12/09/06 Cruise Continued ~ Pirating Bananas DIS Geekorama Part 2 Part 2

[pyramid2000]

Ya know, the more I think about it, the more irritated I become about the booking onboard. While it is a very nice perk that I would not want to go away, it isn't really very good unless you happen to be onboard near the time dates open up. For ex..I have booked us for the Westbound Repo when they opened up. So far, only the cat 6 has gone up and only $100 pp. We have a 6 and an 11. From past posts, I didn't rebook anything in January because..

1) I wasn't sure what the itinerary would be
2) I already had another cruise booked
3) From previous posts, I thought that special cruises didn't apply

Well boy was I wrong! The 10% discount does apply along with a $250 OBC per room, and tipping is now included from posts I have read. That would mean a $2700 savings off the origional price (with OBC and free tipping included). Now I will definately see about this come Dec, but what if the prices rise by then? Just doesn't seem fair because we aren't cruising right now instead of Dec. Know what I mean?? Keeping my fingers crossed though! I'm not transfering to a TA until after Dec to get another $550-$600 OBC.

Sorry for the babble....just got irritated thinking about it.

 

[klineyqueen]

We never did any of the "family" night time entertainment. We were on 2 other cruises. The first we had no children. The second Jake was only about 8 months and he was too small for that kind of thing. Now I am interested in some of the family stuff.

I was never at the talent show. If it is something your girls are really interested in let them have a chance. They will never see the people again. If they have the confidence to get in front of a group of people and sing then let them! Just my opinion....

 

[klineyqueen]

Ya know, the more I think about it, the more irritated I become about the booking onboard. While it is a very nice perk that I would not want to go away, it isn't really very good unless you happen to be onboard near the time dates open up. For ex..I have booked us for the Westbound Repo when they opened up. So far, only the cat 6 has gone up and only $100 pp. We have a 6 and an 11. From past posts, I didn't rebook anything in January because..

1) I wasn't sure what the itinerary would be
2) I already had another cruise booked
3) From previous posts, I thought that special cruises didn't apply

Well boy was I wrong! The 10% discount does apply along with a $250 OBC per room, and tipping is now included from posts I have read. That would mean a $2700 savings off the origional price (with OBC and free tipping included). Now I will definately see about this come Dec, but what if the prices rise by then? Just doesn't seem fair because we aren't cruising right now instead of Dec. Know what I mean?? Keeping my fingers crossed though! I'm not transfering to a TA until after Dec to get another $550-$600 OBC.

Sorry for the babble....just got irritated thinking about it.

I thought about that too. It could cost more because you might not get an early booking price.

 

[lillygator]

Yes I finally keeping going back to Lisa's manifest to work out the ages....

Brandi - I have two girls:
Samantha 4
Haley 22months (ages as of cruise time)....they both go to daycare full time and the past cruises we've had no problems with the clubs....aside from them planning fun activities during pirate night!

Becka - our little ones are not far apart at all!! but your DD has much more hair than poor Haley!!


Here are some recent pics.....4th of July weekend....me lots of hair....Haley - not so much!

I am 5'3"-5'4" DD - is destined to be tall I think!

poor Haley ===what her parents subject her to!

eventually/hopefully this will be added to our 2006 WDW adventures...we had Alice to ourselves for 20-30min!! It was great....people even came in/by and must have thought we hired her out or something!!

 

[lbgraves]

YIKES! I just bought the tickets for us to go up to Baltimore to see DH graduation. My palms are sweating! I haven't been on a plane since 8/01.

 

[klineyqueen]

V - I love the pictures! Now that I know how to post pics I am sad that I didn't have a digital camera on our last trip. I got my digital the month after our trip!!!

My son will love playing with your DD. He has no boy cousins and 4 girl cousins. His oldes is 10 months older than him, 1 one month younger, one one year younger, one 2 years younger. He is dominated by female power!

He has never been in daycare (my DMom is his sitter but I have been on maternity with DD) He will start preschool. I think (hope, wish, pray) that he will love the clubs.

 

[klineyqueen]

YIKES! I just bought the tickets for us to go up to Baltimore to see DH graduation. My palms are sweating! I haven't been on a plane since 8/01.

