August 20, 2005 - L.A. to Port Canaveral - Eastbound Repo Cruise - The SHIP OF FOOLS Part 2

[kpgclark]

DonnaDavid-
I'm not getting much of a response over there. I'm still a little worried about keeping the kids busy. It is a very long time. I know Disney will have activities but I think the pool will be really overcrowded. The pool area is really small.

 

[mark & sandra]

If your kids are anything like mine were on our last cruise you're going to have to force them to spend any time with you during the cruise. My kids wanted to go to the clubs as soon as they opened. We made them have dinner with us and right after dessert (sometimes before), they asked to leave and go to the clubs. My son (9 at the time) requested to be the last one picked up from the club at 1:00am. I think they drug them or something . They met so many kids, that I had a hard time remembering all the kids they introduced me to. They still speak to each other via e-mail and IM. You'll find that the pool is not such a must for them, and I don't think kids give a hoot if it's crowded...Just my 2 cents...Mark

 

[Bmwdsny]

I agree with Mark....My DD is currently e mailing her age group girls who will be going on the cruise and i know she will be fast friends with them and will be very busy together!! Now i just have to find someone who can get to know my DS 7 will be 8 at the time of cruise.

BTW, thank you Mark for posting the phone # of the travel agent. You save me from going thru the papers to find the TA #. I am going to call her soon...We decieded not to stay at the HI...It is becasue we are afraid that you guys are gonna get naked and get yourselves all crazy!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!! JUST KIDDING!!!!

No really, we just want to stay at ONE hotel the whole time since it such a pain to pack and repack, check in and check out...That sorta thing... But my DH and I are planning to stop by at the HI that friday night and get to know most of you before the cruise,,,,In nude or dressed!!!

 

[mark & sandra]

bmwdsny, I can't even imagine the craziness that should follow our group from our first meetings at the hotel, to our onboard meet and bumping into each other throughout this cruise. I hope some people who cruise between now and then, tell the cruise director about us and tell them to monitor this thread for ideas on how to further entertain us(like we'll need further entertaining).

I look forward to meeting everyone and putting personalities to the names we've come to know. I'm not sure I'll let Grumbo know who I am though. The way I pick on him he's sure to want some sort of revenge. Grumbo, if your out there, for being such a good sport and taking my abuse, I'm offering you my share of Jazzman's zinfandel, ...and a few more at Diversions. I'm all for World Peace, so why not start with our Canadians friends...Mark

 

[Bmwdsny]

Actually it would be neat to meet in one big room and just take a guess who is who w/o stating who we are!!

I am planning to find out more about the Panama Cruise when i go on the Wonder Cruise in 7 weeks!! My DH and I can be quite the talker and go on a mission to get information from the Disney Crew!

Me too, World Peace....To our Canadian Friends...

We are up late again!! and Don't tell me that you are painting again!! LOL!!

 

[Whiskers]

Thanks so much Mark for that phone number and info - I'll call her Monday I guess during office hours Just to be nosy ahead of time - was the rate better than the $129 I was quoted on the phone? Which was confusing because I was seeing something like $79 on the internet.

 

[Bmwdsny]

I think i remember it was $89 per night and it includes breakfast.
Janet the TA, (i think that is her name) will be able to help you.She is very nice and friendly. I didn';t realize that were some room left through her ,according to Mark..I thought it was sold out and that is why i was offering my room to you...

 

[DonnaDavid]

Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment of my two previous cruises is that my kids are not all that excited about being in the kids' programs. My oldest DD e-mailed a couple of girls before our last cruise, but she didn't meet either of them on the cruise. I was planning on finding her some e-mail pals before we go on this cruise, but I'm concerned that we're too far out for her to start making e-mail friends. My 7 yr old DS thinks that he "may" be able to e-mail a buddy. I'll definitely wait until later on that one.

 

[DudetteTwo]

I am a little disappointed that my daughter lives in Long Beach, California, & I am going to miss staying at the hotel before the cruise. Sounds like alot of fun but I'm not giving up my free room & tour guide:teeth!

