April 17, 2011 on the Dream

[Deb T.]

Yelena wins the $1000 gift for guessing that it was Ness!

Yikes! I don't remember offering THAT!!!

 

[alenushka]

Question about pre-cruise hotel:
We have reservations at Radisson at Port (cruise package incl. parking, breakfast, shuttle). However, I have been searching Dis boards all evening and I saw some reviews that caution people about their shuttle service. I checked a few other places: Doubletree at Coca ($40-50 more compare to Radisson); Coca beach Sheraton = seems like it's a place to stay away from as there are a few reports of BED BUGS , etc. Seems like there are pro- and cons- with any choice....
I just called Radisson, made reservations for 10am shuttle, and had a nice chat with their rep. She says that they try to do their best to stick to the reserved times but a lot of people are unhappy if they have later times and they are not able to "jump" the line.
Those who don't stay at WDW hotels - where are you staying pre-cruise? and out of all choices, why did you choose that one and not the others?

 

[alenushka]

Yikes! I don't remember offering THAT!!!

0-maaaan! I got my hopes so high....Are you sure????.

 

[Deb T.]

Question about pre-cruise hotel:
We have reservations at Radisson at Port (cruise package incl. parking, breakfast, shuttle). However, I have been searching Dis boards all evening and I saw some reviews that caution people about their shuttle service. I checked a few other places: Doubletree at Coca ($40-50 more compare to Radisson); Coca beach Sheraton = seems like it's a place to stay away from as there are a few reports of BED BUGS , etc. Seems like there are pro- and cons- with any choice....
I just called Radisson, made reservations for 10am shuttle, and had a nice chat with their rep. She says that they try to do their best to stick to the reserved times but a lot of people are unhappy if they have later times and they are not able to "jump" the line.
Those who don't stay at WDW hotels - where are you staying pre-cruise? and out of all choices, why did you choose that one and not the others?

Has anyone priced out a WDW value resort for the night before the cruise with a rental car to see if it might work out cheaper? At least you'd know there wouldn't be any critters in your bed!

0-maaaan! I got my hopes so high....Are you sure????.

 

[mommybean]

Question about pre-cruise hotel:
We have reservations at Radisson at Port (cruise package incl. parking, breakfast, shuttle). However, I have been searching Dis boards all evening and I saw some reviews that caution people about their shuttle service. I checked a few other places: Doubletree at Coca ($40-50 more compare to Radisson); Coca beach Sheraton = seems like it's a place to stay away from as there are a few reports of BED BUGS , etc. Seems like there are pro- and cons- with any choice....
I just called Radisson, made reservations for 10am shuttle, and had a nice chat with their rep. She says that they try to do their best to stick to the reserved times but a lot of people are unhappy if they have later times and they are not able to "jump" the line.
Those who don't stay at WDW hotels - where are you staying pre-cruise? and out of all choices, why did you choose that one and not the others?

We just booked our pre-cruise hotel - we're using our Hilton Honors points and staying at the Double Tree Coacoa beach.
We did stay at the Radisson at the Port in July, 2009 and parked there and took the shuttle. The experience was ok - we had ressies on the 1st shuttle, but couldn't get on that one because it was full (wedding party). I do know that they share that shuttle with Four Points Sheraton in Cocoa beach (Four Points guests have to drive to the Radisson to park and catch the shuttle there). So...like I said, the shuttle is ok, as long as you're not in a hurry to get to the port).
That was the main reason we changed our ressie from Four Points to DoubleTree (in addition to the fact that Four Points was $190 and we had to drive to another hotel for a shuttle that we couldn't reserve a time on ). But we ended up coming out WAY better - free hotel and only $60 at the port to park. Then when we get ready to leave, we can just cross the street to the car and head over to Blizzard Beach at WDW
Post cruise we're staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Clermont instead of WDW but that's ok...because we at least get to go into the parks

 

[golfnsuch]

Question about pre-cruise hotel:
Coca beach Sheraton = seems like it's a place to stay away from as there are a few reports of BED BUGS

where are you staying pre-cruise? and out of all choices, why did you choose that one and not the others?

Now you've freaked me out. We stayed at the Sheraton Four Points in 2009 before our last cruise and just booked there for the 16th with our Starwood points. Off to do some research.

