09/18/11 - DVCers Take Over the Dream (S.S. Member Cruise 2011) - Thread #13

[Hoosier John]

DIAmetrically went well! Muster drill done. At sail away party and ready to cast off!!!

DISmeet went well (autocorrect )

Made it back to Indiana late last night. No (new) issues with the Navigator. Got a free new tire replacement from our dealer. And if I would have kept what was left of the old tire, we could have gotten damage to the side of the truck fixed too.

Yea, where were you Andy? We didn't have time to talk much before the Muster Drill, but I was sure we'd run into each other somewhere. I kept asking people about you and even tried calling your cabin once. Hope you were out having fun and not nursing a sore knee.

Sue, I really wanted to make it up for the Sunrise Coffee Club at least once, but there were just too many late nights. Glad we met at the Off-site DISmeet and again at the beach. It was cool when Dustin came past us Tuesday night at the Wine Club with a cutie (girl #2 I think, the dark haired one) and yelled out, "Hi John." He took her out for ice cream.

I had a great time at Vicki's Offsite DISmeet at Fishlips and at Mickey's Wine club. Sorry Lara couldn't make either one, but it was for the same reason. She is 8 months pregnant and we were really worried she wouldn't be let on the ship so we were keeping that on the down low. Remember at the beginning of the year when Andy posted that it was probably too late, but not to get pregnant right now. It was too late, and I hadn't done the math (plus I hate to pass up the opportunity ).

Thanks to Dan & Sue we had a great time on the pontoon Illuminations Cruise and for the First Annual Vacation Ending Bash. Our Captain offered to cut the cruise short due to the rain, but thanks to Tim for insisting we take the whole tour. She had a lot of interesting trivia along the route, and the resorts look beautiful at night from the water. Terri, I hope your back starts feeling better. Please give us an update when you're back up to speed. Terrie, I enjoyed one of each of your drinks plus Dan's Chartruse (sp?) from France. The Red Velvet cake drink was the most interesting mixed drink and the icing on the rim was perfect.

It was great meeting everyone at the various gatherings. We ran into friends everywhere we went. I dashed down from the Wine Club around midnight to see if guest services knew anything about the traditional group photo the next day and there was Ian and Laura!

And once again, the DIS portion of the cruise was more enjoyable for all of us thanks to Milford, Wally & Terrie, Debbie, Terri, Andy, and Mike. All who worked hard on various voluntary tasks.

 

[friends with mickey]

DISmeet went well (autocorrect )

Made it back to Indiana late last night. No (new) issues with the Navigator. Got a free new tire replacement from our dealer. And if I would have kept what was left of the old tire, we could have gotten damage to the side of the truck fixed too.

Yea, where were you Andy? We didn't have time to talk much before the Muster Drill, but I was sure we'd run into each other somewhere. I kept asking people about you and even tried calling your cabin once. Hope you were out having fun and not nursing a sore knee.

Sue, I really wanted to make it up for the Sunrise Coffee Club at least once, but there were just too many late nights. Glad we met at the Off-site DISmeet and again at the beach. It was cool when Dustin came past us Tuesday night at the Wine Club with a cutie (girl #2 I think, the dark haired one) and yelled out, "Hi John." He took her out for ice cream.

I had a great time at Vicki's Offsite DISmeet at Fishlips and at Mickey's Wine club. Sorry Lara couldn't make either one, but it was for the same reason. She is 8 months pregnant and we were really worried she wouldn't be let on the ship so we were keeping that on the down low. Remember at the beginning of the year when Andy posted that it was probably too late, but not to get pregnant right now. It was too late, and I hadn't done the math (plus I hate to pass up the opportunity ).

Thanks to Dan & Sue we had a great time on the pontoon Illuminations Cruise and for the First Annual Vacation Ending Bash. Our Captain offered to cut the cruise short due to the rain, but thanks to Tim for insisting we take the whole tour. She had a lot of interesting trivia along the route, and the resorts look beautiful at night from the water. Terri, I hope your back starts feeling better. Please give us an update when you're back up to speed.