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday. Toodles JEANNE

 

[ivanova]

EEK! This thread grew by about 30 pages since I was last here!! I'll never keep up!! So, just stoppin' in to say "hi" to all ... let you know we haven't fallen off the edge of the earth yet ... and lookin' forward to my 4 night cruise in 6 weeks (that'll just have to tide me over til the repo cruise).

 

[Whiskers]

Thanks Bmwdsny for the offer for your room! Maybe I should do that - easier than phoning the TA?
What would I do though - phone HI after you cancel?

 

[Bmwdsny]

Actually i made the ressies thru the TA (Janet) that Ivanova hooked us up to. Since Mark said there are rooms left still for our group, you mind as well call Janet tomorrow. If she were to tell you that it was all booked then let me know and i will be happy to call Janet myself and tell her to transfer my room to yours.

 

[Whiskers]

OK! Sounds good - I'll try to call her Mon or Tues.

 

[mark & sandra]

Whiskers- I didn't say that there are rooms left, just that Janice probably has a contact at H.I. that will be more receptive to an add on then the person you spoke to. Also if bmwdsny is gonna cancel then Janice would have control of that room.Maybe she could put you into it...Mark

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

Originally posted by DudetteTwo
I am a little disappointed that my daughter lives in Long Beach, California, & I am going to miss staying at the hotel before the cruise. Sounds like alot of fun but I'm not giving up my free room & tour guide:teeth!

Hi Jeanne,

As we live in a little suburb right next to Long Beach, we will not be staying at the hotel either. Saving that $ for the JGE packages, lol! Anyway, we are thinking we can still meet up with everyone at the hotel on Friday evening. Maybe you could do the same with your dd or we'd be happy to pick you up!

Just a thought!

Take care,

Barbara

 

[Grumbo]

Well in between watching my beloved Buffalo Bills lose their third in a row (but at least they looked half decent this week) I called the Budget Rental at Long Beach.
I advised them I was doing a one way from LAX and asked about a shuttle to the port.
Very nice lady and she advised if it was a weekend, which it will be, they offer a FREE shuttle to the port up until 2:00 pm
So I'm going to drop my crew off at the port along with their baggage and then take the FREE (Did you notice it was FREE!!) shuttle back to the port.
This is really coming together I have my flight to LA booked and paid for, the car rental booked, Las Vegas hotels booked and the Holiday Inn. Just need to find one night in between in LA and book the Orlando to Toronto flight and done
Thank goodness for overtime.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[invaderzim]

Yeah, Grumbo. You're a planner like me -- but you're one step ahead of me. Haven't booked my flight yet because I still can't decide whether to trust U.S. Air.

We also booked our ressie with Budget -- one-way rental from Las Vegas to Long Beach. They gave us a very good deal and also told me there was a free shuttle.

It would be nice to have all the little details booked and paid for before the end of the year! Then we can start saving money for the bar tab on the cruise (LOL)!

 

[Bmwdsny]

I also have ressies with Budget...

Grumbo, this Budget that offers the free shuttle, this is the one on Ocean Blvd, right??? (there are 2 of them in Long Beach)
If that is the case then...
My dh will drop us off at the port and then he and my father will drop off the car and take the FREE shuttle to the port!!! Wonderful!!!

I am very skeptical of booking airlines too since there are lot of finiancial troubles with US AIR and Delta...I am going to wait til 2005...

 

[Grumbo]

Yep its the one on Ocean Blvd.
Insofar as airlines I have complete faith in WestJet being around. If not I have insurance via my credit card. They operate on 7 price levels with it being at the lowest. As seats fill their prices rise, alot like DCL.
It will be interesting to see when we can get on the ship, what the method of checking in etc is. At least we'll have all the cruises prior to ours to work out the bugs. We'll get lots of info I'm sure from the cruisers prior to us.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[DenverVal]

Originally posted by Whiskers
I phoned the San Pedro Holiday Inn (tried to make reservations for a non smoking room and they are all gone ).

We also booked our room at HI through Janice and will be cancelling it on Monday, if I can remember to call It's a non-smoking room. We decided to just fly in the morning of the cruise and save the money for the room to do something in one of the ports. It would be fun to get a head start meeting all of you, but we've got two weeks to do that.