ALL Aboard a WONDERful TR! FEB 2010 - 3/29 Final Ramblings & a PTR!

[flamestarrdust]

Sorry I didn't post much on this TR. I've had some crazy stuff going on the past few weeks. But I did get to read it and I loved every bit of it. I can't wait for your PTR and I hope to be able to comment more on it than I got to on this one.

 

[Happydog]

I just read your report, and what a wonderful time you had! Your pictures are gorgeous! And you will absolutely love Vero Beach. Looking forward to your final thoughts, and then your next report.

Hi, and THANKS! We really enjoyed it! We are looking forward to Vero Beach, I think it will be a great new adventure to say the least! A nice way to ease out of our Disney vacation. I am looking forward to it!

Subbing. Great TR. Thanks. Just curious how expensive the T-shirts were?

Hi, welcome! Thanks for joining me! The shirts were $17.95 ... they had several styles, some were a little less, and some a little more.

Looking forward to final notes and your PTR!! Your spring break plans sound fun!!

Thank you I think so too, though it is raining right now

Sorry I didn't post much on this TR. I've had some crazy stuff going on the past few weeks. But I did get to read it and I loved every bit of it. I can't wait for your PTR and I hope to be able to comment more on it than I got to on this one.

Well I am glad you were able to come by Thanks for following along, it is just fun to write!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yes, I do need to see that magnet.

We have one more week until our spring break -- it is the week after Easter -- I wish it was this week because then we could spend it doing Easter stuff. Oh well. As long as we have a week off, I will be happy.

I knew you would have some super fun things planned, but I must admit, I am really jealous of your DH headed to Egypt. That is my number one place I want to visit someday.

The Bunny Farm sounds adorable though.

 

[Happydog]

So as I end this TR, I thought I would go over a few of my observations and maybe just some of the experiences we had, which might be helpful for other DISers taking a Disney Cruise!!!! If you are a well traveled cruiser, then my observations are probably less that interesting and certainly scream novice!!! but at anyrate, I figured I'd share!

So, in contrast, we went on a Dinsey cruise back several years ago, a 7 day Western Caribbean. It was a complete blur to me, and we went with my DBIL so they pretty much took care of everything. We just showed up. BUT for this cruise it was the first time that DH and I were taking care of everything, so I am glad we went alone to check it all out before going with our kids. Below are just my musings about embarkation and other “this and thats”…

1.The Passporter guide is GREAT. They have a new edition coming out later this fall, I think, but the 2009 version is really quite helpful and I was glad I purchased it. There are great tips in it, and I think it is totally worth the purchase for new cruisers – plus if you just like reading Disney travel books, it is fun to read! I plan to buy the new edition when it comes out.

2.Embarkation time. It seems to me that it really depends on where you want to wait. Personally, though we had to wait in the terminal for about an hour and a bit before they let us on the ship, the pro is that we at least were “in” and not having to wait in lines to get checked in, to get our picture taken, etc. We were boarding group 4. That got us on the boat around 12:20 I think it was… In the end, I preferred waiting in the seating area having finished all the minutea, vs. arriving to the port later, and having to stand in lines to get these items done. Here is where this strategy can backfire, however. The CMs on the ship basically send you down one corridor of the ship to the first “buffet lunch location. (Parrot Cay). Once that dining room fills up, they close it, and usher you to a set of elevators to the 9th deck, to the next open location. Well, that first location fills up rather quickly, we had to walk the corridor the length of the ship to be told stand in line and take an elevator (they are small) to deck 9 – along with many many other people. So there was a clog there to catch the elevator. If we were on foot, not carrying rather heavy carry-ons, I suspect we would have walked up from deck3… BUT we waited. By the time we got to the 9th level, the line for the lunch buffet wasn’t terribly long, but there were NO indoor seats, and all outside seating was extremely unpleasant, due to it being very windy. Basically it was over crowded. We had a nice selection for lunch, the food was good, but we didn’t enjoy it much, because of the seating situation. Now, had we been in the first two or even three groups we would have been a little better with timing. Remember, that there are three restaurants, and that means that each can basically hold 1/3 of the total passengers on board, so your odds of having to go to the 9th deck are likely, if you are NOT in the first two boarding groups. HERE is what we would have done differently, basically taken the elevators at midship so turned RIGHT, vs. follow the cattle line to the left down the corridor, only to be told, no actually this location is full so you have to go upstairs… Now I remember there being CMs there standing and waving hello, etc. I don’t know if they “expect” you to go to the left, that is MAKE you... but next time we will take the other elevators, which were NOT crowded, no lines, and go up that way, and I think we will do this even if we do get to an earlier boarding group. Now, if you are in a later boarding group, I suspect the first lunch wave will have passed by the time you get on the boat. Another plus would be that you board after 1:30pm… at that point you can actually go to your stateroom directly and still manage to get lunch, and probably miss the crowd. If you do get on the boat early, another option might be to skip lunch right away, get to the pool deck or the Outlook Café, for drinks, and THEN head to lunch, after a few hours. There were still people boarding the ship as late as 3pm. So I think they accommodate for this. Now, lunch, etc. is only available for a specific time frame, but I don’t see that as a problem if you time it right. I suspect you either have to decide to arrive at the ship terminal very early, or late, but if you arrive an hour or so after they open, I think it might just add more time to the process either way. This isn’t a science, obviously, but I am interested to try these theories out.

