August 25 2012

[DisneyGirlTinkerbell]

So happy to hear all is well! That has taught me a valuable lesson about linking cabins. I was going to link with a girlfriend and her DH, but they are Silver Castaway Club...that would have been a disaster!

It's great that you were still able to book everything you wanted.

 

[FJS961]

I'm glad you got it straightened out Jeff.

We added my folks to the cruise on Easter weekend and more recently 'convinced' 2 more local families (2 of my kids BFFs) to join us. One of them is a first timer and not sailing concierge while all the others are. Our TA is planning on linking our reservations. I might need to have her unlink so that it doesn't interfere with the rest of us booking things!

We are all friends and I was hoping to get all the adults together for Palo brunch and have us sit at one big table or at adjacent tables near each other. This is new territory for us ... we were always alone

 

[Pudo]

So happy to hear all is well! That has taught me a valuable lesson about linking cabins. I was going to link with a girlfriend and her DH, but they are Silver Castaway Club...that would have been a disaster!

It's great that you were still able to book everything you wanted.

Thanks. Yes, all is well outside of a little aggrevation and some loss of sleep.

I'm glad you got it straightened out Jeff.

We added my folks to the cruise on Easter weekend and more recently 'convinced' 2 more local families (2 of my kids BFFs) to join us. One of them is a first timer and not sailing concierge while all the others are. Our TA is planning on linking our reservations. I might need to have her unlink so that it doesn't interfere with the rest of us booking things!

We are all friends and I was hoping to get all the adults together for Palo brunch and have us sit at one big table or at adjacent tables near each other. This is new territory for us ... we were always alone

Hey Frank,

Yeah, we decided to save some money so no concierge for us this time. Instead of a Cat 3/T or 1/R we are trying adjoining Cat 4s, I think Sarah will get a kick out of the bunkbeds, but clearly not as much fun as the Royal. I priced out one for 2013 and 25k is just not realistic. I can come up with the cash, I just can't justify the increase. I think DCL needs a reality check.

I guess when you're linking reservations you just need to wait until everybody's booking window has past. Lesson learned.

Good luck getting Palo.

Jeff

 

[FJS961]

Jeff,

I really wanted to do a royal on Fantasy once. This cruise when I booked it came in just under 20K and the preceding summer weeks was about 30K - at the time, a 30% price drop for this week seemed ... good ... for lack of better words. I don't see repeating it the way I feel right now. I booked a penthouse suite (bigger than an R) on Celebrity for april 2013 school break out of San Juan for around 12K. The comparable T size suite came in at 6K (BIG DIFFERENCE from DCL)

We do have a nonrefundable deposit on a 7 night Med cruise next summer on DCL in a T for 14K. I won't know if I have that week off for sure for a few more weeks - fingers crossed - hope I don't need to move it.

As of now, its our family of 5 in the Roy, my folks in a V down the hall, a friend of ours with 3 kids in a T and another friend with 2 boys who just booked a GTY verandah.

I already booked a bunch of stuff but looking to add our friends to a few things.

 

[DisneyGirlTinkerbell]

I posted this a while ago, but I will repost because there seem to be more readers and activity now....

On my last trip a bunch of the DISers for my cruise got together and shared the cost of a Hummerzine (much cheaper than DCL bus). It was wonderful! We used Happy Limousine and it was excellent service. We stopped at a liquor store and Walgreens on the way so everyone could pick up items they didn't want to check. I called today and they have a super stretch Hummerzine now that holds up to 20 people + a van that follows with all the luggage for $401 + driver tips. If we have 20 people it's next to nothing....even with 10 it's cheaper than Disney! If you haven't experienced arriving at the terminal in a Hummerzine, you haven't lived! to say nothing of the fact that you do not need to wait in line with ALL the other bus riders to check-in at the terminal. We can try to coordinate arrival times, most of us may be arriving the day before anyway. I will be commuting back to MCO from Universal anyway. Doesn't matter to me what time I arrive at the airport on the day of departure. It's so fun, cheaper, and allows you time to get to know other DISers prior to sailing. On my last sailing, my son;s hung out with the kids from the limos all throughout the cruise! I'm hoping to meet other adults that we can connect with at the adult areas during the cruise. Let me know via PM or reply post if anyone is interested.

 

[Pudo]

Frank,

Back in 2006 I booked the Magic Roy for 10k, last August (as you know) I got the Dream Roy for 11k (only 5 days). Last October on day 1 the Roy was 25k for July 4th week in 2013 so I passed.

I heard there was going to be a big increase between 2012 and 2013, but since I just paid 11k for 5 days, I certainly didn't expect to pay 25k for 7 days.

To me, it was like someone asking me to pay $10 for a gallon of milk. At some point, you just have to say what you are offering isn't worth the price you're asking.

Funny thing is now that I have had 8 months to get over the sticker shock I might even consider a Royal for 20k. Of course some times I think I need my head examined.