You will do just fine! Flying is fun. Just pretend you are on !!!

 

[Bella2000]

Bella 2000 Hi! Glad to see you aboard

Thank you

OY! OY! I thought that I had read that it was a PIB...and that takes up most of your letters. You could always do something that they will be totally clueless about like Doing a DD at CC with the crew.

It was very painful - I finally gave up this week. Excellent suggestion to call first - I wish I had done that initially. I got caught up in an email vortex. What is frustrating is they send you the following email first and then trying to figure out the issue is similar to riding that tide pool in storm along bay - you just go 'round and round.

1st email
Dear Disney Guest,

Thank you for your recent order for a "Make Your Own" Tee shirt or
sweatshirt.

Due to legal merchandise restrictions, these items cannot be
personalized with any type of Business name, any School Name, any
Church, any non-profit business or organization or any other
professional name. If you are including Walt Disney World or
Disneyland
as part of your shirt personalization, for example, "The Smith
Family at
Disneyland", the theme park names must be spelled out fully. These
names must be preceded by the word at, in, on or to. The Disney name
may not be used alone or as an adjective. In general the names of the
Disney characters may not be used as part of the personalization.
These
shirts cannot be personalized with any type of inappropriate verbiage.

Because your recent shirt order met one of the criteria listed above,
your order has been placed on hold. Please contact us at your
earliest
convenience, with personalization information following the guidelines
listed above. Your order will be held for 14 days awaiting your
information. After that timeframe, if we have received no information
on processing your order, it will be cancelled.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your
interest in Disney.

Sincerely,


2nd email in response to my - whom do I contact - email, tel number etc??

**Please do not reply to this email it is an automated response. If this
response does not answer your questions or if you have additional
questions or concerns, please send a NEW email to
GUEST.SERVICES2@DISNEYSHOPPING.COM.**

Dear Disney Guest,

Thank you for your recent product inquiry.

The item you have requested may not be available through
Disneydirect.com. DisneyShopping.com has many great Disney items that
may closely match your interests. Please key into the Search field on
our website the name of the character or item you are interested in
purchasing. Our search function allows you to search for either
specific character-related items or just a general product group.

Regretfully, we cannot guarantee that Walt Disney World carries this
item. However, you may wish to contact the following location for
possible availability of your requested item:

The Walt Disney World Resort
Guest Services Mail Order Department 407-363-6200

Fax 407-352-6369

Address The Walt Disney World Resort
Merchandise Guest Services
P.O. Box 10070
1700 Buena Vista Dr.
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Please visit http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/index to
obtain information regarding Tickets, Park Hours & Events, Vacation
opportunities or Walt Disney World Resorts.

We hope this information helps you, and thank you for your interest in
the magic of Disney.

Sincerely,

DisneyShopping.com



3rd email where I wrote I would like to just cancel that item and proceed with processing everything else.
Dear Bella2000,

Thank you for your recent correspondence.

We apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused. We are
pleased to inform you that we have canceled item # 83024 on your order.

If you should have any further questions, please feel free to contact
us.

Sincerely,

 

[lbgraves]

I haven't heard anything about tips now being included in the price of the cruise??? They do that in Europe with the TAs there but not in the States.

 

[Jhalkias]

YIKES! I just bought the tickets for us to go up to Baltimore to see DH graduation. My palms are sweating! I haven't been on a plane since 8/01.

Lisa,

You'll be fine, and it IS fun!

Besides being fun, it is sooooo much nicer for us when going to WDW - a two hour flight to Orlando instead of a 20 hour drive - I'll take that any day. Who knows, maybe we'll get you guys to fly down sometime!

(Sophia asked me to add that sunshine)

I actually thought it was a typo when you posted you were flying!

John

 

[lbgraves]

You will do just fine! Flying is fun. Just pretend you are on !!!

