10/24/2009 Bash On the Boat (I'm with B.O.B.) - Thread #26

[captchris]

Funny you should say that. The majority of the vehicles that I have owned have all been Fords too. This PT Cruiser is the first non-Ford that I have owned since my Renault Alliance (What a peice of crud!) I agree with you that the Windstar was not well built. I owned one and would not have bought another. A new Mini-Van has been on our radar and we've actually liked the Honda Oddessy and the Chrysler Grand Caravan with our preferance for the latter. We'll be paying off the F250 with the money from the Explorer then paying off the PT with the payments from the F250 and then I'll be Throwing $1000/month towards paying off my 5th wheel. Once all that is done then we'll get our Van.

We drive a Toyota Sienna minivan and after 4 years and 90,000 miles, we have not done anything to it other than preventative maintenance, tires, and brakes. I would buy another Toyota, but our local dealer is a crook. I have stopped getting it serviced there and now take it to our Chevrolet dealer where I get our full size van serviced. They treat us well there and don't try to nickel and dime us.

Our next car will be a Honda Odyssey. We will probably replace our Sienna after Christmas 2010.

 

[B9erSteve]

Steve - thanks for all this detailed info! Great stuff. I am in a Cat 6 room (with an assigned cabin number). Will they upgrade us automatically or will they call us to see if we are interested in "paying" for an upgrade?? (I kind of like the location of my cabin and I don't want to be automatically moved to a less desirable spot in a higher category...)

I have been hearing of people getting calls for discounted upgrades. Since you are in a Cat 6 you'd be upgraded to a Cat 4. Not much of an upgrade for the price. But if you got the call I'd ask them for the cost to upgrade to Cat 3. If that's reasonable then I'd go for that. Since there appears to be at least enough inventory in Cat 4 to keep it out of GTY territory, I'd say that You may have a reasonable shot at being upgraded to Cat 4 for free. Since it only means a few more sq. ft., free would be a better deal.

The upgrades will be doled out around the 1 month mark so those who have been upgraded to a less desirable cabin can probably still refuse the upgrade.

 

[captchris]

Funny you should say that. The majority of the vehicles that I have owned have all been Fords too. This PT Cruiser is the first non-Ford that I have owned since my Renault Alliance (What a peice of crud!) I agree with you that the Windstar was not well built. I owned one and would not have bought another. A new Mini-Van has been on our radar and we've actually liked the Honda Oddessy and the Chrysler Grand Caravan with our preferance for the latter. We'll be paying off the F250 with the money from the Explorer then paying off the PT with the payments from the F250 and then I'll be Throwing $1000/month towards paying off my 5th wheel. Once all that is done then we'll get our Van.

Our 2002 Ford E-350 that we had in Maine in our previous appointment had a lot of minor stuff that the dealer could not fix. That van drove nice, and overall was nice, but there was some serious quality issues that I noticed that my 1998 that I replaced it with didn't have.

When you would drive on the highway in a rainstorm, the turn signals wouldn't work for a day or two afterwards. Something was getting wet and shorting out. The dealer couldn't figure it out. It did this when brand new and through its life.

At about 40-50K miles, the engine developed a very loud knock when "chugging" along at 50 or so mph. I asked the dealer, they claimed to not have heard it, but it was there on the 02, and not on the 98 (same engine)

It was fairly maintenance free except for those two things. I had it for 3 years before being transferred to CT, but now I really like the Chevrolet full size vans. The 2007 that I bought 2 years ago is an absolute gem.

 

[JLDSMD]

I have been hearing of people getting calls for discounted upgrades. Since you are in a Cat 6 you'd be upgraded to a Cat 4. Not much of an upgrade for the price. But if you got the call I'd ask them for the cost to upgrade to Cat 3. If that's reasonable then I'd go for that. Since there appears to be at least enough inventory in Cat 4 to keep it out of GTY territory, I'd say that You may have a reasonable shot at being upgraded to Cat 4 for free. Since it only means a few more sq. ft., free would be a better deal.

The upgrades will be doled out around the 1 month mark so those who have been upgraded to a less desirable cabin can probably still refuse the upgrade.

I agree, unless you need that little bit of extra space in a Cat 4, I would not pay for an upgrade from a Cat 6. It will probably come free to several though (unless they leap frog Cat 7 people up there).

I think the one and only upgrade we got was about 5-6 weeks out. I'd have to look back at my records for that cruise. I know we sailed 3rd week of January and knew before the 15th of Dec.

