December 7 2006 Wonder Sailing

[Hanover]

I just did our on line cruise contract (after doing the flight information, payment authorization, etc) and registering the boys for the club/lab. We decided to skip any scheduled excursions in Nassau. My DH and DS9 will probably parasail in CC and we'll rent a float and snorkel (we bought all our own stuff at Costco last year).

I checked out the Palo reservations out of curiosity and couldn't believe it was still available all 3 nights. On our 7 day Eastern in May, I went to make reservations this time in the morning and all the brunches and high teas were gone and very few dinners remained. I will double think staying up until 3AM on booking day when we do our Western trip in December 2007. I didn't really think they'd go like they did. We did still manage to get brunch once on board, but a few we spoke with did not and we never did get high tea. I didn't make Palo reservations for this trip because we really want to experience all the dining rooms. I wonder if you can just get the souffle at the bar??

It feels good to have everything done now.

 

[TYTY]

Woo Hoo - I just reserved my cabana massage on Castaway Cay

 

[Diznyfan68]

I can't book our ressies until 9/23 - I'll be staying up until 3 in the morning in order to get them done! Hoping to snag a cabana massage on CC - if not then I'll try for one on ship!

 

[jotop]

Why can some people do it now and we have to wait until 9/23? As you can see....this is our first DC.

 

[Diznyfan68]

Returning cruisers (Castaway Club Members) can book ressies at 90 days, first time cruisers can book ressies at 75 days. For the next cruise we can book ressies at 90 days !

 

[lisa702]

I just reserved the CC Island Tour on the catamaran. I also reserved Palo for the first night. I only want to go to Palo for the dessert. Do you think they would mind if we skipped dinner and just ate dessert there? Last time at Palo we didn't get all the way thru before Skye beeped us to pick her up athe club.

 

[Hanover]

I just reserved the CC Island Tour on the catamaran. I also reserved Palo for the first night. I only want to go to Palo for the dessert. Do you think they would mind if we skipped dinner and just ate dessert there? Last time at Palo we didn't get all the way thru before Skye beeped us to pick her up athe club.

I have read previous posts of guests doing just that or sitting at the bar and having dessert. I would gladly pay the $10 pp charge just to get the souffle again. I wonder if anyone has ever had their wait staff in the regular restaurants obtain Palo desserts? Seems to me like everyone would be doing so if it was allowed.


We just watched the Travel Channel special on DCL for the billionth time. We can't seem to not watch it when it airs. Gets us excited and wanting to go NOW!


Hopefully the next 2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days will fly by!

 

[jotop]

I have read previous posts of guests doing just that or sitting at the bar and having dessert. I would gladly pay the $10 pp charge just to get the souffle again. I wonder if anyone has ever had their wait staff in the regular restaurants obtain Palo desserts? Seems to me like everyone would be doing so if it was allowed.


We just watched the Travel Channel special on DCL for the billionth time. We can't seem to not watch it when it airs. Gets us excited and wanting to go NOW!


Hopefully the next 2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days will fly by!

We watched it again too! I love it!

 

[Simbalic]

Count us in! We are going on our first Disney Cruise and we are so excited!
It will be myself, DW, DD8, and DD6. We will be flying in from Baltimore on the 2nd, and staying at the Polynesian for four days before heading out to sea for all the fun. Yeah!!!

 

[Hanover]

Count us in! We are going on our first Disney Cruise and we are so excited!
It will be myself, DW, DD8, and DD6. We will be flying in from Baltimore on the 2nd, and staying at the Polynesian for four days before heading out to sea for all the fun. Yeah!!!

Welcome! You will soon be as addicted to cruising as the rest of us!! We are just about neighbors (I live in Hanover, PA right over the MD/PA line but used to live in Elkridge, MD...my DH works for the Baltimore County P.D. in Cockeysville). We are also flying out of BWI, but not until very early morning of the 5th. I think we are going to stay at a hotel near the airport on the 4th. Nothing like getting stuck in beltway traffic during rush hour on the way to BWI.

 

[Diznyfan68]

Welcome to the boards & the cruise! This is also our first cruise and I'm already addicted before setting foot on the boat!

 

[Hanover]

I must shamelessly admit we watched the DCL Travel Channel special yet again last night. I sure wish they'd update it as we just about can say the lines along with the narrator. It will be really interesting to read about the changes they make on the Wonder after dry-dock next month. I'm hoping that she gets the same upgrades as the Magic received... jumbotron, Goofy's Galley and Twice Charmed among others. We really enjoyed the jumbotron/Dumbotron movies while sitting around the Goofy pool (due to several "protein spills" during the week, it seemed to be closed more than open) and while in the hot tubs. It was also great to watch the screen during the Sail Away and Pirate parties. We really enjoyed Twice Charmed. I personally thought it was much better than Hercules, though I'm well aware that the latter has a huge following. I especially LOVED the ham panini sandwiches, cucumber salad and fruit plates at Goofy's Galley. I'm sure there will several other changes, but those were the ones that I noticed the most.

