6/24 douple dip reunion blues

[BethA]

Everyone I know that has gone to Bermuda loved it. I had hoped the one rumpr of DCL out of NY to Bermuda was true, but it looks like CA now. I don't know what we'll do. I'll have to look at air to the west coast.
I'm just shocked they would move the Magic 2 years in a row. They will lose some loyal customers who will try something else that is cheaper and not return to DCL.

 

[RCBA]

I've actually looked into cruising on another line....gasp!!!!

Just kidding.

Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas were the Mexico ports last time, I checked cruise critic and didn't find anything about them that just wowed me enough to warrant DCL prices.

We might consider the Wonder combined with WDW, or just wait till '09
I'd be interested in a Christmas cruise but I think our families would riot

 

[Doingitagain]

We did the west coast Mexico cruise in 2005 and we won't go back. It was nice to see Disneyland and some new places in Mexico, but it didn't leave us excited to go back. The first few days at sea were very cold ... in June ... I had to buy an extra sweater. People didn't use the pools. Should have guessed when the Castaway Club gift was a blanket.

 

[RCBA]

Should have guessed when the Castaway Club gift was a blanket.

How would you compare the ports on our double dip to the riviera? Better, worse, about the same?

 

[Doingitagain]

How would you compare the ports on our double dip to the riviera? Better, worse, about the same?

I think they were about the same, but perhaps not as much sailing/snorkeling if that is what you are looking for. I know we did a trip into the rainforest and some horseback riding on a beach and some off-road driving (Oh Lorie and Jill, remember when I got back from the jeep trip this summer? Yikes.). If someone is really interested, I have some information (may be marked up!) I could dig out of my file and pdf it for you.

 

[RCBA]

Thanks for the offer to dig out the info, given your feedback don't worry about it

 

[musicgirl]

Marie-memories.......

I've been looking at a 9 night with Princess. It looks good! 2 sea days, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, sea day, Bermuda and another sea day. $3500, with no air since we would drive to NY, but it is $180 to park at the pier! Yikes!!!!!

I checked out the Princess cruise meet board for the date, and I think they need some guidance!!! I can tell it won't be the same on that cruise meet board.

I just don't know how to say good bye to DCL, well at least until it would just be Bill and I, and that could be 10, 20 years!!!

 

[BethA]

Marie---I never realized it would be cold on the west coast--weren't people unhappy about that? I wonder if they can adjust the itinerary to change that. I would not want to cruise and be cold for a few days. Did they have more activities to make up for the cold.

So what will you do instead of DCL?

 

[Doingitagain]

Marie---I never realized it would be cold on the west coast--weren't people unhappy about that? I wonder if they can adjust the itinerary to change that. I would not want to cruise and be cold for a few days. Did they have more activities to make up for the cold.

So what will you do instead of DCL?

Once we got to Mexico it was warm. It was the first two sea days that were cool. Really limited anything outdoors on the ship.

We are taking a 10 day med DCL cruise this summer, with a three day prestay in Barcelona and four days in the UK after. That is keeping me busy planning. I probably won't get the "DCL blues" until after that is over.

With Beth starting college this fall, we won't be planning any extended vacations for a while until we know schedules. I was lucky I was able to pull off being away from work three weeks this coming summer (well, at least I am for now).

We are DVC members, so perhaps Adventures by Disney. We have done quite a few DCL cruises, so we have missed out some of the land based US tourist stops. We want Hawaii and Alaska also (although I heard Hawaii is very expensive...my co-worker paid $7.99 for a gallon of milk!).

 

[RCBA]

Lorie, did you decide on Princess?

 

[musicgirl]

Yes, we are booked. We are excited, the boards that I have are kind of quiet. I'm trying really hard! Five months out and they only have 14 pages and about 5-6 families on the cruise meet board.

I'm very disappointed, but we simply can't cruise at any other time of year, and the West coast itineraries don't float my boat...pun intended!

Maybe DCL will have a change of heart for June 2009!

Anyone else planning something new?

 

[RCBA]

No new plans as of yet...
Here are some of my thoughts though:
WDW maybe a Wonder cruise if we find a good deal
Grand Cayman
Hawaii

Maybe '09 DCL for us

 

[RCBA]

Just wondering if anyone from our group booked for 6/08?

 

[Doingitagain]

Just wondering if anyone from our group booked for 6/08?

We did not. I may have considered it for a Caribbean. We did the Mexican Riviera DCL cruise in 2005 and it has been our least favorite DCL itinerary.

We are heading to the Med this summer. It will be a very different cruise...a lot of port time and off the ship on excursions. Plus our daughter will be 18, so she won't be able to go with the teens...but she wants to play bingo and go to Palo! Our son will be 15, but he is not quite as social and I am not sure how much time he will spend in the Stack. But again, there are only 2 sea days and most port days we are off the ship early and not back until dinner. For the first time, we are trying second seating, since we knew we would either miss a lot of early dinners or have to rush getting ready.

 

[musicgirl]

We didn't book. I have written a few emails to DCL. Not that I am expecting anything, but I thought that as a loyal DCL cruiser, that they should know that they really blew it when it comes to the summer of 2008. There are so many different scenarios they could have explored, but they didn't. I was really hoping for some alternations of 3,4,7 on the Wonder.

I never thought I could cruise with another line. But if I wait, that would MAYBE be the summer of 2009. Andrew would be be almost 19 so he wouldn't be allowed in the Stack, which he loves. Plus, he'll be working his butt off for college.

