09/13/09 SSMC09 S.S. Member Cruise 2009 - Part 2!

[wltdsnyfan]

hi everyone have they posted a theme for this cruise yet?

According to the front page of the site we are not going to know till we get there. Can't wait.

take care
flo

 

[wltdsnyfan]

Thank you, Mary, you have convinced me!!! DH thinks I am nuts wanting to stay in DL for 3 days...he thinks that we should stay one day...no way...it is going to be whatever I decide this time. I will surely keep looking at that Disney Museum also.

I have had problems with the site also, Mary. Yesterday it didn't even recognize me after I was signed on as usual from my laptop. Ordinarily I am always signed on when I enter, and I was yesterday too, but all of a sudden when I went back to the site, I was a guest!!! And I couldn't sign on. Then I couldn't get anything to come up...slow slow slow...and I gave up.

Are you in a Disney group on facebook? I am on facebook...fill me in.
I love facebook! Except I don't like seeing my face!! LOL

Oh, I hate these 5 day work weeks...but tomorrow is PAYDAY.
Susan

Susan,

Below are picures of CA Adventure and the GrandCalifornian. Glad you decided to go you will enjoy it. I know we did. They are from 2001 so the hotel may look a little different now that DVC is there.

I don't like seeing my face on face book either so I have one of the three of us so it is not all me.

This one is from are room

Take care
flo

 

[mnra]

hi thanks for the answer but wonder why all the secrets about the cruise. Is it they still don;t have it all line up. I doubt that but it would be nice to know that is for sure.

 

[WDWLVR]

Thank you, Mary, you have convinced me!!! DH thinks I am nuts wanting to stay in DL for 3 days...he thinks that we should stay one day...no way...it is going to be whatever I decide this time. I will surely keep looking at that Disney Museum also.

I have had problems with the site also, Mary. Yesterday it didn't even recognize me after I was signed on as usual from my laptop. Ordinarily I am always signed on when I enter, and I was yesterday too, but all of a sudden when I went back to the site, I was a guest!!! And I couldn't sign on. Then I couldn't get anything to come up...slow slow slow...and I gave up.

Are you in a Disney group on facebook? I am on facebook...fill me in.
I love facebook! Except I don't like seeing my face!! LOL

Oh, I hate these 5 day work weeks...but tomorrow is PAYDAY.
Susan

They have a number of Disney groups on facebook including one for this cruise! Of course they don't have as near as many posts as the DIS gets but it is a great way for me to keep in touch with friends many who have either left the DIS or don't post much here anymore. Look me up as Mary Cheney Gums and I'll be happy to add you as a friend.

Of course I won't leave the DIS completely because we do have a reunion cruise booked for next year. I just won't spend as much time here as in the past and don't go to the main boards as much any more.

hi everyone have they posted a theme for this cruise yet?

The theme is we know but we're not telling but we will tell you it will be the best ever. Scares me when they say that because anytime someone hypes something that much it usually doesn't live up to the hype. Still it is an odd number year and those tend to be the best ones (2003, 2005 and 2007 were all great). We'll have to wait and see. Unless this one blows us out of the water or if they do something different next year this might be our last Member Cruise for a while.

About what time does DCL go past the Ron Jon cam? I have never watched it so I would like to today. Any info would be great.

thanks

take care
flo

If it leaves on time at 5:00 pm Eastern it should be able to be seen in the channel about 5:20. I'd start looking a little earlier.

 

[seaulater]

Dave & Mary

Thanks for the link. I will add to my links. That makes 4 now that I have.

The below is the one for the Radisson:

http://www.opusad.com/radissonwebcam/​

I'm excited. Just looked at the Radisson cam and it is positioned on our "WONDER"FUL ship. Love seeing the Mickey flag flying. Can't wait to see the DVC flag there soon!

 

[seaulater]

SW had airfare specials the past 48 hours. Bob and I are going to be in San Francisco a week after we get back from the cruise. I have a conference I must attend. We could have stayed a few days and flown from SF to LA for $60 RT, and I could have gotten one of the new villas at DL...but there was so much traffic on the SW site last night that it was difficult to get it done.
I got to paypal 3 times to pay and it kept saying error, reason unknown and to call SW, but that the fare would not be the same (30) one way...so I gave up, thinking that it just wasn't meant to be.

I have never been to DL and really wanted to go. Maybe I will have to bit the bullet and just pay the $59 and $69 one way from SF to LA...I have to fly out of SF because my work is paying for it. They don't care how long you stay....you use your own money and your own leave...but you have to fly from the city of origin. So that is why we have to do the RT thing. And, you can't pay for it yourself, you have to let them pay for it...

