December 1st, 2017 - 5-Night Eastern Caribbean Repo Cruise from San Juan to Miami

[hamm1207]

Nothing new here either WillandJennB....thanks for posting to keep the thread alive We're heading to DL at the end of the month to watch a few evenings of the Main Street Electrical Parade.

 

[WillandJennB]

Very nice! We had to postpone our trip to DL . We were hoping to go early-May, but work issues forced us to delay. I'm hoping that we can still go sometime later in the year, but might just do a quick down to WDW for a few days just to get away

 

[hamm1207]

Oh man! Gotta love work Sorry to hear you had to postpone the DL trip! A good break to WDW is always good too! You need to get a disney fix prior to the cruise to get into the disney mindset.

 

[WillandJennB]

I enjoy what I do, but there are days...lol. We are still hopeful that we will get out there, just not sure when it will be. If we can, we might go down to WDW in September or October to get that Disney pre-fix

 

[hamm1207]

I hope you're able to make it down to WDW for a disney fix! I really hope you're able to make it out to DL sometime, so that you can see Walt's park.

 

[WillandJennB]

Going to WDW in October for our Disney fix before the cruise.

Also, I know its early but we are definitely in for the Fish Extenders, although we are completely new to it, and may need some advice.

Hope everyone had a great April!

 

[hamm1207]

Wait a second! Where did April go?!?! Only 215 days until we set sail...

Glad to hear you're heading to WDW for a pre-cruise fix!

We're game for a FE exchange! I think we may need to wait a little longer before setting up a list (hopefully people will find us on the boards!). Ask away with any questions about anything disney cruise!

 

[WillandJennB]

April went by like the rest of this year, at about 100 mph. lol!!! Hopefully it won't come to a halt right around August.

We are too! Although, we just found out Friday that Jenn's parents will be down there around the same time as us.

I actually have a bit of a question. How easy is it to change/alter travel plans made thru DCL, such as flights and transfers?
Right now we have transfers to MIA after the cruise docks and a flight home that was booked through DCL. Im thinking of changing this to just getting a rental car, heading to WDW for a few days, then either flying or driving home. Its *relatively* inexpensive for rooms at WDW, plus we will be getting season passes, which makes it a bit easier to just head to parks for a couple days. *Alternately, do they have busses from MIA to the parks?*

Do most people make their own F.E. and gifts or buy them online? Other than Etsy, are there any sites you would recommend?

 

[hamm1207]

Sorry, but I'm no help when it comes to DCL transportation. We've never booked our airfare through them--just transfers to and from the port. I'd say your best bet is to call them and talk to them about it. I think they only have transportation from the port to MIA airport.

We purchased our FE from ebay (years ago) but the lady still does them and she's now on Etsy (I can PM you a link to her stuff). She does wonderful work, and we were even able to add a pocket to our current FE for our daughter so we didn't have to make a whole new one. As far as FE gifts go, I'd say that it depends on what you want to do. We've made magnets (through VistaPrint), lanyards (I think we used 24hourwristbands), felt books for young kiddos (homemade), pins for trading (you can buy a bunch on ebay--this is our usual gift nowadays), homemade coasters (tile from homedepot, prints from walgreens). It also depends on how many gifts you want to give: one per stateroom/family, one for each person, one per person per day, one per family/stateroom per day, etc. On our last cruise one family gave us each a gift each day--at lot of them were cute dollar store buys, which were perfect for our 1 year old. Some people go with the practical gift: travel tissues, snacks, etc. Some folks go with the keepsake gifts, such as homemade coasters, picture frames (we've done these before too--just go shopping at michaels for supplies), hand towels custom made, etc. With all of our gifts that I've made; I've had fun and never regretted using any of the companies that I've used. I'm not sure if that helped any We try to stay away from candy and food when we give gifts, because you already get so much yummy stuff on board, and I'd rather the gift be meaningful.

 

[hamm1207]

199 days until we set sail! Come on people...let's look alive!

 

[WillandJennB]

Woo!!! We cant wait!

 

[theshampooguru]

Just booked this cruise- our first!

 

[WillandJennB]

to the fun cruise! This is our first Disney cruise too! If you have any questions, feel free to post them. There are some great people that have helped Jenn and I with our planning. Its only 182 days away!!!

 

[hamm1207]

Just booked this cruise- our first!

to our cruise and welcome to disboards! If you have any questions ask away! Airfare has been booked--we're flying SW to SJ and then Delta home from Miami. Now onto finding a hotel in SJ--some of my husband's coworkers who used to live in SJ made some recommendations, but I can't remember them. I'll have to get back to y'all on those.

 

[WillandJennB]

Thats awesome!!!

Welcome to the 180 day mark!

 

[hamm1207]

My husband was told to stay at either: The Hilton Caribe, Embassy Suites (we're staying here) or the Ritz-Carlton. They told him the distillery was cool to go see. He was told not to go out at night.

 

[WillandJennB]

The Bacardi distillery? We've been there. Its kinda cool, especially to see some of the history of Bacardi.

Full agreement on not going out at night.

 

[Disneyfan101413]

Hey Everyone!
This is Jenn from WillandJennB! So excited to go on our first DCL in December! Before that we are heading to WDW in August for Wills birthday! We made reservations for Be Our Guest and Ohana! Can not wait! We need a disney fix for sure before the cruise! We are staying at the. Caribbean Beach resort as well, which we stayed there a couple of days when we got married there almost 4 years ago! Wow time flys by! So excited though for this cruise even though it is a shorter cruise, but never have flown to San Juan!

 

[hamm1207]

The Bacardi distillery? We've been there. Its kinda cool, especially to see some of the history of Bacardi.

Full agreement on not going out at night.

That's the one...I think it's the only one in SJ. We're not getting in until around 8pm, so it'll be off to the hotel and to bed for us (our daughter will be 2). Our flight choices were either 7am or 1:30pm, so we went with the 1:30pm since we're tired of getting up at 3 to be at the airport .

 

[hamm1207]

Hey Everyone!
This is Jenn from WillandJennB! So excited to go on our first DCL in December! Before that we are heading to WDW in August for Wills birthday! We made reservations for Be Our Guest and Ohana! Can not wait! We need a disney fix for sure before the cruise! We are staying at the. Caribbean Beach resort as well, which we stayed there a couple of days when we got married there almost 4 years ago! Wow time flys by! So excited though for this cruise even though it is a shorter cruise, but never have flown to San Juan!

Welcome to the cruise! It's nice to hear from his better...I mean other half . Disney fixes are a requirement. We've stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort in the past, and we enjoyed it. Don't forget to get your FP+s as soon as you can--especially for seven dwarf mine ride and frozen. Hopefully it won't be in the 90s for ya'll while you're at WDW. If you have an questions for the cruise, feel free to ask away!