 

[Pudo]

The Hummerzine sounds like fun. We are doing something similar with another family. Last year we used Southern Elegance, they have an SUV Limo that seats 10. We liked it so much we are doing it again. Thanks for the offer, it's a great idea.

I am wearing the mickey shirt.

Sarah is holding the minion, Catherine is next to her. My wife, Missy, is not in this shot.

 

[Patricia1]

We'll be at AK prior, but it does sound fun.

 

[FJS961]

We now have a party of 16 - I should look into something like this ...

 

[FJS961]

DOH! I just fell victim to the same DCL glitch. As of this morning, I see that our reservation is linked with a non concierge first time cruiser and I can't book or modify anything. Gotta UNLINK

 

[DisneyGirlTinkerbell]

We now have a party of 16 - I should look into something like this ...

Let me know if you decide to do it...there are only two of us this time, so we could perhaps join you? $401 divided by 18 is MUCH better than $69 per person that Disney is charging. If you are staying on-property at Disney prior to the cruise, we could meet you there. We may stay on-property too (although we are doing Universal IOA the day before). If anyone is interested, send me a PM.

Man...can't find my FE it's been so long since my last cruise!I want to participate, but I HAVE to find that bugger. Can't find the Disney vest and tie for DB either....I have a feeling I have a Disney Cruise box packed somewhere with all the good stuff in it!

 

[Patricia1]

How do you find out your dinner rotation? Don't want to miss AP. Tx!!!

 

[Pudo]

We'll be at AK prior, but it does sound fun.

Us too. We check-in to AK on the 22nd. We are going to the Beach Club afterwards, the SUV Limo is picking is bringing us both way.

 

[Pudo]

How do you find out your dinner rotation? Don't want to miss AP. Tx!!!

You won't know for sure what your dining rotation is until you check-in at the terminal. Your dining rotation is printed on the KTTW card. At anytime time you can call DCL and request one of the three rotations (unless you used a TA, then request through them). In typically Disney fashion they can't "guarantee" a rotation, but they are usually pretty good giving you what you want. Some prefer the rotation where you will be in Royal Court on Formal night. We prefer AP so we chose the rotation where we are in AP 3 times. On formal night we are in EC.

 

[FJS961]

You won't know for sure what your dining rotation is until you check-in at the terminal. Your dining rotation is printed on the KTTW card. At anytime time you can call DCL and request one of the three rotations (unless you used a TA, then request through them). In typically Disney fashion they can't "guarantee" a rotation, but they are usually pretty good giving you what you want. Some prefer the rotation where you will be in Royal Court on Formal night. We prefer AP so we chose the rotation where we are in AP 3 times. On formal night we are in EC.

Jeff,
What is that rotation, the one with AP 3 times. Is it true they are doing a restaurant back to back during the rotation? Is it AERAERA ???

 

[Susiesark]

Jeff,
What is that rotation, the one with AP 3 times. Is it true they are doing a restaurant back to back during the rotation? Is it AERAERA ???

I requested a specific rotation our our last cruise. When we picked up our KTTW card, we had the same restaurant 2 nights in a row (didn't see that coming) so I went to request a change immediately after boarding. Never heard back from them. Guess lots of other cruisers did the same thing.

 

[FJS961]

Shoreside concierge mucked things up already. With my reservation linked to a non concierge party, I can't make or modify any bookings myself online. I sent an email clearly requesting a modification to my Palo BRUNCH and they made the changes to my Palo DINNER .... UGH!!!!!

 

[Trinity524]

SO excited!!! We will be in Disney for the week before, so we are down to 96 days!!!! Almost the 100 day count down to the cruise!

 

[Pudo]

Jeff,
What is that rotation, the one with AP 3 times. Is it true they are doing a restaurant back to back during the rotation? Is it AERAERA ???

Yes, on AP and back to back. We chose the same which starts at AP, ends at AP and you are in EC on formal night

I requested a specific rotation our our last cruise. When we picked up our KTTW card, we had the same restaurant 2 nights in a row (didn't see that coming) so I went to request a change immediately after boarding. Never heard back from them. Guess lots of other cruisers did the same thing.

DCL has tinkered with dining for some time now. The used to have staggered dining times to reduce the follow in an out of the restaurants. I guess that didn't work well since they aren't doing that anymore as far as I know.

The back to back nights have been going on for awhile now. I remember it on the 08/2011 cruise and I think it was going on back in 10/2010 when we sailed on the Magic over Halloween. This is part of the all 3 rotations so it's not something you can change. You can chose one of the 3 rotations, but all 3 will have back-to-back.

I am sure someone in restaurant management thought this was a good idea, but for the life of me I can imagine why.

 

[Pudo]

Shoreside concierge mucked things up already. With my reservation linked to a non concierge party, I can't make or modify any bookings myself online. I sent an email clearly requesting a modification to my Palo BRUNCH and they made the changes to my Palo DINNER .... UGH!!!!!

Sorry to hear that. I have always had good concierge on the ship, but shoreside sometimes seems to be less efficient. Hopefully, they will get that straightened out.