April 29, 2012 ~ Aloha! ~ Inagural Wonder to Hawaii-Part 3

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes.

Very Happy Anniversary, Corinna and Graham! Fourteen years is wonderful! So glad you had a nice meal to celebrate.

And Corinna, I think my DH may be on the same Ensenada kayaking trip as your husband. Scott's very interested and will probably be on the morning tour if it's still available. He's not made his final decision but thinks it looks very good.

debg

Graham's kayaking trip starts at 10:00. I think he is just doubting the wisdom of doing this excursion at the moment. He did a similar excursion in San Diego in 2006 where he fell foul of a pod of playful dolphins that decided to use his kayak with him in it as a play thing. He suddenly realized that Ensenada is not all that far away from San Diego.

I did not due the B2B last year but I did the Alaska part and I stood in line with those who had sailed the first half. From what they were telling me then they all had to leave the ship when it docked, but did not have to take their luggage. They had to stand in line with the rest of us to re-board, after killing some time in Vancouver. I know DCL offered excursions for that time in Vancouver, but the people we were with had done their own thing, which they said wasn't much because there is not a lot by the pier.

I would think by now there might be a better system--this was the first sail in Vancouver - but I think you would have to get off for customs to inspect the ship because it had come from a foreign country still.

I am sure someone from here will have more details because I have seen a lot of Dis names I recognize.

Thanks for the information.

We did the B2B last year and loved it! We had the same cabin so just left everything in there. They didnt have any excursions but there was all kinds of tour shuttles there so we took the one up to Grouse mountain and took the tram to the top which was a beautiful view . We hadnt planned for it to be snowing up there though and it was COLD but we had fun as Floridians playiing in the snow. We got back on board very easy.

That sounds fantastic.

Corinna, hope you are all safe and warm. We lived in East Sussex for about 10 years and have family living there now. We never saw snow when we lived there and now you are all having so much snow.

The weather has fortunately turned a lot milder and we did not get more snow here than we can handle. They say that tomorrow the temperatures will go up to about 50, which is quite pleasant for winter.

Corinna - I have done many back to back (even a B2B2B). The rules have changed over the last few years. But when I did the B2B2B into Vancouver (as a middle and end stop) here is how it went. We had to leave the ship for 3 hours. Since we were not changing cabins everything was left in the cabin. We were able to check in immediately, but had to be off the ship for those 3 hours - no forgiveness on that one. In Dover we walked off and right back on, in Calif I chose to stay in the terminal with friends, but was offered the VIP lounge area to reboard as a "pre" #1 boarding pass. In Barcelona I was allowed to stay on the ship, buy chose to do an excursion. It really seems to be up to the port and country involved.

The steward stays the same (I asked to have mine switched between the repo and Alaska - we had a lot of issues, unrelated to the B2B). Otherwise your steward will be aware you are a a B2B. You will have to meet in a specific area (to be announced depending on the number of B2B folks), where you may or may not be cleared by customs at that point. Since I was on the first into Vancouver, we were given our new room keys and told to enjoy the city.

I walked around - there is SO much to see in the area called GasTown which is where the ship docked. In a short walk one can see all of the Gas Town area, if willing to walk a bit further you can see the Sun Yat Sen gardens. If you want to see Stanley Park - you will need a cab or bus ride - that is a ways and really one should take a day to see it all.

If you want Rodeo Drive type shopping - walk the other direction from Gas Town, the shops rival those in LA. If you want to see the Suspension Bridge - expect to spend the whole day off the ship - that is about 45 minutes away.

I hope this helps - PM me if you have more questions

Cayla

Thanks, that is really helpful. I am not opposed at all to going exploring for a few hours. I had heard from other sources that there is nothing close to the port. I just Googled Gas Town and I think this is an area that we would enjoy having a look at.

I think I pass on the Rodeo Drive type shopping. I have to say I am not really into shopping and my favourite type of shopping is trailing Ebay for bargains.