Anyone here been to DL? What do you think? I know I will never fly out there just to see DL, and this would have been the perfect opportunity. Never seen SF either, so we are getting in a couple days early...don't know what we will see there, but definitely Alcatraz Island..anyone been to SF?
If we do go to DL, should we see both parks? We are not great riders...no heights, nothing that spins...I was almost tempted to take the entire week off and drive into SanDiego...but I don't know about driving in CA. It's not like driving here where you negotiate the Amish on horse and buggy.

Anyone who can give me advice, I would appreciate it.

Happy Thursday...and congratulations on the and
Boy, if I stay off here one day, I have pages and pages to read!...but that's good...we are getting to know each other before the BIG TRIP!!!

Blessings,
Susan

Well, if you ask on this board then everyone is going to tell you to go of course!

But, having grown up in Southern California and Disneyland being my "home" park, I would definitely recommend you go, especially if you are so close in San Francisco. If you do go, try to fly into Long Beach or Orange County and not into LAX. You will be alot closer and your airport fees should be cheaper than flying into LAX. You can go onto the Long Beach Airport (LGB)and Orange County (SNA) also known as John Wayne Airport and check flying in and out from there.

Like the others said, DL is much smaller than WDW. If you only had one day, I would still go. You can defintely see everything in 2 days. We just stayed at the Grand Californian in the Concierge level the first weekend in May with DVC points. It was incredible and we saw the fireworks right from our room and the music was plugged right into the TV.

If you fly into LGB or SNA you can take a shuttle to the hotel and if your only plan is DL then you wouldn't even need a rental car. Just a thought....

My good friend has a website and is an expert on Disneyland, if you want I can PM you the link. She knows everything going on in that park and she also does an event a couple times a year called Mouse Adventure.

Hope that helps!

 

[mnra]

This will be our second cruise this year and our first ever members cruise. Why would you not go on again. Actually I am looking forward to new ships

 

[mnra]

those pics make me want to jump on a plane and go to disney this weekend.

 

[WDWLVR]

This will be our second cruise this year and our first ever members cruise. Why would you not go on again. Actually I am looking forward to new ships

Well we've been on all the past ones. Some have been great! Some not so. The worst was 2006 and DVC kept hyping it and hyping it even as things were going wrong. They just didn't want to hear about it. They lost of a lot of cruisers that year. Still we gave them a chance in 2007 and it was fantastic. 2008 was ok. What made even the bad years good was the group we cruised with. So I'm sure we'll enjoy this Member Cruise but we do have other things we want to see and do in upcoming years including the 5 night reunion cruise with our blabbermouth (2006 Double Scoop) friends.

 

[mnra]

what made the bad cruises bad. Being with people you know in a group is always fun.

 

[bsusanmb]

Well, if you ask on this board then everyone is going to tell you to go of course!

But, having grown up in Southern California and Disneyland being my "home" park, I would definitely recommend you go, especially if you are so close in San Francisco. If you do go, try to fly into Long Beach or Orange County and not into LAX. You will be alot closer and your airport fees should be cheaper than flying into LAX. You can go onto the Long Beach Airport (LGB)and Orange County (SNA) also known as John Wayne Airport and check flying in and out from there.

Like the others said, DL is much smaller than WDW. If you only had one day, I would still go. You can defintely see everything in 2 days. We just stayed at the Grand Californian in the Concierge level the first weekend in May with DVC points. It was incredible and we saw the fireworks right from our room and the music was plugged right into the TV.

If you fly into LGB or SNA you can take a shuttle to the hotel and if your only plan is DL then you wouldn't even need a rental car. Just a thought....

My good friend has a website and is an expert on Disneyland, if you want I can PM you the link. She knows everything going on in that park and she also does an event a couple times a year called Mouse Adventure.

Hope that helps!

Oh, YES, Linda, I would love the link for that!

