August 16, 2011 – 7 Night Alaska Sailing

[lmben]

Hi Everyone! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to keep up with the Boards, but it's so great to check back in - I can't believe our cruise is less than 50 days away. I hope everyone's having a great summer. Thanks Mellers and Dumbofan for all the great coupons and tips! We'll definitely be checking them out.



Scothen - Mellers is right about using your ATM and credit card. The only thing I would add is that some (actually most) credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee ranging from 1 - 3% so you should call and check beforehand. I believe the Disney Visa Card for example charges 3%. My AmEx and British Airways Chase cards don't charge anything so there are cards out that that don't tack on a fee, but that can vary among the various types of AmEx or Chase cards out there.

I agree with G'sMaman. When we prepaid the Pan Pacific, there was a foreign transaction fee charged on the Disney Visa card. I don't remember the amount.

When we did the Med Cruise, I had Capital One at the time (I think) and I don't believe they charged a fee. You may want to check into that if you are planning on staying in Vancouver for a few days.

 

[lmben]

Mellers (or anyone actually, but they seem to be the experts),

I was wondering about border crossings on the train. Where do we get checked/go through customs? Also, my mom will have a wheelchair with her. Is she ok for the train?

On the way back to Seattle, we will most likely be renting cars. Is the border crossing usually backed up?

Lisa

P.S. Still working on FE gifts. Have the materials to make the FEs (I think) and will probably work on them this weekend. I have to make all 3 (or buy them) because I signed us up...

 

[pops711]

I think we all need to play a game. The first person to figure out this math problem and tell me what is important about this number may get a special FE gift

Start with the number of guests the Wonder can accommodate.

Multiple by the day Tinkerbell (she is the Wonders God Mother) got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Divide that by the number of staterooms on the Wonder.

Add the year the Wonder was launched.

Multiple by the year that "When You Wish Upon A Star" won the academy Award for best song.

Divide by the year Tinkerbell was born.

Subtract the year the Peter Pan ride opened at Disneyland.

Round up to the next whole number.

Subtract the day we leave port.

Subtract the day Roy O. Disney Died (Walt's Brother).

Now you do need to show your work

 

[hal001]

Also, does anyone have room at their 2nd seating for a single person?

It sounds like there is a lot of great folks on this cruise, and I look froward to meeting you all.

....i think we might have a single seat at our 2nd seating dinner table if you are still looking we have a total of 9 in our 2 parties and i think the table would seat 10. would love to have you!!

don't know if there's a way to get you assigned to our table ahead of time? does anyone else know if/how that can be done? if not, i know you can just go to the studio once you get on board and request the change from the dining room rep.

dh is a golfer (although he says not so good since i don't give him enough time to play ). i never really got the point of golf. too hard to get the little ball in the cup . the kids and i do like to drive the cart tho! and we are die hard baseball/softball fans so already got things in common!

 

[mellers]

Mellers (or anyone actually, but they seem to be the experts),

I was wondering about border crossings on the train. Where do we get checked/go through customs? Also, my mom will have a wheelchair with her. Is she ok for the train?

That depends upon what you mean by okay. The scenery is great, but she will have to have somebody, either from Amtrak or the family, bring her food, and, depending on the size of your group, you may not all be able to sit together. Amtrak is not good about that for wheelies. That said, I just got back from an Amtrak trip, and they have improved a lot since the last one I took.

However, I still wound up waiting a lot longer than the other passengers to board, and I had to go to two or three different cars (sometimes repeatedly), with Mellerskidlet having to drag and carry a lot of heavy bags, before they found a spot for me on the train this morning (I reserved more than three weeks ago).

Me, myself, as a wheelie, I prefer to take the QuickShuttle when I go up to Vancouver. I don't have to deal with trying to get down to the Amtrak station (a royal pain in the patootie), or finding a wheelchair taxi when I get to Vancouver, or having to take multple taxis to get me, the scooter, and all of the luggage to my final destination. It just drops me off at the airport where I can take a shuttle.

On the way back to Seattle, we will most likely be renting cars. Is the border crossing usually backed up?

Depends upon the day and time. I wouldn't push a quick return flight time.

 

[mellers]

Scothen - Mellers is right about using your ATM and credit card. The only thing I would add is that some (actually most) credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee ranging from 1 - 3% so you should call and check beforehand. I believe the Disney Visa Card for example charges 3%. My AmEx and British Airways Chase cards don't charge anything so there are cards out that that don't tack on a fee, but that can vary among the various types of AmEx or Chase cards out there.

Good point!

