2007 DVC Member Cruise - SSMC07 - October 21, 2007

[cobbler]

I asked this on the regular forum, but have any of you done the gifts in the stateroom prior?

I was thinking about doing the stateroom celebrations, getting the bon voyage one. Anyone ever done these? Have any pictures? How was the cake?

 

[WDWLVR]

We are so excited to be going on this cruise!! This will be our 4th Disney Cruise, 1st DVC. We're counting the days.
Now, if I could only get my 2.5 year old potty trained in time. He'll be 3 October 17. Just in time for the cruise!!

Oh, we are staying at the All Star Resort. Is it too late to get in on the transportation to Port Canaveral? If it is, do you know what our options are? We have always flown in and then got on the bus. Never stayed the night before leaving.

Thanks so much!! I look forward to meeting everyone! This is gonna be sooooo great!!

Nicole DW to Wayne and Mommy to Alexander 10~17~04

Welcome to the DIS, the DCL forums and the Member Cruise meets thread!

We have a small little web page set up for the group. If you want to come meet everyone details are in the very first post on the thread including how to contact me if you want to include your family.

As for transportation your options from Disney is their bus. Sorry but I'm not sure if they pick-up at All-Stars or not. Other options would be to take a private limo or a one day rental car. Last year someone in our group did rent a bus for the group. I believe someone this year was talking about looking into it but don't know if it ever got beyond that stage. Sorry I can't be more help in that area.

We look forward to seeing you and your family on board!

 

[WDWLVR]

I asked this on the regular forum, but have any of you done the gifts in the stateroom prior?

I was thinking about doing the stateroom celebrations, getting the bon voyage one. Anyone ever done these? Have any pictures? How was the cake?

We've never done any of the stateroom celebrations, but Mark did surprise me with the crystal block that has the ship etched in it on one of our cruises.

I've also used Shirley from The Perfect Gift for a gift basket once and it was very nice (it was for my MIL as we were traveling with them over Mother's Day).

Remember, too, that DVC is going to have gifts waiting and more throughout the cruise.

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Member Cruisers! ​

​

We sail in 17 weeks!

​

 

[acourtwdw]

We've never done any of the stateroom celebrations, but Mark did surprise me with the crystal block that has the ship etched in it on one of our cruises.

I've also used Shirley from The Perfect Gift for a gift basket once and it was very nice (it was for my MIL as we were traveling with them over Mother's Day).

Remember, too, that DVC is going to have gifts waiting and more throughout the cruise.

We have done the anniversary celebration for my parents when we were on the seven day. The cake was good, but you can also do the cake at dinner if you let the dining room know what you are celebrating.

 

[cobbler]

What excursions do you all recommend? Or do you mostly hang out on the beach and relax?

I thought of doing maybe the 3 in 1 (bike, float, snorkel) on day one at Castaway, and then the stingray and relax more on the second day.

 

[EeyoreJMH]

Other options would be to take a private limo or a one day rental car.

We're doing the rental car option, as this has worked well for us in the past. We'll pick up the car from Budget on Saturday morning. Then we'll drive over to Port Canaveral after a nice breakfast on the BoardWalk. DH will drop me and the luggage off at the terminal, then return the car to the Budget location near port. He'll hop on the shuttle back to the port and off we'll go. For us, the rental is less expensive than the DCL shuttle and we get to go on our own schedule.

 

[acourtwdw]

We're doing the rental car option, as this has worked well for us in the past. We'll pick up the car from Budget on Saturday morning. Then we'll drive over to Port Canaveral after a nice breakfast on the BoardWalk. DH will drop me and the luggage off at the terminal, then return the car to the Budget location near port. He'll hop on the shuttle back to the port and off we'll go. For us, the rental is less expensive than the DCL shuttle and we get to go on our own schedule.

We like to do the car thing also. There is a hotel not far from the port that does rentals. We like to pick up the car at Orlando airport. Use it for a couple of days at WDW. Drive to the hotel near the port. drop it off and then take the shuttle to the port. Shuttle back to the hotel after the cruise and back to WDW. That way we don't have to pay for a car that is just sitting at the port. It has worked out well for us. The down side is the shuttle tends to be busy and it can be a short wait. But after over fifty trips to WDW we are used to a wait.