GUESS WHAT???? GOOD NEWS....kind of. I had tried 3 times to pay for the $30 tickets and 3 times it said try again...well, never got a confirmation, never got an email from SW. However, today I got 3 emails from paypal saying that I paid for 6 tickets...WHAT???? But as I read and read it appeared that unless SW were to request the money, it wouldn't be paid. So I called SW and explained what happened...they honored the fare. All I had to do was fax them one of the emails from paypal and then pay it with CC...they will not charge paypal at all....SO, here is what I did...I am going to skip Thursday's conference, it is not mandatory, and leave early...get into DL on Thursday am, and have all day Friday also. YEA

BAD NEWS: it is gay pride weekend in DL...not that I care one way or the other about being gay, but it will probably be FULL FULL FULL of people. We have gone to gay day at MK 3 times in a row because I kept forgetting about it being gay day. So what are the chances that I have once in a lifetime to get to DL, with most of expenses paid by work to get out there...and it is gay day. Must be that we like gay people. We must be sympatico.

Oh, well, happy that I will get to go, happy that I have a room at the new Villas in DL, and happy to see SF also...WOW, lucky me.

Susan

PS Linda, I got to see Salt Lake City two years ago when my work sent me there to a conference...what a beautiful city...I stayed extra days and took some tours. Loved it!

 

[wltdsnyfan]

Oh, YES, Linda, I would love the link for that!

GUESS WHAT???? GOOD NEWS....kind of. I had tried 3 times to pay for the $30 tickets and 3 times it said try again...well, never got a confirmation, never got an email from SW. However, today I got 3 emails from paypal saying that I paid for 6 tickets...WHAT???? But as I read and read it appeared that unless SW were to request the money, it wouldn't be paid. So I called SW and explained what happened...they honored the fare. All I had to do was fax them one of the emails from paypal and then pay it with CC...they will not charge paypal at all....SO, here is what I did...I am going to skip Thursday's conference, it is not mandatory, and leave early...get into DL on Thursday am, and have all day Friday also. YEA

BAD NEWS: it is gay pride weekend in DL...not that I care one way or the other about being gay, but it will probably be FULL FULL FULL of people. We have gone to gay day at MK 3 times in a row because I kept forgetting about it being gay day. So what are the chances that I have once in a lifetime to get to DL, with most of expenses paid by work to get out there...and it is gay day. Must be that we like gay people. We must be sympatico.

Oh, well, happy that I will get to go, happy that I have a room at the new Villas in DL, and happy to see SF also...WOW, lucky me.

Susan

PS Linda, I got to see Salt Lake City two years ago when my work sent me there to a conference...what a beautiful city...I stayed extra days and took some tours. Loved it!

Susan,

That is great! Glad you will get to DL.

take care
flo

 

[wltdsnyfan]

I was on the shuttle launch site schedule and I found the below. We have a sea day on that day. I wound if we will be able to see it if it goes off? That would be cool.

Date: Sept. 15
Mission: STSS Demonstrators Program - Missile Defense Agency
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17, Pad B
Description: STSS Demonstrators Program is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator and is part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors and interceptors. To be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency

 

[seaulater]

Well we've been on all the past ones. Some have been great! Some not so. The worst was 2006 and DVC kept hyping it and hyping it even as things were going wrong. They just didn't want to hear about it. They lost of a lot of cruisers that year. Still we gave them a chance in 2007 and it was fantastic. 2008 was ok. What made even the bad years good was the group we cruised with. So I'm sure we'll enjoy this Member Cruise but we do have other things we want to see and do in upcoming years including the 5 night reunion cruise with our blabbermouth (2006 Double Scoop) friends.

I totally agree Mary! And I love the fact that on a four day cruise we get to go to Castaway Cay twice. That's the best. Plus, I get to see many DVC members every year and it becomes like a mini-get together every year on the cruise. It has been alot of fun.

 

[seaulater]

I was on the shuttle launch site schedule and I found the below. We have a sea day on that day. I wound if we will be able to see it if it goes off? That would be cool.

Date: Sept. 15
Mission: STSS Demonstrators Program - Missile Defense Agency
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17, Pad B
Description: STSS Demonstrators Program is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator and is part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors and interceptors. To be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency

On the 2007 Member's Cruise there was a shuttle launch! Captain Henry positioned the ship just perfectly and they put the launch live on the big screen outside and we watched it live and then turned around and looked towards Cape Canaveral and sure enough.......there went the shuttle up and away. I've even got pictures!

 

[WDWLVR]

what made the bad cruises bad. Being with people you know in a group is always fun.

You are right the people have made them great but in two instances I think DVC didn't plan as great a cruise.