It was great meeting everyone at the various gatherings. We ran into friends everywhere we went. I dashed down from the Wine Club to see if guest services knew anything about the traditional group photo the next day and there was Ian and Laura!

And once again, the DIS portion of the cruise was more enjoyable for all of us thanks to Milford, Wally & Terrie, Debbie, Terri, Andy, and Mike. All who worked hard on various voluntary tasks.

Hi John, glad to hear you guys made it back with no new issues. Thank you for all your efforts in making the trip more enjoyable for all of us. Let us know when your adorable daughter gets her new sibling. Best of luck to you and your growing family

 

[dvc deernut]

HI JOHN HAVE YOU FINISHED YOUR HUGE RUM DRINK YOU HAD IN THAT TRAVEL MUG IN THE WATER VERY NICE TO MEET YOU AND I HOPE SOMETIME WE CAN HAVE DIS CRUISE .

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

Hi John - glad to hear you made it home safely without incident. I went to my Dr today. I have 2 compression fractures in my back. Now I know I had a good reason for my back to hurt. I'll be fine in 6-8 weeks, just in time for our next trip to the world!

 

[Hoosier John]

Wally (and anyone else who wants one), please PM me your email address and I will send you the digital copy of the Mini-Navigator you asked about.

Just let me know if you would rather have Word 2007 or PDF.

 

[Hoosier John]

Hi John, glad to hear you guys made it back with no new issues. Thank you for all your efforts in making the trip more enjoyable for all of us. Let us know when your adorable daughter gets her new sibling. Best of luck to you and your growing family

It was my pleasure Mike. Very nice to meet you and Debbie! The baby (boy) is due in late October, not too far from my birthday, I'll keep you posted.

HI JOHN HAVE YOU FINISHED YOUR HUGE RUM DRINK YOU HAD IN THAT TRAVEL MUG IN THE WATER VERY NICE TO MEET YOU AND I HOPE SOMETIME WE CAN HAVE DIS CRUISE .

That insulated mug worked out great. I put some rum in it before we left the ship, then added ice and Coke on the island. It lasted all day in the water with no need to get out. Just don't stand in the warmer water surrounding me at certain times.

Hi John - glad to hear you made it home safely without incident. I went to my Dr today. I have 2 compression fractures in my back. Now I know I had a good reason for my back to hurt. I'll be fine in 6-8 weeks, just in time for our next trip to the world!

Ouch. So they will heal on their own without surgery? That is very good to hear, because it seems that only about half the back surgeries fix people completely.

PS NO more lifting heavy luggage, either.

 

[calypso726]

Glad to hear folks are making it home safe and sound. Terri, sorry to hear about your back, I hope it gets better soon

Andy???!!! Where did you disappear to? I was so happy to meet you on the first day and then never really saw you again Hope you are ok and the knee is mending well.

Well, the SSMC11 would have really been a HUGE diappointment if not for the DISpeeps here! DVC did the most UNDERwhelming member cruise. I expected a really impressive experience considering it was the 20th anniversary and all. I was stunned that the port terminal, ship and Castaway Cay were sorely lacking in DVC/Welcome Home decorations. The gifts were sub par and the entertainment/special guests left much to be desired. We will not be doing another member cruise anytime soon.

What really DID make this, the best cruise EVER for us was ALL OF YOU!!!!!! We had such an amazing time! It was so great to finally meet the extended DISfamily in person

We've got a DISpeep cruise already in the works January 12, 2012 a 3 day cruise on the Dream. So far it is me and Wally, Junior & Debbie, Milford and Shawn ... if anyone wants to join in, the more the merrier!

 

[calypso726]

Our door, which somehow kept accumulating more and more shark paraphenalia as the days went by

 

[friends with mickey]

It was my pleasure Mike. Very nice to meet you and Debbie! The baby (boy) is due in late October, not too far from my birthday, I'll keep you posted.

