December 12 - 19, 2009 Western Magic

[kcashner]

In Grand Cayman, there are shops and stuff right by the tender port. There is a Dairy Queen right across the street....that's in case the kids aren't getting enough ice cream on the ship!

Do remember that only about 1/2 of the available reservations can be booked on line...so if you can't get what you want in advance, check again right after boarding. Even if you can't get it then, WAIT list. Wait lists do get filled because the concierge will give up any un-used ressies he/she has been holding at the end of the first day and people do cancel.

For anyone who cares, it is October. That means we're cruising in 2 more months. OK, I'm stretching it...I'm Disney dreaming.....

Actually I was cleaning today and found some stuff that needed to go with my "cruise stuff!" Yeah.

 

[yiddles]

So I have me a fine lookin suit for Palo (well not actuall for Palo, but ya catch my drift) but I'd prefer not to pack it... I'm pretty sure I can get in with pretty much a pair of pants (not jeans) and a button up or even just a collared shirt. Thoughts?

 

[kcashner]

So I have me a fine lookin suit for Palo (well not actuall for Palo, but ya catch my drift) but I'd prefer not to pack it... I'm pretty sure I can get in with pretty much a pair of pants (not jeans) and a button up or even just a collared shirt. Thoughts?

The easiest thing to do would be to quote the Palo dress code:

During dinner, gentlemen will be required to wear a dress shirt. Gentlemen wearing polo shirts, t-shirts, Tommy Bahama style shirts, etc will not be allowed admittance. Jackets and/or ties are recommended but not required. Notices will be in the Personal Navigator, on the Palo reservation card and a sign outside the elevators on deck 10 will contain this dress advisory. The Resort Casual dress code for both the brunch and high tea remains unchanged.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I doubt my husband will be wearing a coat but he'll at least be wearing a shirt and tie to Palo.

Who knows, though, he might want to pack is suit. He's silly and likes dressing up.

 

[kcashner]

I'm getting WAY too eager to cruise. Wishing for stateroom assignments...wishing for time to cruise...ah well, time to quit wishing my life away!

 

[Scooby3x1y]

I know, me too! Next step.....room assignments....I hope it's sooner than later.

 

[kcashner]

Groan...don't know if anyone saw, but someone on the DIS just posted that DCL is offering kids free on our sailing, must book by Oct. 14. I looked at the DCL site, and it's not posted there. Of course, it's too late for anyone in our group to re-shop as the penalty period has started.

Sorry....I hate to see the ship filling up with the kids free deal--the older kids will be in school, so it will be lots of toddlers. I just came back from a restaurant with a screeching toddler at the next table and the adult male egging him on. Yes, it's the older guy's fault, but.... Besides, if the ship is less full, we all have a better chance for upgrades. And, while I no longer sail with kids, I hate to see late bookers get potentially better deals than early bookers. SO...maybe this was an incorrect post. However, it seemed to have a lot of detail for that. Oh well....have a good weekend, everyone!

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Groan...don't know if anyone saw, but someone on the DIS just posted that DCL is offering kids free on our sailing, must book by Oct. 14. I looked at the DCL site, and it's not posted there. Of course, it's too late for anyone in our group to re-shop as the penalty period has started.

Sorry....I hate to see the ship filling up with the kids free deal--the older kids will be in school, so it will be lots of toddlers. I just came back from a restaurant with a screeching toddler at the next table and the adult male egging him on. Yes, it's the older guy's fault, but.... Besides, if the ship is less full, we all have a better chance for upgrades. And, while I no longer sail with kids, I hate to see late bookers get potentially better deals than early bookers. SO...maybe this was an incorrect post. However, it seemed to have a lot of detail for that. Oh well....have a good weekend, everyone!

I second that KC! I always want the best deal too! However, since my kids are considered adults it wouldn't affect me. Sorry about your restaurant incident.....I figure I'm getting old, I always ask to sit somewhere else when they try and sit me next to a toddler. I should be specific though.....if I see a mess under the toddlers chair and the condition of the floor, I will ask to move before we are seated. One, I've raised mine, and I never let my kids misbehave, especially in public where it may have an affect on someone else. I do as was done to me, I will compliment the parents who have a well behaved child.

Sorry it's off topic.

 

[kcashner]

I did just find out that the "kids free" that includes our sailing is a targeted mailing where they sent PIN numbers to certain people....much better than an "open" deal!

 

[Shelebeen]

So if the kids sail free thing happens to open up.. they won't give us that deal even though we have paid in full... something is wrong with that..

I noticed that the ship seems quite empty when I looked for specific staterooms... there were lots

 

[HallsofVA]

Someone posted some pricing under the kids free promo. The cost for the 12/5 cruise with the kids free offer was about $300 less for a Cat 9 room than we're paying for the cat 12!

We're already doing this cruise and b2b wonder cruises in January, so I know there's no way we'd do another cruise this spring. But still it would be nice to get one of those kids free pin codes for a 7 day cruise once in awhile.