3.If you do board early, I would say this -- they allow you to have one carry on which will permit you access to whatever you have in that bag once you board. All luggage isn’t going to be available until after the staterooms are open, which is 1:30 (I recall our luggage being there around 2:00 or so…). Regarding your carry on, basically you have to pack this “carry-on” carefully, because it will be with you until 1:30 (when the rooms are available). We didn’t. I have a great new carry on I bought for the cruise – a VB Weekender. I love it. BUT, I put my books in it, a bottle of wine, toiletries, my camera, and a change of clothes. Basically it was packed to the gills, and my DH’s too – he had a small laptop in his! – what we did not anticipate well, was having to negotiate carrying that bag slung on our shoulders along with trying to hit the buffet line, and then of course find a nonexistent table! If we had our kids with us it would have been very very difficult. SO, we will either board after 1:30, or just make sure our carry-on is very light and not as cumbersome. It would have been great to be able to drop it off in the stateroom before lunch, or just decided to have lunch later – and opting for a later lunch seems to make the most sense to me at this point, unless we end up in the first or second boarding group.

4.About that “access” time to the staterooms – they say 1:30. I wonder if the key would work before 1:30. I am not sure, we didn’t try it, but I am curious. I think they want to discourage you from being in the halls while they are busy delivering all the luggage – this makes sense as I am sure it would slow the process down, but again, our next cruise will be a chance to see…

5.Now I guess we thought about the advantage of boarding early, and one obvious advantage is being able to reserve dining at Paolo’s, change rotations, vie for a different seating time, etc. that process begins at 1pm. So being on board for this opportunity is worthwhile. I think we would definitely want to suck it up and get on the boat for this reason alone, so we could better our chances of getting a second Paolo’s seating. Or changing our restaurant rotation, if we were going to miss Triton’s or Animator’s on our Paolo night.

Now wiser, I know we will change things a little when we come back next year!

OTHER ITEMS….

1.I highly recommend getting room service breakfast or being prompt for a sit down breakfast at Triton’s etc., on any excursion day – if you have a plan to be off the boat and on your way, the buffet breakfast always seemed to be very busy. We were not in a hurry on any given morning, but if I had wanted to get off the boat right away, I would have avoided the buffet option. We tried to go there on the day we were in Nassau and it was a line out the door. The sit down breakfast at Triton’s was reasonably quick and the food was excellent. If you are there when they open, you can get in and out quickly. We enjoyed that very much. I think a lot of people just opt for the buffet, but I don’t think it would have taken any more or less time. We enjoyed getting up, using the exercise facility, getting lattes and then having breakfast. It was a leisurely way to start the morning, and it was why we took the cruise. We would have to change those plans obviously if we had excursions that we were trying to head out for, and in that case I would have headed to a sit down breakfast location right when they opened, or, done room service.

2.Eating and Drinking – isn’t this why we go on a cruise!!! Well that was very easy to do, all day long; there is food EVERYWHERE. Did I mention self serve cookies and ice cream until 11pm? The Pirate Party food was probably great – everything looked amazing! Again, we will be able to take advantage of this on our 4 day cruise for sure! Drinks, well that is available all day long EVERYWHERE as well… If you want a little quiet get away, complete with some nice appetizer type snacks – either for cocktails or coffee, go to the Outlook Café! They had some great little two-bite snacks, some were sweet others appetizers, little mini sandwiches, and it was THE BEST place to have a cocktail before and/or after dinner… the coffee drinks were wonderful. Now, of course the latte’s were not “included” but the price for all beverages were VERY reasonable – 2.75 for a sizeable latte. The free drink station gave you unlimited soda, coffee, etc…. but the cocktails at the bar were average $6.00 -- $5.50 for EXCELLENT side car and lemon drop martinis …. Only the “specialty martini’s” were $7.00… and again, to me, that is still a great price. Truly, I was impressed with the cost for alcohol. Cocktails at Disney World are more expensive.