Hi Corinna ... Don't know if this has been answered yet or not, but I did the B2B Repo/Alaska last year. We had to disembark in Vancouver (at our leisure, but before 10) then reboard after 11 (we got priority reboarding, so were the first ones back on the ship). I'm guessing on the times, but they are very close if not correct. If you don't want to linger too long off the ship, there is a Tim Horton's just down the road (less than 5 minute walk) where you can get a great cup of coffee. It is a Canadian staple. We have at least 10 near me at home! Hope this helps.

Looks like I need to add Tim Horton's to the list, too.

Sure hope I'm on your FE list! I love the things you make

I can guarantee that you will be. As I needed to purchase the materials for the Fish Extender gifts in bulk, I have asked to be in all groups.

Got my GTY last night #7072

Did the online check in and got the 11:30am time slot. This is our first cruise so we don't know if this is a good thing or not. Do we get there right at 11:30am or earlier? Since we live only about 10 minutes from the port, getting there will be a breeze.

Kind of dissappointed that we couldn't get Palo reservation for any of the nights we wanted. Only night available are the night that the ship is at ports.

Either way with only a little over 70 days left, the excitement is building up.

Congratulations on your room assignment.

I did my daily sweep for Palo Brunch and Tea earlier on and while I was doing it, I noticed that one of the sea days had an opening for Palo. I just checked and it has now gone again, but this shows that slots do open up.

PM sent with description only. I will send the info/details when I get them from DCL two weeks before sailing.

I got the PM. Thank you.

I did the b2b last year and can answer these questions. But, where do I answer this question? If I answer it here, will you post back to this person?

On any b2b you always have to get off the ship. You have to sign up for a new Key To The World card. You always leave your luggage onboard and don't have to pack as long as you don't change rooms. if you change rooms, you have to pack. You have to wait until they tell you that you can go back on the ship. Ideally it's supposed to be a short wait for you but it doesn't always work out that way. Vancouver is large and there was a lot of people. It went as well as possible for the large number of people they were processing. Just do what they say and have a lot of patience. Have all of your paperwork in order and ready to hand over. DCL will explain everything to you. They escort you off the boat in a group. You get processed and then wait a "short" while to reboard. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the information. It is actually me that needs to know. I have quite a "shopping list" for this cruise. We are pondering a cruise out of Galveston over my birthday this year plus the back to back next year. That is quite a lot of research I need to do before we set off for this vacation. If all goes according to plan, the Alaska cruise will be our first Platinum cruise.

We have only ever done one back to back and that was on NCL. There we did not have to get off the ship, but it was very badly organized. We kept getting contradictory information. Having said that, having the pool and especially the water slide essentially to ourselves was a nice touch.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Happy Valentine's Day !!

They look very yummy.

I like the idea of having the class to make our own.

I kinda thought since it's the first time Disney is visiting Hawaii that we would get one as we get off the ship in port. Maybe I am just dreaming. Since it's the US do you think we can get one in port and bring back on the ship ? Just for the cuise though, I wouldn't take off of ship in LA.

This may well happen. When were doing the first Med in 2010, all the ports gave us a royal welcome and had some kind of performance or display to introduce us to the local culture. So I would not be surprised if we were welcomed with leis at one port at least.

I have to say, I am not to bothered about the leis, but I am seriously considering getting an orchid hairclip through DCL.

Corinna

 

[OH 6]

Thanks for putting this together for everyone. I didn't realize that people were having difficulties ordering them. The CM I spoke with offered it to me without my asking. I thought they were readily available.

Hi Ella! I was excited when I saw you ordered them because I was working on my order at the time...when I asked them they made me think I was crazy - so I emailed them and got a "no - we only have what's online" answer. Then the next day they emailed me again apologizing for not knowing and sent me that info...so all I really did was post it since I thought it was a great idea.

If they have them I'm surprised they are not putting them online...but that's just how DCL rolls sometimes.