 

[PKK/MJK]

Cobbler

I received both the birthday package and the bon voyage package on our 2006 DVC cruise. This included decorations, champagne, cake etc. This included a magnetic Happy Birthday sign on the door. Cake was very good but not enough refigeration to keep all the goodies fresh. Really enjoyed the surprise from my daughter and grandkids.

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone!

I think the 3 in 1 is a good deal. We biked for the first time on our last cruise and plan to do it again this time to go see the new observation tower. We bring our own snorkel gear.

We did the stingrays last May and really enjoyed it. It is a great first experience with the stingrays and perfect for kids. We enjoyed the stingray experience more in Grand Cayman because you are in deeper water and they tend to interact with you more, but the Castaway Cay experience is a good one.

 

[wispy204]

Hi there! Thank you for the idea to rent a car. That would probably be a good thing. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that there is a Budget place near there. Can you tell me where? This might be a good idea for us since we'll have our 3 year old with us.

We have already put our information on the list and really can't wait to meet everyone!! I always look forward to the cruise. We did the Holloween one a few years back. That was sooooo neat!

Thank you for all your help as well. I am so greatful I found this board!

Nicole DW to Wayne and Mommy to Alexander

 

[WDWLVR]

We have already put our information on the list and really can't wait to meet everyone!! I always look forward to the cruise. We did the Holloween one a few years back. That was sooooo neat!

Nicole - now I remember! You are the one with the beautiful picture taken on the beach. Where was that taken? Was it Vero? Great to see you posting!

 

[wispy204]

Actually, It was taken at ......dare I say.......Beaches Turks and Caicos

Alexander was really into Elmo (though not one life size) last year. Now it's all about Mickey.

Nicole DW to Wayne and Mommy to Alexander

 

[WDWLVR]

Actually, It was taken at ......dare I say.......Beaches Turks and Caicos

Alexander was really into Elmo (though not one life size) last year. Now it's all about Mickey.

Nicole DW to Wayne and Mommy to Alexander

Nicole - of course you can say Beaches Turks and Caicos (or as I heard it called once on the CB Cakes and Tacos). We love Disney but we still travel other places. Just came back from Vegas and went to Hawaii earlier this year (of course part of that was courtesy of DVC).

 

[EeyoreJMH]

Hi there! Thank you for the idea to rent a car. That would probably be a good thing. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that there is a Budget place near there. Can you tell me where? This might be a good idea for us since we'll have our 3 year old with us.

It's at 8401 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 US 321-951-4813.

The shuttle is free, but can be busy in the morning. My best suggestion is, if possible, get dropped off at the drop off area and have just one person return the car.

 

[gamomof2]

We've decided to get a car with Avis to get from resort to port. The shuttle "might" go up the day before and we'd like to drive over to see it.

Anyone dealt with Avis from resort to port or airport to port before?

 

[wispy204]

Hey everyone!!

We decided on the rental car idea. We rented through Thrifty.com @ $22.06 per day. We also had to get the car seat for Alexander. This will be better since we won't be in a rush to catch the bus and then waiting for the bus to go. I also like the idea of having him in a car seat for the ride. Did anyone see that bus accident in Kentucky? So that sortof sealed my deal. Not that anything like that would happen. I'm just being nutty.

Will rent again from Thrifty from PC to WDW on the way back as well.

Nicole DW to Wayne and Mommy to Alexander

 

[WDWLVR]

We're diriving our own car this time, but we've used Avis before. On the way to the cruise he dropped me and luggage off and returned the car then came back on the shuttle. After the cruise we did the same thing. I stayed with the luggage (and another family) while the DH's went on the shuttle to pick up the cars. Very easy to do. The pick-up/drop-off zone is very organized for the shuttle pick-ups.

 

[disney25]

Do any of the hotels in the area offer a free shuttle to the port. We are thinking of coming in the night before and renting a car to drive down to the port area and stay over there. Is it easier to keep the car until the morning and do the shuttle from the rental car location???

Sorry if some of this is a repeat. Thank you as always for all of the advice!!!

 

[WDWLVR]

I know the Radisson offers the free shuttle to the port. Not sure about any of the other hotels. We've used it a couple of times with great success. Last time we rented a car we kept it until the next morning. We drove over and met some fellow cruisers at Grills for breakfast and from there drove to the port. Mark dropped me and the luggage off and then returned the car to Avis and took their shuttle back. He was back before they even opened the gates and we went in together. Worked out great.