3.At the end of the trip, we chose to keep our luggage and carry it off ourselves. We chose to do this because we wanted to get going right away, and we didn’t want to use time that evening to pack and have the luggage out by 11pm. I am glad we kept it with us, but we didn’t have far to go with our luggage (had we been on an upper deck it may have been more troublesome. When we got through the terminal to where the luggage was waiting for guests, it was very orderly and organized -- (as everything with Disney is). I think it would have been fine to drop off the luggage that night, and collect it the next morning, but again we left the ship reasonably early – that area is likely to get congested if you were leaving later. I think some people waited for a while and were not rushing, but you could tell the CMs were anxious for people to go. Which is understandable, considering that they basically were cleaning the entire ship for the next guests who would be boarding by noon that day -- they had areas corded off, decks, etc., which I think they had cleaned already.

4.Because we were not traveling with our children, I don’t have much to say about the kid’s club options and the activities. There looked to be plenty of things for kids to do, lots of fun activities, indoors and outdoors. There were parents in the adult pool area whose children were in the clubs, I know, and they had a pager to stay in contact with the directors of the different kids groups. I am quite certain that my boys will heartily enjoy the activities, and so I am excited to be able to take advantage of this when we take our family cruise. Perhaps one of the best reasons to take a Disney Cruise, in my opinion, because I can’t imagine a better experience for children on any other cruise line! Regarding Disney cruising for adults vs. for families, I will say that I was again completely impressed with Disney’s attention to detail regarding adults without children. There was a distinctly different vibe in this area of the ship, and you could really isolate yourself in this area of the boat and be perfectly content!

All in all, I was so glad we went on this cruise – I can’t wait to do it again!

I hope to learn more before we voyage on THE DREAM, but I really am looking forward to trying that ship, it is supposed to be amazing, and everything I have read about it sure seems like it! My DH and I fancy going on one of the repositioning cruises... they look amazing, and the price equally amazing!!! Maybe one day that will work out! Anyhow, thanks for reading and sharing. If you are interested in more Happy Dog adventures, please join me on my PTR thread for our Summer adventure... and I WILL post that magnet photo and the link, NEXT!!!!!
Ta ta for now!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great tips HD! Looking forward to that PTR!

 

[jenseib]

Great thoughts.

though I don't agree about the price for Disney cruises. I have been watching prices year round for 2 years and they are much higher than most other lines. That being siad things like pop included makes it a bit more reasonable.
I sitll want to go on one! I will have to keep nagging DH.

 

[jenseib]

Did you start your PTR? I can't find a link for it?

 

[m_kasch]

Excellent Trip Report...I love the pictures!! Quick question...how did you like the room? My DSis and I are cruising in a few weeks, and we got upgraded from our GTY12 to the same room you were in!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Enjoyed the added observations and tips!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

2.Embarkation time. .... Here is where this strategy can backfire, however. The CMs on the ship basically send you down one corridor of the ship to the first “buffet lunch location. (Parrot Cay). Once that dining room fills up, they close it, and usher you to a set of elevators to the 9th deck, to the next open location. Well, that first location fills up rather quickly, we had to walk the corridor the length of the ship to be told stand in line and take an elevator (they are small) to deck 9 – along with many many other people. So there was a clog there to catch the elevator. If we were on foot, not carrying rather heavy carry-ons, I suspect we would have walked up from deck3… BUT we waited. By the time we got to the 9th level, the line for the lunch buffet wasn’t terribly long, but there were NO indoor seats, and all outside seating was extremely unpleasant, due to it being very windy. Basically it was over crowded. We had a nice selection for lunch, the food was good, but we didn’t enjoy it much, because of the seating situation.

We faced the same situation on our cruise last week. When we went back to Parrot Cay, they told us that the room was full and to go up to Deck 9. We asked if we could wait for some space and they said "of course". We went into Parrot Cay and there were no lines and there were lots of empty tables! Advice to future cruisers -- if you're told to go to Deck 9, just politely say "No Thank You" and make your way into Parrot Cay.

BTW -- GREAT Trip Report! Any Disney Cruise is great, but we discovered that Longer is Better. We'll be waiting for the Disney Fantasy in 2012 for a 7-night cruise.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Great tips! I am definitely getting me a Passporter Guide before February's cruise.

Can't wait to hear all about your summer plans!

Erika

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Good tips. I will file these away in the event I ever get myself on a cruise!

Looking forward to the PTR!

 

[Happydog]

Good tips. I will file these away in the event I ever get myself on a cruise!

Looking forward to the PTR!

 

[Happydog]

Well, that title says it all. here is the Picture of my "WONDERful" magnet

And if you take a look below, you will see my latest PTR link.