Late October is a great time to be born, I am October 30th

Looking forward to hearing about when y'alls new little cruiser comes on board

 

[Hoosier John]

Late October is a great time to be born, I am October 30th

Looking forward to hearing about when y'alls new little cruiser comes on board

Mine is the 26th, but DD Caitlyn's (20) birthday is October 30th.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I didn't even get a pin. When I went by, they weren't giving any pins away. Those passport covers were pitiful though.

OH! You know what?! I kept thinking we got a pin in our stateroom from RCI...I forgot I grabbed the pin at the desk. I'll send you the one I grabbed if you want it. Honestly, I don't know why I grabbed one....like I said...I'm not really interested in RCI. Yeah, the passport covers were kind of useless. I don't want to put my passport in a cover...that makes it not so easy to carry! LOL


On a totally different subject....can you believe I haven't even started to unpack yet?! I guess I'm trying to postpone the reality that vacation is over as long as I can. But you'd think having to get up and go to work this morning would have been the swift kick in the butt with reality!

I've actually spent all evening yesterday and all evening tonight uploading all of my pictures and videos onto my computer. Now I just have to go through and organize them all. Oh what a chore that is going to be! You guys saw me with my camera....snap....snap....snap!! I think I snap more pictures than a paparazzi photographer!

 

[Hoosier John]

Are you guys back on terra firma already? Hope your cruise was AWESOME!!! Any word on next year's member cruise? We found out while you were at sea that it will sail on October 21st, 2012 but was wondering if they mentioned a date for booking?

Thanks!

Hi MommaluvsDis,

I never heard any talk onboard about the booking date. Roughly I think the booking day is about 10 months out (10 mo before the cruise), and I believe they send out a notice to all DVC members around a month before that.

I'm sure you know to have every phone you have beginning at 8am Eastern, but just in case.

 

[Hoosier John]

We had a great time on the DVC member cruise. Dr.Tom & Dr. Becky our dinner companions were wonderful.

Hi Matthew, Aboard!!!

Did you hear about us on the cruise, or have you been following along for a while? Either way, glad to meet you.

 

[Hoosier John]

However, I thought the food was excellent, except for the Enchanted Garden. This time, I felt as if the servers were not going through the motions and even though tips were pre-paid; they worked to earn them.

Hi Bill,

Interesting ... I had read the same thing, but for us we actually liked the Enchanted Garden the best, followed by Royal Palace with Animators Palate last. We had two Animator dinners first. I tried what I wanted the first night and stuck closer to recommendations on the second. I would say they were about average among the cruise lines we've been on. Maybe Enchanted just matched my palate or mood better?

 

[Hoosier John]

Thanks to all the folks who allowed us to tour their rooms and to all those who participated. It went smoothly except for me listing Junior & Debbie's cabin number incorrectly. We covered 9 rooms in about 2 hours. 16 people also played poker.

Jim Fuller (Laura, lpotter's husband) won 1st place with four 7's (all clubs). These were the first 4 cards he drew! The odds of drawing the same card 4 times in a row are 1:7,311,616! For Michael that's 1/(52*52*52*52) He really fell apart on the 5th card with only a 6 of clubs. Beating the odds of 1 in 7 million earned him a measly $20. He should be playing the Lotto.

Milford took second place with a slightly more modest Two Pair, Aces over 9's, earning him $10. And your host took last place with a King high, earning $2.

 

[dvc deernut]

GOOD MORNING. WELL IM FINDING I SLEEP BETTER ON THE SHIP AND AT THE RESORT. I THINK IM CALLING DISNEY AND ASKING WHAT BEDS THEY USE MAYBE I NEED A ROLLING SEA UNDER MY BUTT!!!!!!