My DH has been checking out dates for booking a 4 day Wonder cruise next summer so we can rebook on board and save some $$. I'm glad that it's a mutual addiction! We don't have any other expensive habits (besides WDW/DCL trips), so I guess I can't complain. My MIL is trying to talk us into an Alaskan trip on another cruise line and we just can't seem to bring ourselves to do so. We've only cruised Carnival before our 1st DCL trip and that isn't even worth comparing. My parents have cruised Royal Caribbean several times and on The Queen Mary 2 and still think DCL is the best. I just can't imagine being in port and seeing the Magic or Wonder and not being able to get on it. I guess we are spoiled AND addicted!

 

[Simbalic]

I've seen people say they save SO MUCH by rebooking on the cruise.

How much is typical? 5%? 10%? 25%? OR MORE?!!!!

If the savings are significant, and if we have as good as time as we expect, we'll probably rebook on the ship as well.

For those of you who have rebooked previously, can you share with us your experience?

Thanks!!

 

[Simbalic]

Welcome! You will soon be as addicted to cruising as the rest of us!! We are just about neighbors (I live in Hanover, PA right over the MD/PA line but used to live in Elkridge, MD...my DH works for the Baltimore County P.D. in Cockeysville). We are also flying out of BWI, but not until very early morning of the 5th. I think we are going to stay at a hotel near the airport on the 4th. Nothing like getting stuck in beltway traffic during rush hour on the way to BWI.

Thanks for the welcome!

I agree the beltway is a killer.

We love Baltimore, but we lived in Pittsburgh several years ago, so Pennsylvania (and the Steelers!) are also near and dear to our hearts

 

[Hanover]

I've seen people say they save SO MUCH by rebooking on the cruise.

How much is typical? 5%? 10%? 25%? OR MORE?!!!!

If the savings are significant, and if we have as good as time as we expect, we'll probably rebook on the ship as well.

For those of you who have rebooked previously, can you share with us your experience?

Thanks!!

We are Steelers fans too (except our DS9-the lone Ravens fan!)

We rebooked in May 2006 for a category 6 on the 12/1/2007 7 day Western Cruise. We saved 10%, plus received a $200.00 stateroom credit. We transferred the reservation to AAA which gave us an additional $150.00 stateroom credit. The credits will be nice to put towards our picture packages we get and excursions (if any is left after buying pictures!) Looking on the DCL website, the rate has increased $1200.00 from our purchase price so far and it will only get higher. I know that by booking our 5/13/06 7 day Eastern Cruise 14 months before we went, it went up $3,000.00 in price by the time the cruise came around. We did not rebook on board our 2/05 cruise because it was our first DCL experience, and we were rather overwhelmed with everything. I had only sporadically lurked on several Disney boards before that trip and would have been better off actually getting more information in advance. I actually felt prepared for everything on our cruise in May and think we did things efficiently this time around.

We only booked the 3 day 12/7/06 cruise back in August, but got a great deal through Dreams Unlimited. Disney and AAA were both a few hundred dollars more.

If you have dates you are thinking about rebooking onboard, get some quotes in advance from other TA's so you know if you are getting a good deal or not. The further out the cruise is, the more likely you will get a good deal.

On the Magic (and someone maybe able to confirm this about the Wonder) the rebooking agent had a little podium right above guest services up the stairs from the atrium. He seemed to always be swamped with a line of people, espcially the closer to the end of the cruise. I would recommend, and I'm sure we'll do it THIS time..dropping off a card in his box with your dates with a request to get a quote. He gets back to you with the quote so you do not have to stand in line. We waited a good hour and a half with just 3 people ahead of us in line. The couple in front of us must have asked for a half dozen different dates and multiple deck prices. They reminded me of the people in the WDW parks at counter service restaurants that wait in a massive line until they are at the register to figure out what they want to eat. I'm a very patient person, but it still is irritating. You can always transfer the dates too and keep the stateroom credit if you decide not to go with your initial booking date.

 

[Simbalic]

We are Steelers fans too (except our DS9-the lone Ravens fan!)

We rebooked in May 2006 for a category 6 on the 12/1/2007 7 day Western Cruise. We saved 10%, plus received a $200.00 stateroom credit. We transferred the reservation to AAA which gave us an additional $150.00 stateroom credit. The credits will be nice to put towards our picture packages we get and excursions (if any is left after buying pictures!) Looking on the DCL website, the rate has increased $1200.00 from our purchase price so far and it will only get higher. I know that by booking our 5/13/06 7 day Eastern Cruise 14 months before we went, it went up $3,000.00 in price by the time the cruise came around. We did not rebook on board our 2/05 cruise because it was our first DCL experience, and we were rather overwhelmed with everything. I had only sporadically lurked on several Disney boards before that trip and would have been better off actually getting more information in advance. I actually felt prepared for everything on our cruise in May and think we did things efficiently this time around.

We only booked the 3 day 12/7/06 cruise back in August, but got a great deal through Dreams Unlimited. Disney and AAA were both a few hundred dollars more.

If you have dates you are thinking about rebooking onboard, get some quotes in advance from other TA's so you know if you are getting a good deal or not. The further out the cruise is, the more likely you will get a good deal.