So - thank you for mentioning it or I'm not sure any of us would have known.

 

[kris24]

We land in LA about 1215pm west coast time. So we will be there most of the day settling in. My son is not a fan of the kids clubs. He has already said, Mom, I don't want to go to the kids clubs this time..We will see!.. Both my guys are also fish out of water, so I am sure that the pool will also be utilized on Saturday!.. I will have my Ipad and be checking on here, and can also send my email address. Maybe we can connect that way. I am not sure how many more are staying there with younger kids, but maybe a small kids meet could be in order?

We were able to get my son to go to the clubs twice on our last cruise so that is all we are hoping for this time. Just enough for us to be able to do Palo brunch and dinner. Other then that we don't mind him not going. I will also have my Ipad in order to check email or the boards.

Remember to have your lime green & mickey heads visible!

We're there from Thursday night, but no kids unless you count the Teddy Bears (perpetually 5 and 4)

I will try to have something lime green visible. We don't travel with any Teddy Bears but we do travel with an Eeyore. My son picked him out when he was one at WDW and he now goes everywhere with us. He is well traveled. My son will tell you EE is not a toy but a friend.

I wish we were able to come in Thursday or early Friday but shortly after our company (husband and I work at the same place) approved our 12 days off they started a new policy that anyone requesting more then two weeks off at a time had to put in a leave of absence so we will be working that Friday.


Happy VDay everyone!

Kristan

 

[SerbianPrincess]

I have the whole cruise off but Friday the 11th, I told them I would be in Hawaii and they said policy is one person off per day.

I guess I will have to call in sick from Hawaii, because I do not think I am going to make it for one day.

 

[SanDiegoSteph]

That would be great. Since my son is an only child we don't have ready made friends and it takes him quite a while to warm up to the kids clubs. We are arriving rather late on Friday since both my husband and I have to work that day. We are on the last flight out. If the weather allows we will definitely be at the pool on Saturday since by son would have gills if he could. If you see a dark hair boy with either Spider man or the Avengers swimming suit on that would be us.

Kristan

Our son is 5 and also an only child. So, I hope we all get a chance to meet up at the DIS Meet or something as it would be great for him to get to make some buddies before venturing to the kid's club for the first time.

We're driving up to LA from San Diego so we won't arrive until the morning of the 29th.

Are you doing Main Dining? If so, you can sign up to link to the Main Dining group by sending a PM to PaulaSillers. We are and think it will be great fun to eat along with other DISers - esp those with similarly aged kids!

See you onboard!
Stephanie

 

[Evenean]

I just noticed that they have the Hawaii Leis up on the Gift page for the cruise at the very bottom.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/


In case someone wanted to see a picture.

 

[dylan'smom]

I just noticed that they have the Hawaii Leis up on the Gift page for the cruise at the very bottom.
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/
In case someone wanted to see a picture.

Good eye!! I completely missed that before...!

Speaking of online orders, does anyone remember if the photo packages are a bit less $$ when purchased in advance on the DCL site??

.

 

[flightrn]

My Dad and I will officially be joining all of you and are now PIF this was supposed to be a trip with my husband, but he can not get the time off of work! There has been a lot of debate but finally decided to with my Dad to celebrate his retirement. It will be a very different trip but still a lot of fun...I can not believe how soon the trip will be here!

I hope you both have the trip of a lifetime and so wish I could be traveling with my dad. I lost my dad 7 months ago and will never get to travel with him again. You will make precious memories with him that will bring you years of memories.

 

[gdaneowner]

We were able to get my son to go to the clubs twice on our last cruise so that is all we are hoping for this time. Just enough for us to be able to do Palo brunch and dinner. Other then that we don't mind him not going. I will also have my Ipad in order to check email or the boards.





I will try to have something lime green visible. We don't travel with any Teddy Bears but we do travel with an Eeyore. My son picked him out when he was one at WDW and he now goes everywhere with us. He is well traveled. My son will tell you EE is not a toy but a friend.