OK IVE BEEN KIND OF IN MARKETING MY WHOLE LIFE. MARKETING WAS ONE OF MY SUBJECTS IN COLLEGE , ALSO ADVERTISING. I WAS IN THE PRINTING BUSINESS AND OFCOURSE I SELL MY DEERNUTS SO I LISTEN TO WHAT MY CUSTOMERS WANT OTHERWISE I LOSE BUSY.
DOES ANYONE ELSE FEEL DVC ISNT LISTENING TO THEIR MOST IMPORTANT FORM OF ADVERTISING. US!!!!!!! WORD OF MOUTH GOES A LONG WAY!!!!
WE WEAR ALL THE DVC CLOTHING, WE ARE A WALKING BILLBOARD FOR DVC. MY OPINION THE NEW LOGO IS A WAY OF GENERATING MORE MORE FROM US, BUY GETTING US TO BUY MORE DVC CLOTHING. I FELT THE NEW FLAG LOOKED LIKE A BIG WHITE BED SHEET WITH A BLUE SPLOTCH ON IT. I LIKED THE OLD LOGO EVEN THOU IT HAS MAUVE MTNS ON IT. I WAS TALKING TO A MEMBER IN THE NEXT CABIN WHO SAILED ON FIRST CRUISES. SHE WAS ASKED IF THEY COULD PASS UP ON THE NEXT DVC CRUISE TO LET NEW CRUISERS GET A CHANCE. THATS FINE BUT, AFTER SAILING A FEW TIMES YOU GET THE IDEA THEY WANT NEW CRUISERS, TO LURE YOU INTO BUYING MORE POINTS AT THE 1 HOUR TALK IN THE THEATRE.
I FEEL THEY ARE TURNING DVC MORE LIKE RCI OR OTHER TIMESHARE!!!!
IN TODAYS ECONOMY THE PRICE FOR POINTS IS GETTING TO HIGH. ID RATHER BUY RESALE WITH LESS TIME AT A LOWER PRICE. YOU CAN STILL STAY WHERE EVER YOU WANT YOU JUST HAVE A SHORTER WINDOW TO BOOK. LAURA AND I REALLY ENJOY OKW. ITS GOT A VERY RELAXING ATMOSPHERE AND WE CAN STAY LONGER AT DISNEY USING LESS POINTS.

IF I WAS TO GRADE THE CRUISE OUT OF 10 ID GIVE DCL A 10, I WILL GIVE THE GUESTS THEY BROUGHT ON A 10+. BUT DVC A 2 JUST BECAUSE OF THE OTHER EVENTS I MENTIONED ON BOARD, AND ALL OF YOU WE SAILED WITH A 12!!!!!

ID LIKE TO VENT WITH A DVC REP BUT I FEEL LIKE IT FALLS ON DEAF EARS. AT LEAST DISNEY ITSELF LISTENS TO WHAT YOU FEEL IS GREAT AND WHAT NEEDS CHANGING.

ANYWAYS I HAD TO GET THAT OFF MY CHEST!

 

[dvc deernut]

IM REALLY GOING TO MISS ALL THE FUN LIKE THIS!!!!!

 

[calypso726]

I did not think that would be a fun tour for me. Wally disagreed Now I've got you, Andy and Wally plotting against me ... sheesh.

 

[dvc deernut]

OH LOOK!!! I FOUND A HAPPY DVC MEMBER WHOM I MUST OF CONVERTED TO KONK KOOLERS AND LOOKING VERY RELAXED WEARING HIS CANADIAN BEACH ATTIRE!

 

[dvc deernut]

I did not think that would be a fun tour for me. Wally disagreed Now I've got you, Andy and Wally plotting against me ... sheesh.

THANKS TERRIE, I JUST DOWNLOADED THE PHOTO. ANOTHER GREAT MEMORY I LOVE THE SMILE ON WALLYs FACE!! WELL THE SMILE I KNOW HE HAS

PS>> I CAN DO A LOT ON PHOTO SHOP WITH THIS PHOTO!!!!!