!

Bill

 

[manascarfan]

I believe we will be renting a car and driving to the port. We like to arrive at the port early so we can get on the ship ASAP. After all, that is what we are there for, right?????? Plus we like to people watch and just be there. We are weird. Plus last year we met some great people from the Dis Boards that we hung with the rest of the cruise. Wish they were going again because they were just so much fun to be with but they are lucky to be going on the Transatlantic cruise on, I think, the 18th of Sept. So they were not able to go on this members cruise.

Chris-I REALLY wish we were going with you guys, we had such a great time. You are definitely not weird for people watching... We love to do the same thing! I am sure we will meet up and cruise together again.

Enjoy your cruise everyone, it is all what you make it! Get to know all your fellow cruisemates, some may become lifelong friends.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

Quick Question:

What is everyone thinking about transfers to the port? Or are you staying the night before the Cruise at the Port?

I have read a few threads, but for those of you who have done the member cruise before is there a reason to arrive early as unlike with a regular cruise this cruise is sold out and from what I understand the reason people arrive between 10 and 10:30 is for a port upgrade?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Pingirl

Hi! Right now our plans are to fly in on Fri or Sat. And we'd like to stay at the Radisson at the port. Then we plan on being at the DCL terminal at about 10:00. No reason to arrive early except to get the #2 Boarding Pass and to take advantage of extra time on the ship!

 

[dvc4life]

Chris-I REALLY wish we were going with you guys, we had such a great time. You are definitely not weird for people watching... We love to do the same thing! I am sure we will meet up and cruise together again.

Enjoy your cruise everyone, it is all what you make it! Get to know all your fellow cruisemates, some may become lifelong friends.

Thanks Dave! You and Tanya will be dearly missed on this one! But you are going on the awesome TransAtlantic. And yes, we are so hoping to be able to cruise together again some day.

 

[bbrnca]

Ok folks as a newbie cruiser what should i expect or not expect per say.... so i have a few question that i hope someone can answer for me....

* cruise casual for dinner does that mean jeans are permitted or frowned upon. ??? not big on dressing up to eat
* special guests ??? who has come before on members cruises
* Does DCL or DVC give out free stuff ( i ask because someone posted to bring extra bag for all the free stuff) waht kind of stuff we talking about ???

 

[Tweet]

I seen someone had wrote look up my thread (TR re: '09 Members Cruise) Where would I find that? Sorry, newbie with tons of questions

 

[wltdsnyfan]

I seen someone had wrote look up my thread (TR re: '09 Members Cruise) Where would I find that? Sorry, newbie with tons of questions

Here is the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34303456#post34303456

We were on the 09 and it was a blast.

 

[vedlin71]

my dh trashed my res.# how can i get it to look at disney cruise site.do they send you conf. letter with it on it ?

 

[erionm]

my dh trashed my res.# how can i get it to look at disney cruise site.do they send you conf. letter with it on it ?

DVC will send you a printed confirmation in the mail. If you have already sailed with DCL before, it should be under 'My Cruises' on the Castaway Club Member portion of the DCL website.

 

[bbrnca]

Say it aint so, we're on page two. Banana power, activate!!!!!!!

Bill

bump

 

[BigDogHU75]

Chris-I REALLY wish we were going with you guys, we had such a great time. You are definitely not weird for people watching... We love to do the same thing! I am sure we will meet up and cruise together again.

Enjoy your cruise everyone, it is all what you make it! Get to know all your fellow cruisemates, some may become lifelong friends.

Hi Dave. Glad you stopped by. Don't be a stranger.

Ok folks as a newbie cruiser what should i expect or not expect per say.... so i have a few question that i hope someone can answer for me....

* cruise casual for dinner does that mean jeans are permitted or frowned upon. ??? not big on dressing up to eat
cruise casual night—no shorts, swimwear or tank tops
dress-up night"—jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women
* special guests ??? who has come before on members cruises
Animators, people who do voice over work (e.g., voice of Goofy, Wendy, etc., the Sherman brothers, Jennifer Hudson, and Broadway singers to the name a few.[/B]
* Does DCL or DVC give out free stuff ( i ask because someone posted to bring extra bag for all the free stuff) waht kind of stuff we talking about ???Yes.

I seen someone had wrote look up my thread (TR re: '09 Members Cruise) Where would I find that? Sorry, newbie with tons of questions

I am currently writing a trip report of the '09 members cruise. If you want to see it, you can click on the title of my trip report that is in my signature.

Also, you can view trip reports from past members cruise by clicking on this link: Previous S.S. Members Cruise Trip Reports You will see trip reports for 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008.

Both trip reports include pictures.

 

[calypso726]

I just read your trip report from the 2009 DVC Cruise Marsha and thoroughly enjoyed it. You have a lovely family! Thank you for posting and including all the great pictures and details!

Terrie

 

[3DAN]

Hey BBRNCA,,,,, When we did the member cruise in 2005, they brought in Susan Egan , who was the "original" Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. She did two shows that were spectacular!!!!!! As I recall, we also had Art Linkletter, who was a close personal friend of Walt Disney. He did some sessions about Walt, but I was not there for the shows. Someone correct me if I am wrong. Each day, they set out special gifts for each member in the stateroom. No one was left out. Special pins in special containers, special bags, hats, mostly all DVC, but things we have never seen again. They also had us pose for a picture with the sand DVC emblem on the beach. What else, guys?????
Bill

 

[3DAN]

You know, they also had a sand castle building contest on the beach. Rachel, who was one of our guests for the cruise, was out on the beach playing around in the sand. No one showed up for the contest, so she was asked to build a castle and, TA DA, was the winner!!!!! She won one of those statues of Mickey Mouse that you see in the WDW gift shops. You know, the big ones that stand alone and run around $100. Too Cool!!!!!!
Bill

 

[BigDogHU75]

I just read your trip report from the 2009 DVC Cruise Marsha and thoroughly enjoyed it. You have a lovely family! Thank you for posting and including all the great pictures and details!

Terrie

I am glad you enjoyed. Thank you for stopping by to read it.