Oh well, I'm not waiting around for them. I'm actually very excited about our Princess cruise. Wow, not so hard waiting when I booked at around 150 days out as compared to 625 days out!!!

It's hard because I have to learn all the ropes. No drinks are included, what they call everything, where everything is on the ships etc. It's a whole new ballgame!

Charla-How are you feeling these days, you are at 20+ weeks, did you find out yet????? Our cruise is just about your due date!! We leave on 6-17. There were so many birthdays and anniversaries in our group, was there a special date in June for you?

 

[BethA]

Lorie,

Please post if you get a reply. I feel they could have offered some 7 nights on the Wonder, to keep their loyal customers happy who prefer to stay on the East coast.

We did book the June 22, 2008 cruise, but would have preferred the East coast.

So far no one else has posted being on there with us.

Beth

 

[musicgirl]

You'll have to start from the bottom with my original e-mail, in the middle is DCL's response, and then just below this was my second e-mail to them. So scroll way down to follow.

Unfortunately, I am not interested in the Nassau itinerary. We have been on
the Wonder twice, and while we enjoyed Nassau at that time, our family is
not interested in visiting again. To take a 3 or 4 day cruise, the per day
price is too expensive compared to a 7 night trip. We have been to WDW 3
times, so a land/sea does not make the cost of a shorter cruise worth it.
The airfare to Orlando is quite expensive for our family, this is part of
the reason the shorter cruises do not appeal to us.

My husband and I are both teachers and so therefore we can not take
advantage of the 7 night caribbean cruises during the school year. Cruising
at Christmas and Spring Break are way too expensive. In order to pay for a
DCL cruise, I carefully budget every month to pay off the cruise. We
booked our cruise for 6-24-2006 in Sept of 2004 so that we could take
advantage of early booking savings and pay monthly.

So as I mentioned, my family is very disappointed because for us, our Magic
cruise that sailed on 6-24-2006 ended up being the last time that our family
could cruise together with DCL. Because we love cruising so much, we have
opted to cruise on Princess because it offers an itinerary that fits our
family. Evidently we have outgrown DCL, but more accurately, DCL has
outgrown us.



/2/07

Thank you for your e-mail.

Each year we survey our Guests to learn what destinations are of
interest to them and we developed these special itineraries in response
to the overwhelmingly positive feedback about our 2005 west coast
sailings. We understand that the summer is a popular time for families
to vacation and we truly regret the disappointment you have expressed
with our 2008 itinerary.

While we may not be offering the cruise itinerary that you were
originally interested in for 2008, we hope you may consider a 3-night or
4-night cruise vacation to Nassau and our private island, Disney's
Castaway Cay. We also offer 7-Night Land & Sea vacation packages that
combines the best of Walt Disney World with the magic of a cruise
vacation.

Again, thank you again for your email.

Sincerely,

George
Guest Communications
Disney Cruise Line



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

From: Lorie Steller <stellerette@wowway.com> via dcl.reservation and
information
To: dcl.reservations@disneycruise.com
Date: 1/31/2007 1:07:25 PM
Subject: Disneycruise.com Website Questio
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
This is really not a question since I don't have a cruise booked and
won't be booking in the near future or possibly ever again.
DCL let a lot of loyal cruisers down when they decided to take the Magic
out of the Caribbean two summers in a row. I know many have asked for
new itineraries, but why take away the 7 night cruises in the Caribbean
2 summers in a row. Or why not have the Wonder alternate 3, 4 and 7
nights cruises during that time.
I have cruised 4 times, all of them with DCL. We only cruise in the
summers. The Mediterrainean and Mexican cruises are of no interest to
my family. We enjoy the 7 night Caribbean sailings whether Eastern or
Western. Cruising for 3 or 4 nights is not worth the travel expense
(airlines). Yes, we could do back to back cruises on the Wonder, but
we've done 2 wonder cruises and have no desire to return to Nassau.
We met a large number of people on board on our 6-24-06 cruise and we
were all going to try to book for the summer of 2008. They also do not
cruise at any other time of year due to job/school restrictions.
DCL is more expensive but well worth the money. I would rather save and
budget carefully for a cruise every other summer than vacation somewhere
else.
My family is not going to just wait around for the summer of 2009 hoping
that DCL might have have 7 nights in the Caribbean again. My son is 16
and he loves DCL. But we only have a few more years as a family before
he is off to college. We don't have time to wait for you.
We have opted to cruise with Princess (for a longer trip , for less
money) this summer. I know many others who are doing the same. I just
hope that they as well as myself don't find a better option in cruising,
because you might have lost a lot of loyal cruisers like myself.
Sincerely, Lorie Steller

lorie steller [stellerette@wowway.com]
866 kenridge ct
columbus
OH
43220

 

[RCBA]

Lorie - I'd be interested to know if you get a reply from DCL too. I am feeling pretty good, ready for June though We are pretty sure we are having another boy, we should know for sure Monday though Yes, we do have special dates in June...the 9th is our Anniv & DS#1 was born on the 16th. June is going to be a very busy month for us from now on!

I wish they would have put the Wonder alternating 7 nighters & 3/4 nighters. I'm somewhat interested in the 4 night Wonder double dips, but I'd much rather go on an eastern.

 

[musicgirl]

Beth, I hope you enjoy your cruise. I would really have loved for our group to cruise together.

 

[RCBA]

Guess we were posting at the same time Lorie

Apparently George missed the "no desire to return to Nassau" part of your message