9/27/14, Returning to the Southern Caribbean

[sdlong329]

Boy, that sounds perfect for everyone. I've never been to Puerto Rico but am really excited to see the Arecibo telescope and the rain forest. We're coming from the West Coast too, and our son will be 6 when we cruise. See you around.

Walt

I posted a link to Arecibo Observatory on page 1 of this thread (PTHER THINGS TO DO) ...

Arecibo Observatory (William Gordon Telescope) - http://www.naic.edu/general

 

[Rickvon2010]

My name is Rick
My wife is Khela
My daughter Riley is 5
Silver Castaway Club (this will be our 4th cruise)
DVC owner since 2012
We are excited to sail the Southern Caribbean with everybody and cannot wait to hear more information about this awesome cruise!

 

[4boons]

My name is Rick
My wife is Khela
My daughter Riley is 5
Silver Castaway Club (this will be our 4th cruise)
DVC owner since 2012
We are excited to sail the Southern Caribbean with everybody and cannot wait to hear more information about this awesome cruise!

Welcome Rick, Khela and Riley

Bill & Laura Boon

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Welcome Rick and family.

I am Kathy and DH is Greg.
Nice to meet you.


Kathy

 

[sdlong329]

As of 2/17/14 (9:30PM), I am pleased to announce, the portal for the Sheraton Old San Juan group rate accommodations is ready for use. Having just booked my room, and can attest the link worked (for me). I have taken the liberty of notating a few tidbits, below:

1) The King room rate is $159 per night, plus taxes and fees (which include $6 per night for bellhop and housekeeping). The portal reflects a rate of $198.75 with taxes and hotel charges. The $198.75 rates does not include the $6 daily bellhop/housekeeping fee .. which will be added upon arrival ($204.75 per night).

2) Your credit card will be charged $159 for each night, upon completion of the reservation process. Sheraton OSJ will NOT charge your card for the taxes/fees, until you arrive at the hotel.

3) The contract dates for the group stay were booked for Thursday (9/25) and Friday (9/26). I am pleased to announce, we are now able to book stays for an additional 3 night prior to our group stay (starting Monday, 9/22 +/-), based upon availability.

4) The reservation portal only reflects KING-bed rooms. For those requiring two beds, please following the following instructions:
a) Select # of Adults: 2
b) Select # of Children: 2 ... a drop down menu will appear ...
c) Select ages of children (please select 16 or under)
d) Click SEARCH ... a KING ROOM will show up.
e) Click RESERVE (even if you require two beds)
f) The booking reservation screen will auto-populate with SPECIAL REQUESTS towards the bottom of the screen, and will include the information you entered in #4c (above). This will (somehow) electronically alert the hotel of your need for two beds. There is an additional charge of $20 per night for those requesting two beds. This additional charge WILL NOT show up on your reservation.
g) *** I would like to suggest you add some sort of verbiage in the SPECIAL REQUESTS section, indicating you require two beds.
h) *** When two beds are requested, a Traditional Double Bed room will be provided. I *may* have previously indicated there would be Queen beds ... but that would have been a faux pax on my part, as most all hotels utilize two double beds.

5) Our group rate will apparently include $20 match play in the casino. I do not have complete details about this benefit at this time, but expect you will be given $40 in play, at a cost of $20.

I would like to ask for everyone who committed to booking a room ... please book your requested rooms by the end of the month (please notify me via e-mail once you have completed your booking). Though we have additional time to make our reservations, I would like to open up the reservations to other DISers in early March. REMEMBER, your reservation cannot be cancelled.

Should you run into ANY problems, please let me know ASAP. I will look into any issues, and will do whatever is possible to rectify the situation.

Thanks for your time and assistance!

Steven

 

[AnnaS]

Hi Anna - Did you know you can subscribe to threads? I choose to subscribe for a DAILY NOTICE of all posts made during the day (with links included). For slower threads, I choose to opt for an instant e-mail when a new reply is posted.


Steven

Yes, Thank you so much Steve . I was looking/searching for this thread about a week ago and it was way past the first page. I wanted my future dil to see it. My son and dil will be on this cruise for their honeymoon and I wanted to to pop up on the first page.

I keep telling her to read it, not sure if she has had the time. We were on the phone, she is not on disboards. Thank you again. I appreciate it.

 

[huggybear]

1) Number of adults / children in your group: 3 adults
2) Names of adults in your group: John, Eileen and Annette
3) Ages of children in your party (at your discretion): none
4) General location of where you currently live: John & Eileen live in Frederick, Md, Annette is from Oklahoma City, OK
5) Castaway Club Level: Platinum
6) Disney Vacation Club owner?: No

 

[huggybear]

We would like a room for 3 adults from Wednesday, 24 August through 27 August. Please let me know if you will have rooms available for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thank you, Eileen

 

[Jr59]

Hi, I'm new to this My wife and I are booked on the trip and would like to get in on a room for Fri. night. Please let me know if there is any room for us Thanks.