So, I was working on magnets tonight... actually taking a break from FE gifts and ran to show my DH the very cool Darth Mickey ears for my youngest. DH just shook his head and said, "Don't you think your going overboard?" Pffftt! If he doesn't get my Dis obsessed mania by now, he probably never will.

 

[Deb T.]

So, I was working on magnets tonight... actually taking a break from FE gifts and ran to show my DH the very cool Darth Mickey ears for my youngest. DH just shook his head and said, "Don't you think your going overboard?" Pffftt! If he doesn't get my Dis obsessed mania by now, he probably never will.

No pun intended?

 

[Ness2289]

Ness was one of the two new DIS friends who took pity on me and my sad dinner tale on our 2008 spring break cruise. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know her and I'm really looking forward to seeing her again on this cruise!

 

[alenushka]

Now you've freaked me out. We stayed at the Sheraton Four Points in 2009 before our last cruise and just booked there for the 16th with our Starwood points. Off to do some research.

.....DH just shook his head and said, "Don't you think your going overboard?" Pffftt! If he doesn't get my Dis obsessed mania by now, he probably never will.

I saw a few posts on one of the "review" sites back during the summer. The good news - they probably fixed it by now!
Our DHs - do they know each other? I hear these exact words on a daily basis these days...

Yelena wins the $1000 gift for guessing that it was Ness!

Yikes! I don't remember offering THAT!!!

I just told my DH that I won the "award", and he said "show me the money or get intervention!"

That was the main reason we changed our ressie from Four Points to DoubleTree .....But we ended up coming out WAY better - free hotel and only $60 at the port to park. Then when we get ready to leave, we can just cross the street to the car and head over to Blizzard Beach at WDWwoohoo:

Thank you for the feedback. Some reviews from 2009 are somewhat "sad". Double Tree - I saw mostly very good comments/reviews, but it cost significantly more...I agree, it's best option when you are able to "just cross the street to your car" , but we need parking for 7 nights, so parking at the port will cost $$ in addition to hotel's $$

 

[Karen from VA]

Has anyone priced out a WDW value resort for the night before the cruise with a rental car to see if it might work out cheaper? At least you'd know there wouldn't be any critters in your bed!

We are staying at Disney's Carribean Beach Resort on the 16th. They were running a special in the Fall for 30% off rooms. We got a pirate room. I think it was a little over $200 total (I think it was 189 plus taxes and fees). The deal was good for the moderate and value resorts from what I remember so I could have gone cheaper. I picked the DCBR for the theme tie in to our Carribean cruise and the nice pool. I am hoping that the weather is good and we can enjoy the pool which is usually my daughter's favorite part of the vacation. While our room is already paid for it would be good to know if someone else got a better deal for next time.

I did online check in yesterday and while I could have gotten an 11:00 slot I decided to pick an 11:30-12:00 slot so we could stay at the resort a little longer. I am hoping that it works out so that we can get on the ship with our carry ons, eat then get into the room to drop everything off. I think we will have a lot of carry on stuff - FE gifts, Mountain Dew, wine.

We are driving from Virginia so we will have our car and plan to park at the port. I was looking at all the posts on the satellite parking and I gave up on that and plan to pay for the convenience. Are their any restrictions on what you carry off the ship when you disembark? Most of what we are bringing on are consumables so I don't anticipate having lots to carry but it would be good to know what the process is for disembarking.

Karen

 

[bdink921]

We decided to keep our reservation at Universal's Royal Pacific Resort (pricey but the place is sold out for those date so the express pass will make it worth it). We're getting in late on 4/14 and got a hotwire hotel (CI&S) for $30 breakfast included near the airport. We'll have a rental car so we'll just drive to the port. I'd love to stay at WDW but DH says 'No way!!! this time. Have to work on him for next time .

 

[momtoleasawav]

ok I stink at quoting so I'm not even going to try. You can do online check in and get a boarding time? I had no idea. About country suites, I have heard you need to make shuttle reservations on the day you check in. I think I'll check disney prices just in case. Does anyone know what it costs to park at the port?

As far as Bahamas goes, My DH and I have been and neither of us is too excited to get off the ship. We may just do a quick walk around the straw market and then be done. We think the kids will want to get off the ship to say they have been to the Bahamas!
Oh and the last time we cruised we couldn't go to Castaway becasue of weather. so disappointing! I am so nervous that will happen again and so excited to finally get to go there!

