11/06/04 Western New and Improved Official Thread!

[scottygirl]

Jennifer,

I second what Sherry said about couple time. DH won a sales promotion trip to Cabo Sab Lucas when DS10 was 8 months old. We left him with my MIL and SIL and he was fine. Don't feel guilty, your daughter will probably have a ball and you will enjoy yourself much more. It will be good for your marriage and a great bonding experience for your daughter and grandparents. I found I really missed him toward the end of the trip and was happy to get home, but I never regretted going on the trip.

Sherry, (sorry Sherry I noticed I spelled your name wrong in my previous post) I think it would be a good idea to plan an alternate location for the DISmeet in the event it rains. Any suggestions? How about the Promenade Lounge? I think that is the family lounge? Can any of the seasoned DCL cruisers confrim this?

TTFN,

Jackie

 

[jjgarv]

Sherry, Karen, and Jackie,

Thank you so much for your encouraging words! And you are so right about the importance of DH and I having some "couple time." DH booked our excursions today, so I'm getting more and more excited about the cruise! No way we could do the Fury Catamaran with a toddler!

Also, I noticed, Karen, that you mentioned a 150.00 soda credit through AAA. What's that about? We have AAA, too.

Thanks again, mothers!

Jennifer

 

[TYTY]

I booked through AAA also and didn't receive a soda credit.

 

[sjcubedofct]

Do we receive these credits with our tickets and stuff?

 

[jel0511]

o.k. guys, I need some advice... Should I start panicking yet? All Seasons still hasn't charged through my final payment. They keep telling me that I'm in the right pile to be called into DCL, but it just hasn't been done yet. They keep telling me probably today when I call, and if not then tomorrow. This has been the same story since Tuesday. I understand everything is back-up with the hurricane and everything, but I'm afraid of losing my ressie!!! WHat should I do? I keep checking my credit card on-line and nothing has been done yet. It's getting rather frustrating!! HELP!!!

 

[jerry112]

Sherry, Jennifer and TYTY,

When disney added the free soda (coke) to the beverage stations, they offered anyone who booked through AAA a credit because the free soda mugs were part of the AAA cruise package.

If you do a search on the cruise forum you should find lots of threads pertaining to this. I believe it was implemented in June and 7-day outside staterooms (cat. 1-10?) were given 150.00 credit.

My agent did not offer this info to me when we were reviewing our contract, I told her ( thanks to these boards!) and said she would call disney to find out. Sure enough, she came back and said that was correct. Our friends agent told them it was only 100.00 and when she corrected her, she also received the 150.00.

I had my agent put this in writing in our contract as I don't trust word of mouth. Also, I assume it will show up on our stateroom account like the onboard credit does. Good Luck!

jel0511- Keep pestering them. They will get so sick of hearing from you, they'll finally put it through. ( You know, the squeaky wheel saying and all!)

Karen

 

[TYTY]

Thanks Karen - I'll call our TA.

 

[scottygirl]

Jennifer,

We are doing the Fury Catamaran in Cozumel also!! I am really looking forward to it.

Lori,

Have you tried calling DCL directly? I would call them and make sure your ressie is still there. When you go on the DCL website there appears to be plenty availability on the cruise so if worse comes to worse Allseas would have to rebook you at your original quoted price!! Let us know what happens.

We are taking our kids out of school for 2 1/2 days for this cruise. Well, we had meet the teacher last night and my DS10's teacher had me shaking in my boots!! She is very strict and expects a lot out of the kids. I haven't told her we are going yet and I am not sure when to break the news. I'm kind of scared of her reaction and my main concern is how DS will be treated by her after she finds out. Now I am not normally the type of person who is afraid to speak my mind but she just came across so strong to both DH and me. DS10 had never missed a day of school until last year when he came down with the chickenpox. I hope I haven't made a big mistake. When I got home last night I called the airlines and switched to an earlier flight home after the cruise so that we will have more time to make up homework. Thanks for lenting me vent.

TTFN,

Jackie

 

[jel0511]

I'm happy to report that I just checked my credit card statement on-line and my final payment has FINALLY been made!!! It's for $35 less than the full amount, but I think All Seasons does that and there will be another $35 charge from them directly. YIPPEE!!! Trust me, if I had called over there this afternoon, and final payment hadn't been made yet, I was calling DCL this afternoon, before any possible Ivan stuff started happening. So, we're now all set. All Palo and spa ressies made via REAS, and Captain Marvins for Grand Cayman all set. I just need to lose 10 pounds before we board!!!

