Disney Wonder Jan 23, 2011

[jkrislc]

As we are only Silver (after 1st cruise), I wanted to see when we can book, we are set to book on Oct 25th. If there are Gold (after your 5th cruise) they get 105 days out & Platinum (after your 10th cruise) are 120 days out. My goal is to be a platinum but isn't that all of us???

I may be anal, but I actually have a reminder set on my phone to go off at 8 p.m. on the 24th to make sure I have time to get on the computer by 9 p.m. From everything I've read, booking of the spa, Palo, tours, etc. begins at midnight on the 25th, so 9 p.m. for us west coasters.

Kris

 

[jkrislc]

Hi everyone!

Sorry i havent posted in a while - have been super busy getting ready for the Member cruise - we are back from that - it was so fun!

Now i am ready to focus on this one weeeeee!

Can anyone tell me how they are getting from LAX to the port? do we know if Disney will have transpo like they do for MCO?
we are thinking we can fly in that morning and get right on the ship - about the same as driving down the night before and parking the car for the week - the only issue is how to get from LAX to the port, and the pricing on that.

Long Beach would be a better option if affordable from Vegas. Keep in mind that the airport is a good distance from the port, although no further than MCO to Orlando. As for costs, I've just looked online at Primetime Shuttle as I've used them in the past and they're charging $16 pp each way. I'm not sure what DCL will be charging, but I'm sure it will be more.

Jet Blue has service between Las Vegas and Long Beach for a pretty reasonable fare. It's about $40 more for the AM flights than going into LAX, but they don't charge for baggage, which could be a pretty good savings over other airlines.

Kris

 

[jkrislc]

Pam,

I've got to find something to do that we can't do at home. DH says, I'm not going to pay to ride ATV's when we have them at home. I'm not going to pay to horse back ride, we've had our fill of horses. (We used to have 4, and we did rodeo) Any advice on fishing, massage, etc?

Whale watching? Dune buggies? Dolphin encounters?

Fishing seems to be best in Cabo. If you look through the past messages, someone was trying to arrange a fishing charter in Cabo.

I was just in Cabo last month, so we're mainly shopping, exploring the marina area, which we didn't do last time, and celebrating my son's birthday.

Kris

 

[SueTGGR]

I may be anal, but I actually have a reminder set on my phone to go off at 8 p.m. on the 24th to make sure I have time to get on the computer by 9 p.m. From everything I've read, booking of the spa, Palo, tours, etc. begins at midnight on the 25th, so 9 p.m. for us west coasters.

Kris

Not anal at all! I have an Outlook reminder set on my computer & Palm.
Hey what happened with our...was it a brunch we were trying to work out?

Kari-I am approaching it as giving something out to a few cabins each day. I will in no way be able to get something for each person in each cabin every day. I am thinking that is part of the fun, walking up to your own door and seeing if there is anything in it. Especially for Alec. I have never done FE's but I think this would be OK to do. Honestly, you could just pick out how many you wanted to give to. I'm not going to put my name on it or anything. Anyone else? Sound like a workable plan? Those who can go all out will and those who are tight for $$ will do whatever they can work out? Yes? Are there written rules?

Tired...going to bed everyone

 

[airtime247]

Not anal at all! I have an Outlook reminder set on my computer & Palm.
Hey what happened with our...was it a brunch we were trying to work out?

Kari-I am approaching it as giving something out to a few cabins each day. I will in no way be able to get something for each person in each cabin every day. I am thinking that is part of the fun, walking up to your own door and seeing if there is anything in it. Especially for Alec. I have never done FE's but I think this would be OK to do. Honestly, you could just pick out how many you wanted to give to. I'm not going to put my name on it or anything. Anyone else? Sound like a workable plan? Those who can go all out will and those who are tight for $$ will do whatever they can work out? Yes? Are there written rules?

Tired...going to bed everyone

Thanks for the reminder. I just put mine in Outlook. I made the mistake of putting it as midnight for my last cruise but I was thrown off by midnight of which night and was 24 hours late. All of the brunch and high tea reservations were already taken and we were silver! Fortunately we were able to get them once onboard.

We are only going to be giving one gift per cabin and not one per day too. Is anyone going to be giving one per day? We couldn't afford to do that either. I think if we all just stagger our gifts then most people would be receiving at least one gift per day from different people.

-steve

 

[Scooby3x1y]

I may be anal, but I actually have a reminder set on my phone to go off at 8 p.m. on the 24th to make sure I have time to get on the computer by 9 p.m. From everything I've read, booking of the spa, Palo, tours, etc. begins at midnight on the 25th, so 9 p.m. for us west coasters.

Kris

Kris,

I guess most of us are anal too! I also have my alarm set. However, I thought it was 7 am EST? Have I been doing it wrong the last two cruises?