 

[Jr59]

1) Number of adults / children in your group: 2 adults
2) Names of adults in your group: Jeff and Laura
3) Ages of children in your party (at your discretion): none
4) General location of where you currently live: Pine Barrens of New Jersey
5) Castaway Club Level: Gold
6) Disney Vacation Club owner?: Since 2000

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Welcome Jeff & Laura


Great to have more folks joining us.
I am Kathy and hubby is Greg.

Kathy

 

[healeylvr]

A couple of questions for you all
departure isn't until 9:30 when will boarding begin and will lunch and dinner be available?
we will booking with this group for thursday and friday night at the Sheridan do they have a shuttle to the port or do we need to arrainge this on our own I have emailed the hotel and am waiting for a reply. If I get a reply I will post information here

 

[Jr59]

please let me know if any rooms are are left at the Sheraton at the group rate`

 

[Jr59]

thanks for the welcome notes, looking forward to the trip

 

[Jr59]

Laura and I just returned from the Magic 4 day Nassau cruise and found the changes on the ship great!

 

[sdlong329]

A NOTE FROM DCL, REGARDING POWER STRIPS AND EXTENTION CORDS updated 3/4/14

As posted bu THE DIS on 3/3/14: Power strips, extension cords and other such devices are no longer permitted on any of the Disney Cruise Line ships. There will be extension cords available at Guest Services that can be borrowed for a $50 deposit. These will be available on a first come first served basis. If a guest needs one for a CPAP or medical device, one will be made available.

 

[sdlong329]

please let me know if any rooms are are left at the Sheraton at the group rate`

At this time, I believe there are indeed rooms available at the Sheraton. Please check the first two posts on page one of this thread. The booking portal link is listed in the first post, but additional information terms of the booking are listed in the second post. Remember, once booked, a reservation CANNOT be cancelled. In essence, you are going on the cruise, whether you want to, or not!

 

[sdlong329]

A couple of questions for you all
departure isn't until 9:30 when will boarding begin and will lunch and dinner be available?
we will booking with this group for thursday and friday night at the Sheridan do they have a shuttle to the port or do we need to arrainge this on our own I have emailed the hotel and am waiting for a reply. If I get a reply I will post information here

I believe the boarding process will be similar, though I am not 100% sure as to when the first guests will be embarking. I believe they will still serve lunch, as usual. It will be dinner as usual on embarkation day.

I do not believe the Sheraton has a shuttle. Information about taxi service is posted on the first two posts of this thread (including metered and non-metered taxi's). A Taxi from the airport is about $21 - $25 to the resort. If there is interest, I can look into whether there are larger taxi's (9-15 passenger vans) ... but that would ionly make sense if we have DISers arriving at the airpot around the same time, and would like to share the ride in a larger transport vehicle (again, if available).

If you would like to be part of the Group Hotel Rate, you MUST book via the link on page1, post 1. Those of us in the Group Rate are virtually assured we will not be bumped. It is my understanding there are no resort fees associated when booking on the Group Rate link. I have also been told the hotel tries to keep all of the rooms within the group as close together as possible. I do not make anything off of arranging the group hotel rate ... no discount ... no thank you gift ... nothing. I do this as a matter of courtesy and convenience. When I sailed on the Inaugural Alaska Cruise, I arranged for a 55-passenger tour bus to pic up DISers from Disneyland hotels to take us directly to the port. At the time, DCL would only take us back to the airport, to join another DCL shuttle.


Steven

 

[ddeal1957]

Looking forward to the cruise..... it will be filled with many 1st for us.... 1st time visiting San Juan..... 1st time on the Magic...... 1st time sailing to the islands of the Southern Caribbean!

Can't wait.....

 

[sdlong329]

(also posted on page 1, post #2)

TAXI TRANSPORTATION from San Juan airport, to Sheraton OSJ and the pier updated 3/7/2014

1) San Juan - Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles southeast of San Juan. There are two types of taxis in the San Juan Airport district; Touristic cabs and regular cabs. In general, touristic cabs charge by the zone and number of bags. Regular cabs are metered. There is a link to the touristic taxi web site in English. Note that their web site uses the term "LMM" for San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
http://www.cabspr.com/

2) San Juan Airport and Cruise Ship Ports: There is a taxi kiosk when you step outside the airport building. The cost to go to the cruise ship ports (per cab) is between USD $20 and $30. The attendant at the kiosk will give you the exact price and will write it down for the taxi driver (however, a fuel charge of $1.50 may be added). Use the same procedure in reverse to get to the airport from the cruise ship ports.

3) Those who may want a larger taxi (other than a sedan or mini-van) may wish to contact Puerto Rico Shuttle, to inquire about larger vans. Transportation is available via shared rides (you share the van with others), or, you may opt to rent the entire van for your private party. I believe renting the van for your private party would be @ $85 (airport to Old San Juan, and vice-versa). This may be beneficial for those travlling with a larger party, or those who do not want to split up into separate taxi's. *** I have no personal experience with this shuttle service.
http://puertoricoshuttle.com