Thanks again for reading, and happy cruising everyone!

 

[Charleston Princess]

You always have such great final thoughts!!!

I do believe, I will be needing one of those WONDERful magnets in the next couple of years or so.

 

[Happydog]

Yes, I do need to see that magnet.

Well, it is darn cute! See the next post.

We have one more week until our spring break -- it is the week after Easter -- I wish it was this week because then we could spend it doing Easter stuff. Oh well. As long as we have a week off, I will be happy.

I knew you would have some super fun things planned, but I must admit, I am really jealous of your DH headed to Egypt. That is my number one place I want to visit someday.

The Bunny Farm sounds adorable though.

UGH, I know I know. I wanted to go, too. But we are likely to take another student trip there in a few years, and I will feel more comfortable taking the kids then. He takes students on these trips, and anywhere in Europe we would not have batted an eye, but this was totally new territory for us, so we decided to play it safe. I don't think it would be unsafe, but too much to consider that would be new for us, so next time. I could have gone, but the cost in this case would have been the price of a cheap Disney trip for all of us, so I decided to use the money for a project I wanted to take care of in my yard. BUT yes, I agree, it will be a neat place to venture some day.

We are looking forward to Easter stuff, eggs, baskets, cookies, etc. I will share those in my NEW PTR

Great tips HD! Looking forward to that PTR!

Already up and running, please come by

Great thoughts.

though I don't agree about the price for Disney cruises. I have been watching prices year round for 2 years and they are much higher than most other lines. That being siad things like pop included makes it a bit more reasonable.
I sitll want to go on one! I will have to keep nagging DH.

Did you start your PTR? I can't find a link for it?

Hi! You know I guess I factor all the wonderful free child "monitoring", and quality care at that, into the package, and for me it was a no brainer. Perhaps the cost for certain decks isn't comparable, but we paid under $300.00 for each of us, and in my mind that is about $100.00 a night for all food and a room with a view! So it was a steal in our opinion! Especially for the quality of the cruise experience. There are likely cheaper deals I agree -- I just like Disney

New PTR started, come on over!!

Excellent Trip Report...I love the pictures!! Quick question...how did you like the room? My DSis and I are cruising in a few weeks, and we got upgraded from our GTY12 to the same room you were in!

The room was great! That is EXACTLY how we got our upgrade. We were not expecting it, and with such a short cruise we were not to worried about it (had we been in a cat 12 room) but it was a nice surprise. the room was perfect for us -- but it was just the two of us. With our two boys we have a bigger room. You will enjoy yourself no question!

Enjoyed the added observations and tips!

Thanks! I am not a seasoned cruiser obviously, but I always like hearing what other people say, so I thought I would share.

 

[Happydog]

We faced the same situation on our cruise last week. When we went back to Parrot Cay, they told us that the room was full and to go up to Deck 9. We asked if we could wait for some space and they said "of course". We went into Parrot Cay and there were no lines and there were lots of empty tables! Advice to future cruisers -- if you're told to go to Deck 9, just politely say "No Thank You" and make your way into Parrot Cay.

BTW -- GREAT Trip Report! Any Disney Cruise is great, but we discovered that Longer is Better. We'll be waiting for the Disney Fantasy in 2012 for a 7-night cruise.

THAT is a great note to remember! It was a drag that they herded us that way, but I agree with your strategy, I think waiting, and coming back might be the right move. I was worried the dining room would be closed off, but from what you are saying they were still letting people in even after the first seating of the dining room. GOOD for you.

I agree longer is better, I am DROOLING over this repositioning cruise that you went on a few years ago and are going on another this fall????!!!! VERY VERY COOL!!!! We are going for four days just as a couple, then for five as a family this coming summer.

Great tips! I am definitely getting me a Passporter Guide before February's cruise.

Can't wait to hear all about your summer plans!

Erika

Oh it is a great book, I really liked looking at it, and they have great tips.

Summer plans coming up!

Good tips. I will file these away in the event I ever get myself on a cruise!

Looking forward to the PTR!

Well, you consider it -- I think you would really like it SAY.... don't you have some ADRs to make in a few weeks??!!

 

[IluvXU]

What a fantastic report! I loved it and will go back and pick your brain when we get to cruise again someday.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great trip recap! And the magnet is very cute too...

Heading over to your new PTR now!

 

[manntra]

Great TR HD!!!
The Dream looks like a majestic ship! Love the Aqua Duck and the virtual portholes Two stops at CC would make for perfect sailing!!
Great tips at the end also....I remember having to eat outside too...guess it was on Deck 9...can't remember but the weather was nice

Tracy