On the Magic (and someone maybe able to confirm this about the Wonder) the rebooking agent had a little podium right above guest services up the stairs from the atrium. He seemed to always be swamped with a line of people, espcially the closer to the end of the cruise. I would recommend, and I'm sure we'll do it THIS time..dropping off a card in his box with your dates with a request to get a quote. He gets back to you with the quote so you do not have to stand in line. We waited a good hour and a half with just 3 people ahead of us in line. The couple in front of us must have asked for a half dozen different dates and multiple deck prices. They reminded me of the people in the WDW parks at counter service restaurants that wait in a massive line until they are at the register to figure out what they want to eat. I'm a very patient person, but it still is irritating. You can always transfer the dates too and keep the stateroom credit if you decide not to go with your initial booking date.

Thanks for the tips!!

Knowing that we can transfer the dates is reassuring because it can be difficult to plan so far in advance. I also especially like the idea of dropping off the card to get quotes (It must have been infuriating waiting around 1.5 hours in a line only three deep..."Er, excuse me? I'm on a cruise with my family, can you pick up the pace ...please?")

Thanks again!

 

[mylilnikita]

Hello Everyone!
DD8 and I will also be on the Wonder on Dec. 7, 2006! It will be our 3rd DCL cruise. DD doesn't know about the cruise until we get to the terminal, I keep wanting to tell her. We will be at WDW a couple days before, she does know that part. I cannot wait!!!!

 

[Hanover]

Hello Everyone!
DD8 and I will also be on the Wonder on Dec. 7, 2006! It will be our 3rd DCL cruise. DD doesn't know about the cruise until we get to the terminal, I keep wanting to tell her. We will be at WDW a couple days before, she does know that part. I cannot wait!!!!

Welcome to our cruise meets group!

We surprised our DS5 and DS9 with our 5/13/2006 cruise. Some people tried to talk us out of it being a surprise so the boys could help us plan, look forward to it and blah, blah, blah but surprising them was so worthwhile. We went to the WDW parks for 4 days before that and they thought we were going to Cocoa Beach for the day and that we would stop and wave goodbye to the Magic since I told them it was setting sail. We had gone on a Wonder cruise in 2005 and they loved it so much that we constantly talked about going again one day and what we'd like to do, where we'd like to visit and so on. We went through the security where you give them your name to park, and they thought we pulled a good one over DCL. Once we stopped at the terminal to unload our luggage, we gave our DS9 (it was his actual birthday) one more gift to open and it was the cruise tickets. He kept saying "tell me you're not lying. You mean we aren't going to the beach (they had on rash guards and swim suits that were perfect for the Mickey pool an their Mickey gloves for waving goodbye) and going home tomorrow? Does my teacher know?" We managed to keep it from them for 14 months and even pack all our bags with cruise clothing and pirate costumes without them knowing. We kept the luggage with our cruise stuff in the SUV we had rented and they didn't even notice we didn't bring them in to the hotel. I bought them tuxes for formal night off of Ebay and had measured them when they were sleeping. When we were in the terminal, my parents also surprised them and so did my FIL once we were on board. It was a great cruise and I will never forget the pure joy and shine in their eyes when they found out. DH video taped it all with our brand new camera that we bought specifically for the trip so we could get their reaction as they found out and walking on the ship as they called our name ...then taped over it by accident that afternoon (one more reason to go again.) Even the first few days, DS9 couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe we are on the Magic!" We made sure only to tell a couple of friends, his teacher and baseball coach so no one would spill it to them. I really hope that we can surprise them again one of these days.

Simbalic: You are welcome for the tips.

 

[mylilnikita]

I am about to explode from not telling her. She likes to help pack and make door signs for the stateroom. She keeps saying she wants to go on the ship while we are down there and I keep telling her we can't go. I am having a limo pick us up from the hotel and pretend we are going back to the airport and she will be watching a movie and not wondering when we are going to get to the airport.
I cannot wait to see her face when we arrive at the terminal. My TA knows about the surprise, the limo company, her DF. I have to talk to her teacher and do the vacation letter to the school thing, but have to make sure they don't spill the beans.
The Wonder is going to be near where I live in a couple weeks to be put in drydock, so we will be going by there and see "her".

 

[Diznyfan68]

Welcome to the cruise meet group!

I've given up trying to surprise DS (11) with anything. Several years ago, when he was 6, we tried to surprise him with a trip to WDW - we had reservations at AKL (he loves animals) for a long weekend in July. To make a really long story short, he was in surgery getting his broken elbow fixed when we were supposed to be on the airplane .

I will never forgive the ER doctor - we had told everyone there that we were supposed to be going the next day and that it was a huge surprise (he thought we were going to the Holy Land Theme Park), etc.,etc.,etc, and then this doctor walks into the room and anounces in a really loud voice "Well, you won't be going to Walt Disney World tomorrow." The look on DS's face was absolutely heartbreaking - then he asked where we were going to stay and DH told him AKL and he just totally lost it.

Good luck keeping your secret!