 

[bevtoy]

I doubt my husband will be wearing a coat but he'll at least be wearing a shirt and tie to Palo.

Who knows, though, he might want to pack is suit. He's silly and likes dressing up.

My husband likes to dress up! We pack a Tuxedo for formal night and a suit for Palos with fresses for all the girls and I.

 

[kcashner]

So if the kids sail free thing happens to open up.. they won't give us that deal even though we have paid in full... something is wrong with that..

I noticed that the ship seems quite empty when I looked for specific staterooms... there were lots

Exactly, they won't give us the deal; it's for new bookings only.

Yes, there are at least 7 cabins showing in each category when I look. That really doesn't tell us all we need to know to figure out how full the ship is. I was on one cruise where they supposedly booked over 50 cabins in cat 12 (only 13 cat 12s exist). We were able to identify 30+ of them, so to say there were 50 booked doesnt' seem unreasonable. THey won't assign those cabins till they see what others have booked. Guess all we can do is to hope for upgrades since we can't get the specials!

The FL res rates for our sailing date is higher than for some! Just an observation. I'm just waiting for my room assignment, hoping for a window. Hoping to upgrade at port if no pixie dust....hoping DD finishes semester with good grades before we sail!

 

[bevtoy]

I have another question. I was reading on Mousesavers that the transfer from the Disney resort to Port Canaveral is more expensive than arranging for a town car to get us there. I looked at our booking... for four of us, the roundtrip transfer is $276. Have any of you booked a car to get to Port Canaveral instead of using Disney transportation? They say the advantage is you get to arrive at the ship sooner and without a busload of other passengers... That actually sounds good to me...and riding in a car as opposed to a bus appeals to me too...especially if we save a few bucks.

We are bookin a car one day each way and its working well price wise and time wise.

 

[badell]

Yes, there are at least 7 cabins showing in each category when I look.

Where do you look for the cabins that are available/taken?

 

[kcashner]

Where do you look for the cabins that are available/taken?

You can do a fake reservation on sites like Orbitz, and they will pull up 7 or 8 available cabins per category. If you want to be really compulsive, you can plug in all 800+ cabin numbers in the DCL site. No, not even I am that compulsive.

Booking a car--can refer to a towncar/limo service or renting a Budget/Avis/Hertz, etc. We generally pay about $45 for a rental car using various discount codes from mousesavers.com and rentalcodes.com. Keep trying--I've booked a couple times and later been able to knock more than $20 off with a new code. This takes a little time and effort as you must rent the car and turn it in; neither one is a big deal at all. Many car companies have outlets near WDW and will pick you up and take you to their rental place. Since the rental is for 24 hours (same price whether you use it one hour or 24), we'll often pick up the car the night before. That way, if we need to make a stop at a store before heading to port, it's easy. When you drop off the car, they will have a free shuttle to the port.

A towncar/limo service will pick you up at your hotel and drop you at the port. It will typically cost about $120 each way depending in part on size/type of vehicle (you'll pay more for a limo than a van!). Some agencies will price match, and you can get it to about $100 + driver tip. This is totally easy as the driver will help with the luggage, etc.

Both of the above allow you to function on YOUR time schedule, get to the port earlier, and avoid the bus crowds.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We have FL Tours picking us up at the AKL and taking us to port. Then they'll return us to SSR at the end of the cruise. I was thinking about taking the cruise buses since it would actually save us about $40 over FLTours but I don't want to get to the Port so late on embarkation day.

 

[kcashner]

We have FL Tours picking us up at the AKL and taking us to port. Then they'll return us to SSR at the end of the cruise. I was thinking about taking the cruise buses since it would actually save us about $40 over FLTours but I don't want to get to the Port so late on embarkation day.

How many of you are there? The break even point between a limo service and DCL transfers is usually about 3 1/2 people; for a group of 4, the limo service should be cheaper! You could also choose to do the limo service one way and take the bus on the way back to WDW if you wish. There are a lot of limo services out there....don't let them overcharge you!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

There are four of us total. And yes, break even is 3 paid seats but my son is only 2 so we are not paying for him yet.

Thanks for the advice. I've considered the limo service one way (there) but I think we are going to build in a grocery stop on the way back to WDW. We won't be picking up a rental car until Monday.

How many of you are there? The break even point between a limo service and DCL transfers is usually about 3 1/2 people; for a group of 4, the limo service should be cheaper! You could also choose to do the limo service one way and take the bus on the way back to WDW if you wish. There are a lot of limo services out there....don't let them overcharge you!

 

[HallsofVA]

Why do I keep logging into my reservation to see if I have a stateroom assignment yet? I know it's way too early to get one, yet I keep looking anyway. Perhaps it's because this is the first time we've sailed in a guarantee cabin, but then again I think I kept checking my friend's reservation last time until they got their room assignment. Anyone being irrational about stateroom assignments at the moment?