 

[captchris]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an upgrade. I wouldn't mind being on Deck 1-2 in a Category 9.

 

[JLDSMD]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an upgrade. I wouldn't mind being on Deck 1-2 in a Category 9.

Are you a Cat 11 or 12 right now?

 

[B9erSteve]

I agree, unless you need that little bit of extra space in a Cat 4, I would not pay for an upgrade from a Cat 6. It will probably come free to several though (unless they leap frog Cat 7 people up there).

I think the one and only upgrade we got was about 5-6 weeks out. I'd have to look back at my records for that cruise. I know we sailed 3rd week of January and knew before the 15th of Dec.

Nice Christmas present!

 

[captchris]

Are you a Cat 11 or 12 right now?

Cat 11 with a room assignment.

 

[JLDSMD]

Nice Christmas present!

I was going to keep it from DW, but that lasted about 5 minutes. Can you tell how excited I was.

 

[B9erSteve]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an upgrade. I wouldn't mind being on Deck 1-2 in a Category 9.

I'd be willing to bet that you'll see that Cat 9. There's still a lot of inventory in the cat 8's and cat 9's. They'll want to move the inside cabin ppl in order to discount them.

 

[B9erSteve]

I was going to keep it from DW, but that lasted about 5 minutes. Can you tell how excited I was.

That's what happened with us on the KK cruise. I shouted "OMG!" THEN thought about surprising Laura with it, but by then she knew something was up. IF it happens this time, (I'm really not holding my breath at this point) then I'll be much more sly.

 

[JLDSMD]

Cat 11 with a room assignment.

Is that on a higher floor? Would you go to Deck 1 with the two small portholes?

 

[B9erSteve]

Is that on a higher floor? Would you go to Deck 1 with the two small portholes?

That would bite. Let's hope for Cat 9 Deck 2!

 

[JLDSMD]

That's what happened with us on the KK cruise. I shouted "OMG!" THEN thought about surprising Laura with it, but by then she knew something was up. IF it happens this time, (I'm really not holding my breath at this point) then I'll be much more sly.

Hey, I'm almost to the point of paying the $468 for the Cat 7 from what we have right now and not telling her until we get on the ship, but she'd kill me. We already know we won't be spending much time in the room this cruise and that $468 can be spend elsewhere.

 

[JLDSMD]

Looks like I'll be heading to lunch here in a bit, so I'll catch you guys later.

 

[JOANNEL]

Hey, I'm almost to the point of paying the $468 for the Cat 7 from what we have right now and not telling her until we get on the ship, but she'd kill me. We already know we won't be spending much time in the room this cruise and that $468 can be spend elsewhere.

How do you know how much an upgrade will cost?

 

[B9erSteve]

How do you know how much an upgrade will cost?

For us Upgrading right now would cost ~$550 that would take the four of us from Cat 9 to Cat 6. I'd like to do that but unless I find a cache of money someplace it's not happening. If Disney called me and offered to upgrade me to Cat 6 for $300 or less, I'd probably go ahead and get it because I perceive it as a deal (esp since if things remain the same, I'll not be upgraded for free)

I think I have heard of people being offered an upgrade for $400 but I don't remember from what Category to what Category. Or even how many were in their parties. (I'm not sure it was stated.)

 

[B9erSteve]

How do you know how much an upgrade will cost?

Oops! I forgot to answer your question. You can go to the DCL site and essentially try to book a cabin on our cruise. It will then tell you all of the categories and their prices. The difference between what you have now and what you want would be what you will need to pay (aproximately) Oh, and if you re-booked onboard, I believe that you'd get your 10% off that upgrade amount as well.

 

[JOANNEL]

Oops! I forgot to answer your question. You can go to the DCL site and essentially try to book a cabin on our cruise. It will then tell you all of the categories and their prices. The difference between what you have now and what you want would be what you will need to pay (aproximately) Oh, and if you re-booked onboard, I believe that you'd get your 10% off that upgrade amount as well.

Thanks, I will check it out.

 

[captchris]

I am back...Just took DS to get a slice of Pizza from Papa Gino's. It's a fairly decent chain here in New England. I don't like chain pizza but Papa Gino's isn't too bad.

Is that on a higher floor? Would you go to Deck 1 with the two small portholes?

Right now we are on Deck 7 between the forward and midship elevators. I would rather a full size, but i'd be content with the two small ones. My parents were on Deck 1 for their first DCL cruise and they liked it. They said it was very quiet and very convenient getting on and off the ship.