I wish we were able to come in Thursday or early Friday but shortly after our company (husband and I work at the same place) approved our 12 days off they started a new policy that anyone requesting more then two weeks off at a time had to put in a leave of absence so we will be working that Friday.


Happy VDay everyone!

Kristan

I am traveling with my mom and 2 boys.. DH doesn't have enough vacation to join. I will see what I can find in a lime green, but not sure how that will pan out. My email is my DIS name @yahoo.com.. Hope they boys can meet and at least become a bit familier with one another. We plan on being at the 3pm DIS meet on embarkation day, so maybe they can meet there if we don't catch up at the Candy Cane in. Are you doing DL at all?

 

[Pixiegran]

I just noticed that they have the Hawaii Leis up on the Gift page for the cruise at the very bottom.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/


In case someone wanted to see a picture.

We didn't miss these before...they definitely were not posted there last night...Someone probably figured out it hadn't been done yet after the phones calls

 

[MousseauMob]

I like the idea of having the class to make our own.

It was a lot of fun and much easier than I expected it to be. I'm holding out hope, that they do offer this anyway, I know a number of the other cruiselines do. BTW for those doing The Old Lahaina Luau they gave them out in 2007 also - see below.

 

[Pixiegran]

I got a newsletter a little while ago from a travel agency specializing in cruises and for the first time they have cruise offer for our trip...Didn't copy paste real well but you can see idea of beginning prices for all categories. Also offering up to $200 credit per room

Fast Deal #29217
15 nights departing April 29, 2012 on Disney Wonder

Cheapest Inside $2,025

Cheapest Oceanview $2,550

Cheapest Balcony $3,300

 

[valbob89]

new images

 

[valbob89]

They are out on flicker - got them from the "meet the Designers" on the boards

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I have the whole cruise off but Friday the 11th, I told them I would be in Hawaii and they said policy is one person off per day.

I guess I will have to call in sick from Hawaii, because I do not think I am going to make it for one day.

Oh my --- I share your pain....we are still waiting for final time off for the cruise and are 99% of the way there........I hope this works out for you.....

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I just noticed that they have the Hawaii Leis up on the Gift page for the cruise at the very bottom.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/


In case someone wanted to see a picture.

Thank you so very much for posting these. We are very taken with Hawaii having been blessed to have visited there and we love the leis. I have to decide if I am ordering them for the cruise or taking a chance we may have them on board. I think if we do get them on board they would be the artificial flowers. We have the ones from DVC but not the same as real flowers....

 

[chip&dale&fun]

new images

Oh Wow...I think I shall be redoing my door signs..

Moving these to the next page - they are WONDERful..

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Yes, you can take cut flowers off the ship, unless they have recently changed the rules. Any plants have to have the US agro sticker, which any nursery's in the island can give you should you visit one.

Hum, last we heard it was any plant material....we have been having some real pests coming through in leaves -- we did bring back an orchid from Hawaii which was packed for export (no soil medium) with the AGRO sticker, and had no problem. I also heard that you could not take flowers onto Hawaii.....have not read up on that rule recently.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Got my GTY last night #7072

Did the online check in and got the 11:30am time slot. This is our first cruise so we don't know if this is a good thing or not. Do we get there right at 11:30am or earlier? Since we live only about 10 minutes from the port, getting there will be a breeze.

Kind of dissappointed that we couldn't get Palo reservation for any of the nights we wanted. Only night available are the night that the ship is at ports.

Either way with only a little over 70 days left, the excitement is building up.

Congrats on the GTY....WE are still waiting for our room....I WONDER where we will be sailing? We booked after the cruise was initially offered, throwing caution to the winds for a vacation over a year away - at the time....now it is less than 70 days....I can't wait to meet everyone...but still waiting for the magical moment of vacation day confirmation......