Uhh...Yeah...sure! Last time was with the kids at 11 months & 33 months...and they both slept the entire way from Raleigh to Dallas!!! This time DD is not happy about the idea of getting on a plane & it is going to be hard for me to pretend that I am ok. DS helped me pick out the seats. On the big jet where we will be sitting together he wanted row 14 right before the wings so he could see. I considered 26 so that we would have the divider wall in front of us so that we would have extra leg room. Another bonus...the emergency exit was right behind it...I had to bite my lip to say of course that probably wouldn't do us any good in a real emergency. I am SO glad that we will be driving back with DH. The direct flight would have been good but for the same price we can leave from our local airport & not have to drive 2 1/2 hours to get there or worry about picking the car up on the way home.

 

[lbgraves]

John, it would be hard for us to fly down because then we would have to worry about luggage. This trip I am going to have a big box full of those stockings. Not sure how I am going to carry them around that first day to hand out yet. Maybe we will have the stroller with us for the carry ons. DH actually did suggest flying to keep the kids from missing another day of school. We'll see how this trip to MC goes.

 

[lbgraves]

We have only gone to the Golden Mickey after party in Studio Sea two years ago. We just never have the time to go inbetween dinner & the show. There are pictures & the shop & Shutters to check...and we like to get in the theater when they open the doors to get close seats for the kids to see well.

 

[kimerinc]

Lisa,

If it helps I understand from another perspective. I have a REAL problem with airport security. And I am not exaggerating. My Dr. actually had to give me something to take before I go through security. It started when we were in Hawaii and they tried to take my then 2 year old (for special screening after security) to screen her by herself because my entire family had been "randomly" selected for that special screening they used to have. Now I just get this amazing anger every time I go through. My DD and DH used to run through before me in case I got in trouble. In Denver last week, they had to send through DD blankey twice, check her pixter, every DVD she had, her DVD player, her DVD Power Cord, Her Crayons and her Disney Princess Coloring Book for bomb materials. I thought I was going to blow a gasket so DH came and stood next to the bag while they checked her snack pack for hazardous materials...

ok, I am taking deep breaths. Best of luck to you! What is your DH graduating in?

 

[lbgraves]

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME?!?!?!? I would NEVER allow them to take a 2 yo away from my sight to "check her out." WTH could a 2 yo do to someone anyway. GRRRR! That is stupidity at it's rarest form. Actually, leaving from our airport will make that easier for me. I have heard horror stories & dread having to deal with something since I haven't traveled since 9/11. Our airport is so small it shouldn't be a big deal...and the kids are familiar with the airport since we have dropped daddy off there. We wont have to deal with security in a big city. DD would simply dissolve at almost 6 if they tried that.

I'm taking deep breaths now too. I really want to take something to keep from having an anxiety attack on the trip...but I have to be able to deal with the kids.

DH is in the government's Executive Leadership graduate program.

 

[Jhalkias]

Yes Kim,

The security thing is sad to me . . . so much of our freedom was taken away on 9/11.

I just grin and bear it, get to the airport plenty early, and thank and cooperate with the people who are just trying to do their job, and keep everyone safe. Sometimes they make stupid decisions - like what you described with your daughter's stuff.

Lisa, I bet William will absolutely love it, and be asking you when the next time he will fly will be!

John

 

[waltsgirl]

I am sure there are people are out there that would try to hide something on a child thinking that the security people won't check them as much.

We have had several bags checked and I have to say it doesn't really bother me, what does bother me is the people that wait until the last minute to go through security and then get upset that it takes a while or try to push us when Sophia is trying to get her stuff off the belt.

 

[lbgraves]

Oh, yes...William is all about flying. LOL! He wants to sit by the window instead of acrost the row from me on the small plane going to Charlotte.

 

[lbgraves]

I am sure there are people are out there that would try to hide something on a child thinking that the security people won't check them as much.

We have had to had several bags checked. I have to say it doesn't really bother me, What does bother me is the people that wait until the last minute to go through security and then get upset that it takes a while or try to push us when Sophia is trying to get her stuff off the belt.

I don't mind having our bags checked at all. It is taking my child out of my sight...especially if they were 2 years old...that bothers me.

 

[waltsgirl]

Lisa- have Kaitlyn email Sophia. Sophia loves to fly she can tell her all about it! She always has to sit by the window.