2006. Very bad communication. First night go to look at our embarkation picture. It says we are going to Nassau, a day at sea and Castaway Cay. Um no we aren't. We're going to CC twice. See one of the sales reps in the elevator (one that always goes) and he says "isn't the cruise great? We're going to blow you away?" I say "well you got the photos wrong. At no time did they spell out that it was a Member Cruise just a regular 4 day. Then there was Jim Lewis and the rest of his team. It was like they tried to avoid everyone where the year before he was very accessible and everyone talked to you. Just introduced the team and talked to them but no chance for questions and answers. Delayed our visit to Castaway for the first day to keep everyone on board so they could do their sales pitch. Now the real kicker...Jim Lewis was asked point blank if there would be a 2007 Member Cruise. He said nothing was planned but it could happen. He was told that others had been told that a certain time slot was pulled from the DCL site and it was a 4 day cruise. Again he denied it. Then on the last night he asked everyone at "till we meet again" if they had fun. A rousing yes! He asked if everyone wanted to do it again...again we all shouted yes. Then a well I'll let me team know. Well we found out a few weeks later why they wouldn't talk to us and why they denied everything. They set up a special lottery open only to those who hadn't sailed before. They would get to book 1 week before anyone else. To make it more fair. Well excuse me but the old way was fair. If you wanted on you got up early and hit the phones! It backfired on them. They called lots of people from the lottery and said they didn't win but could try and book the next week with the rest of us. Then call in day for new cruises and they didn't get many. So then they called those they had rejected and many of them said they were no longer interested. So the second call in day we call and get on. But many, many DISers vowed to never cruise on another member cruise because they felt they were lied to.

2008 wasn't as bad I just didn't care for the theme and some of the guests. To me 2003 was magical because it was the first full ship Member Cruise. 2005 was the best organized and the best communication. 2007 had the best guest line-up.

Here's hoping 2009 comes through as a great one!

Oh, YES, Linda, I would love the link for that!

GUESS WHAT???? GOOD NEWS....kind of. I had tried 3 times to pay for the $30 tickets and 3 times it said try again...well, never got a confirmation, never got an email from SW. However, today I got 3 emails from paypal saying that I paid for 6 tickets...WHAT???? But as I read and read it appeared that unless SW were to request the money, it wouldn't be paid. So I called SW and explained what happened...they honored the fare. All I had to do was fax them one of the emails from paypal and then pay it with CC...they will not charge paypal at all....SO, here is what I did...I am going to skip Thursday's conference, it is not mandatory, and leave early...get into DL on Thursday am, and have all day Friday also. YEA

BAD NEWS: it is gay pride weekend in DL...not that I care one way or the other about being gay, but it will probably be FULL FULL FULL of people. We have gone to gay day at MK 3 times in a row because I kept forgetting about it being gay day. So what are the chances that I have once in a lifetime to get to DL, with most of expenses paid by work to get out there...and it is gay day. Must be that we like gay people. We must be sympatico.

Oh, well, happy that I will get to go, happy that I have a room at the new Villas in DL, and happy to see SF also...WOW, lucky me.

Susan

PS Linda, I got to see Salt Lake City two years ago when my work sent me there to a conference...what a beautiful city...I stayed extra days and took some tours. Loved it!

Are you going for more than 1 day? If so usually at WDW they have gay day one day in the Magic Kingdom and then another gay day in a different park another day. Be warned that even without gay days Disneyland gets crowded on the weekends as they have lots of local annual pass holders.

I was on the shuttle launch site schedule and I found the below. We have a sea day on that day. I wound if we will be able to see it if it goes off? That would be cool.

Date: Sept. 15
Mission: STSS Demonstrators Program - Missile Defense Agency
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17, Pad B
Description: STSS Demonstrators Program is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator and is part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors and interceptors. To be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency

In 2007 they showed a shuttle launch on the Dumbotron and we could see the contrails in the sky. Pictures are courtesy of Linda (seaulater).

 

[WDWLVR]

On the 2007 Member's Cruise there was a shuttle launch! Captain Henry positioned the ship just perfectly and they put the launch live on the big screen outside and we watched it live and then turned around and looked towards Cape Canaveral and sure enough.......there went the shuttle up and away. I've even got pictures!

Linda - you posted while I was typing up my response. I've included your pictures!

 

[seaulater]

The white streak in the sky from the bottom left upwards in the last picture is the shuttle.

 

[seaulater]

Sorry, but while I am on my Photobucket account, here is one of my favorite pictures that I have taken at sailaway (from the 2005 May Panama Canal Cruise)

 

[seaulater]

Linda - you posted while I was typing up my response. I've included your pictures!

That's so funny! Great minds think alike.

That was so much fun seeing the launch while we were actually on the ship. A great memory from that cruise.