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

....i think we might have a single seat at our 2nd seating dinner table if you are still looking we have a total of 9 in our 2 parties and i think the table would seat 10. would love to have you!!

don't know if there's a way to get you assigned to our table ahead of time? does anyone else know if/how that can be done? if not, i know you can just go to the studio once you get on board and request the change from the dining room rep.

You can link your reservations through your travel agent or by calling DCL. You just need to give them a call with the reservation number to "link" the parties.

 

[pops711]

I guess nobody liked my game

 

[lmben]

I guess nobody liked my game

I couldn't grasp it before , but I'm going to try now...

 

[lmben]

I can't post a link, but was checking out port cams. The one on cruise-cams.com shows some "other" line, but if you check out the port cam on wpyr.com, something looks very familiar

 

[lmben]

I think we all need to play a game. The first person to figure out this math problem and tell me what is important about this number may get a special FE gift

Start with the number of guests the Wonder can accommodate.

Multiple by the day Tinkerbell (she is the Wonders God Mother) got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Divide that by the number of staterooms on the Wonder.

Add the year the Wonder was launched.

Multiple by the year that "When You Wish Upon A Star" won the academy Award for best song.

Divide by the year Tinkerbell was born.

Subtract the year the Peter Pan ride opened at Disneyland.

Round up to the next whole number.

Subtract the day we leave port.

Subtract the day Roy O. Disney Died (Walt's Brother).

Now you do need to show your work

Ok, I came up with 107. Is the significance the number of hours it took you to think this up??? I have no idea, but that's my final answer!

 

[mellers]

Sorry--got tired after I got in from Klamath Falls, and hadn't had a chance to check messages. The game looks neat! I'll try to play it later tonight.

 

[kgsmith]

Ok, I came up with 107. Is the significance the number of hours it took you to think this up??? I have no idea, but that's my final answer!

I came up with 107 too (I also got 112 if I counted staterooms for the crew), but I couldn't figure out the significance.

 

[pops711]

the answer in less then 50. thats your hint. i did triple check my math maybe i got the numbers wrong, but i think im right.

 

[kgsmith]

the answer in less then 50. thats your hint. i did triple check my math maybe i got the numbers wrong, but i think im right.

Hmm. If there was a year, say 1980, did you use 80 or 1980 in the calculation?

 

[pops711]

no I used the whole year 1999 not 99.

 

[kgsmith]

no I used the whole year 1999 not 99.

So did I. And I can't figure out or check what I did because the piece of paper with the calculations is sitting at home on the computer desk. I am at the beach for the weekend trying to replicate my answer using an iPad. Its proving to be a bit tricky! It's late here, so if no one comes up with an answer tonight, I'll try again in the morning!

This is fun!

 

[pops711]

ok i found 1 problem. I wrote down a number wrong. start with 2400 not 2700.

 

[mellers]

I think we all need to play a game. The first person to figure out this math problem and tell me what is important about this number may get a special FE gift

Obviously, I did something wrong, but here is what I got:

Start with the number of guests the Wonder can accommodate.

With all berths filled, the Wonder can accommodate 2,400 guests

Multiple by the day Tinkerbell (she is the Wonders God Mother) got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Tinker Bell got her star on 9/21/2010-multiply the day—2,400 * 21 = 50,400

Divide that by the number of staterooms on the Wonder.

The Wonder has 877 staterooms—50,400/877 = 57.46864310148233

Add the year the Wonder was launched.

The Wonder launched in 1999—57.46864310148233+1999 = 2056.46864310148233

Multiply by the year that "When You Wish Upon A Star" won the Academy Award for best song.

“When You Wish Upon a Star” won the Academy Award in 1940—2056.46864310148233*1940 = 3989549.167616876

Divide by the year Tinkerbell was born.

Tinker Bell was born in 1953 (I’m assuming you mean Disney’s Tinker Bell, and not Barrie’s Tinkerbell)—3989549.167616876/1953 = 2042.779911734191

Subtract the year the Peter Pan ride opened at Disneyland.

Peter Pan’s Flight opened at Disneyland in 1955—it was one of the original attractions--2042.779911734191-1955=87.779911734191

Round up to the next whole number.

88

Subtract the day we leave port.

The day we leave port is 8/16/2011—subtract the day—88-16=72

Subtract the day Roy O. Disney Died (Walt's Brother)

Roy O. Disney died on 12/20/71—subtract the day—72-20=52

 

[pops711]

The Wonder has 877 staterooms—50,400/877 = 57.46864310148233

I guess it depends on the website you get your information from some say 877 some say 875. I did the math with 875.

one more hint, the number is only important on the day this post was posted

I promise the next one will not be this confusing