Jackie - we're taking DD out of school for the whole week, and I was nervous too. She's only in First Grade, so it's not like she's going to miss much, and her teacher told me not to sweat it. She said she'll send home a few things for her to do, but it's really not all that much. She also has the day off before we fly down (Thursday) so any homework that needs to get accomplished, I'll make sure she gets it done that day. I wouldn't worry about it, the teacher just seems as strict, because she is. My brother is a teacher, and he always tells me that it's important for both the students and parents to know that he means business. It helps him get the respect he deserves, and helps the parents understand that they also need to be part of the process. Believe it or not, some parents think that the school should be TOTALLY responsible for their children's education and really don't want to get involved. My brother teaches 5th grade, and he said that at that age, it is important to have respect. I wouldn't sweat it, and my brother wouldn't care if a child was going to miss a few days. Also, if you get any type of flack, just alradyknow your school's unexcused absense policy. That way, if she does give you any, you'll already have the district's policy behind you!! Good luck, and don't stress!!!!!

 

[jjgarv]

Jackie,
I've been a school psychologist for the past ten years, and IMHO, teachers seem to deal best with these situations if you give them plenty of notice. That way, you all can plan ahead to make sure nothing serious is missed, and maybe even work ahead a bit. I would suggest that you be very matter-of-fact about having this family trip planned, but you also recognize this importance of school...so you and teacher can "work together" to ensure that DS's work gets done in a timely manner... And then keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best!

My DH also works for the schools, and the funny thing is that we are going through the same thing with our supervisors to get that week off!!! And I'm gonna use the same line that I suggested that you try with the teacher!

Let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Jennifer

 

[scottygirl]

Jennifer and Lori, thanks for your support. After the meet the teacher night some parents stayed and talked with Mrs. A and she said she will be taking off a week at the end of October for a trip to Hawaii with her hubby to celebrate there 30th wedding anniversary. I say whats good for the goose is good for the gander!! I am going to write her a note this weekend and I will let Mrs. A know that we are clebrating our 15th anniversary on our cruise!!

TTFN,

Jackie

 

[jel0511]

YIPPEE!! Just booked my Castaway Cay excursion!!! We're going to be doing the Jet Ski tour at 9:45!!! So, now I'm all set. Butterfly Farm in Key West (DD 6 insisted on this), Captain Marvin's half day snorkle in Grand Cayman, Paradise Beach in Cozumel, and now the Jet Ski Tour on Castaway Cay!!! YIPPEE!!! I can't wait!! I'm also moving my Palo ressie from Cozumel night to Grand Cayman night, have a call into Debbie. I don't want to miss the new Pirate menu!! Also, DH said he might want to venture into Cozumel for dinner at Carlos and Charlies, so this way we have both options open!!!

 

[scottygirl]

Lori, Great minds think alike! I booked our Palo ressie on Grand Cayman night also, so that we had the option to go into town on Cozumel night. I figured it was the only port we would be in at night so we might as well take advantage of that. I originally booked my Palo ressie at 7:00, but I have called Debbie twice now and left a message that I wanted it changed to 7:30 so that we can still go to the 6:30 show if we want. I asked her to call me back to confirm she got the message and I still haven't heard from her. I hope she made the changes. Do they give you anything upon boarding that confirms the REAS ressies?

I sent Mrs. A (DS10 teacher) a note to inform her of our cruise. I haven't heard anything back yet, so maybe no news is good news! She gives a LOT of homework, so I know we will have a busy Sunday getting it done when we get back.

Grand Cayman was hit really hard by IVAN. I wonder if it will affect our trip. Any thoughts from our fellow cruisers?

TTFN,

Jackie

 

[jjgarv]

Booked REAS goodies with Debbie this morning... Unfortunately, DH and I cannot get our massages at different times, and are booked into a COUPLES massage room...oh well

Is it November yet???

 

[TYTY]

Karen,

Thanks for the tip on the credit. I called our TA and we also got the credit.

Also, I was wondering if I missed this but did we determine a place inside for our DIS meet if it's raining outside?

Paula

 

[jerry112]

Paula,

Glad to be of help. Wasn't it great to get that extra $$? Just think of the possibilities! Not sure about the DIS meet and am wondering what port will take the place of Grand Cayman. I truly doubt they will be up and ready for us by Nov. Sending a little pixie dust their way though!

Karen

 

[scottygirl]

Hi fellow cruisers!

I suggested the Promenade Lounge for the rain location. I think it is a family lounge, no smoking! Of course it is not going to rain so it won't matter!! I am curious about Grand Cayman also. I bummed out because that was the port I was most looking forward to. I just hope they don't replace it with Nassau! Have a nice weekend.

TTFN,

Jackie

 

[TYTY]

Hi Jackie,

I guessed I missed your post. So then it's the Promenade Lounge. But, of course like you said, it's not going to rain

I agree with you about going to Nassau. That's not one of my favorite ports.

Paula

 

[jjgarv]

Does anyone have any idea how booked our cruise is? My in-laws, who are travelling with us on their first DCL cruise, ar hoping for a pier upgrade to a cabin with a veranda. How can we find out how full the ship is so far?

 

[scottygirl]

Jennifer,

Go to www.disneycruise.com and request a quote for the Nov 6 sailing and it will come up with the available cabins. Last time I checked the cruise was not full. HTH

TTFN,

Jackie