 

[momtoleasawav]

ok I started online check in. I did one room but I dont have my daughters passport info so I went and did the other room and finished. Now I can't get back into mine! it keeps showing me a video about online check in!

 

[pershing]

ok I started online check in. I did one room but I dont have my daughters passport info so I went and did the other room and finished. Now I can't get back into mine! it keeps showing me a video about online check in!

I checked in and got 11:00 AM.

Does that REALLY mean we can't show up at 10???? Say it ain't so!

This is from that Fire Marshall incident at the christening! Isn't it?

I fixed my rental car situation!!!!!

I had rented from carrental.com from 14th to 26th for $278 a year ago, which was a great rate, but changed my flight to the 13th later on and didn't modify the reservation.

When I tried to modify it last month it was shooting up the total to over 600 . Well, I just did Hotwire and added the 13th thru 26th 13 days for $310 total. It switched my reservation from Alamo to Enterprise though and I've never rented from them.

I hope there's no tricky stuff.

I'm booked at the Radisson using goldpoints, but plan to park at Port Canaveral.

 

[KerryDVC]

ok I started online check in. I did one room but I dont have my daughters passport info so I went and did the other room and finished. Now I can't get back into mine! it keeps showing me a video about online check in!

That happened to me, as well. I tried using a different computer, and it worked. Not sure if it was a coincidence, but it's worth a shot!

 

[goofy4tink]

Question about pre-cruise hotel:
We have reservations at Radisson at Port (cruise package incl. parking, breakfast, shuttle). However, I have been searching Dis boards all evening and I saw some reviews that caution people about their shuttle service. I checked a few other places: Doubletree at Coca ($40-50 more compare to Radisson); Coca beach Sheraton = seems like it's a place to stay away from as there are a few reports of BED BUGS , etc. Seems like there are pro- and cons- with any choice....
I just called Radisson, made reservations for 10am shuttle, and had a nice chat with their rep. She says that they try to do their best to stick to the reserved times but a lot of people are unhappy if they have later times and they are not able to "jump" the line.
Those who don't stay at WDW hotels - where are you staying pre-cruise? and out of all choices, why did you choose that one and not the others?

Flying into Sanford Intl on Thurs, the 14th, and staying at the Hard Rock for the night...that way we get two days of express pass. Expensive but at least I have an AP to help out with the cost. Then Friday night we drive to Cocoa Beach and stay at the Hampton Inn until Sunday. We really like to have good access to the beach, so end up paying a bit more for our hotel. Looks like we'll be parking at port as well..unless I can find another deal that includes parking while cruising and beach access for not an exhorbitant amount of money...really trying to keep costs down on this one!!

 

[KerryDVC]

Great news for us over here in CT. school board changed their mind and...wait for it, wait for it.......they decided to take away the February break!!! yippee!!!! Not that it would have made a lick of difference because if you remembered my last post....., Bye Bye Bye!! But at least we won't feel guilty about having to pull our kids out of school!

Good for you!!!

Unfortunately, we found out today that there aren't enough substitutes to cover teachers on vacation during the February break. So, our students will not be in school that week, but will be in school during the April break. Not good for me...Might have to just take a leave without pay!

 

[momtoleasawav]

It finally let me back in to finish the check in. I got an 11:00 check in, not bad although I will probably still try for the 10am shuttle to the port.

I looked for a room at disney I got 269.00 at port orleans. That isnt much more than we are paying at country suites but then we'd have to pay for parking at the port, not sure how much that is

 

[goofy4tink]

I went off and double checked what the Doubletree would cost and it's actually about $10 less a night than the Hampton Inn and it provides parking as a $4 pp shuttle...so I booked it and canceled the Hampton Inn!!

 

[rdevine10]

Good Morning!

Went onto the southwest website this am and my return flight home went down $10 pp.

However, I did loose some of that excitement when I realized I cant use my credit for early boarding passes! (what the heck?)

Have to wait until our board of ed meeting Wednesday to find out about what days they are taking away from us still. However, we are FL or Bust no matter what! We booked in Jan of 2010 and I cant touch (or even come close to) the price we got for this cruise anytime in the rest of 2011 OR 2012!

Hmmm... so what to do with my credit at southwest.... DH will shoot me if I plan another vacation