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Kari-I am approaching it as giving something out to a few cabins each day. I will in no way be able to get something for each person in each cabin every day. I am thinking that is part of the fun, walking up to your own door and seeing if there is anything in it. Especially for Alec. I have never done FE's but I think this would be OK to do. Honestly, you could just pick out how many you wanted to give to. I'm not going to put my name on it or anything. Anyone else? Sound like a workable plan? Those who can go all out will and those who are tight for $$ will do whatever they can work out? Yes? Are there written rules?

Tired...going to bed everyone

There are no rules. I've been in a group that wanted to schedule days to do it so that there is something everyday. We all veto'd that. I think if it is too structued it is not as fun. I'm one that likes to get mine out, and get it out of my cabin. However, since we have no kids with us this time, space won't be a problem. I kind of gage it by, oh, I haven't gotten anything, I'll go run around deliver them. Also, even if there are 20 cabins, it really doesn't take that long to deliver.

As for putting your name on it.....it is totally up to you. Sometimes it's nice to know, then you can say...hey, I really appreciated that. Others choose not to, and you just love it just the same. I usually print out printer labels that I can do a whole page of them and just stick them on the gift.

We are only going to be giving one gift per cabin and not one per day too. Is anyone going to be giving one per day? We couldn't afford to do that either. I think if we all just stagger our gifts then most people would be receiving at least one gift per day from different people.

-steve

I agree, if I've had more than one gift from someone on a cruise they've never put their name on it. I think the cost can get overwhelming. Some like to break the bank, most of us cannot. I always hope the ones that do break the bank are doing so because they want to, not because they are expecting spectacular gifts in return. Anyway, we're giving a cabin gift this time. If the kids were coming with us, that might be different.

 

[denversees4me]

Hi guys
I saw somewhere if you werent paid in full you couldnt book anything do you know if thats true or oot ?
As for FEs I know there really arent RULES per say but I do like delivering everyday and with a group of 18 or more ( by the time the cruise is here ) I just cant do it - 1 gift per cabin for the entire cruise is no fun for me to deliver but to each your own .... I would just like to see it done to where EVERYONE can participate and do it as much or little as they WANT .... what if there were smaller groups ( again the split ) or even smaller groups like 6 ? those would be your 6 or 10 assigned people and if you could afford or wanted to buy for all on the list you could .... that way no one feels like they have to pick and choose WHO they give to or how many times they can afford to do it - 6 to me is a resonable number ( I could even do 10 ) to buy for daily or every other day
just ideas and again if everyone opts for 1 large group we are ok with that we will just pass this cruise .
so many options - maybe we need to come up with a few then vote orrrr stick with the original plan and split it 9 and 9

 

[denversees4me]

one more quick ? does anyone know about bringing homemade food items onboard ??? I bet its not allowed :-( or pre pkgd food items ? I have done gum before for the FEs and candy like mini candy bars but what is everyones experience with larger candy bars home made breads or cookies things like that ? just thinking of things I might be able to MAKE to cut costs for a day or two - also when you ship to port I THINK that your not allowed to ship ANY of the candy or food stuff there either - does anyone know ? I live so close but I am thinking if it works out and we participate that I may just want to ship anyways since I am already assigned to my room number
Thanks all

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Hi guys
I saw somewhere if you werent paid in full you couldnt book anything do you know if thats true or oot ?
As for FEs I know there really arent RULES per say but I do like delivering everyday and with a group of 18 or more ( by the time the cruise is here ) I just cant do it - 1 gift per cabin for the entire cruise is no fun for me to deliver but to each your own .... I would just like to see it done to where EVERYONE can participate and do it as much or little as they WANT .... what if there were smaller groups ( again the split ) or even smaller groups like 6 ? those would be your 6 or 10 assigned people and if you could afford or wanted to buy for all on the list you could .... that way no one feels like they have to pick and choose WHO they give to or how many times they can afford to do it - 6 to me is a resonable number ( I could even do 10 ) to buy for daily or every other day
just ideas and again if everyone opts for 1 large group we are ok with that we will just pass this cruise .
so many options - maybe we need to come up with a few then vote orrrr stick with the original plan and split it 9 and 9

You cannot pre-book excursions, Palo, or spa until you are paid in full. That is correct.

With that being said, the only think likely to fill up is Palo. I've rarely seen excursions fill up and never spa. You just may not get the exact time you want. The only time I've seen excursions fill up is in the Med. It is harder to get deals there or book outside the cruiseline.

 

[jkrislc]

Cari,

Unopened, packaged foods can be brought onboard; however, other food items cannot, which rules out any homemade food items.

And as someone else has said, you must have your cruise paid in full before you can book anything, which means you have to apply payment early.
Sorry,

Kris

 

[denversees4me]

what if your reservation is linked with other people but you are the person who set up the reservation ? Will you have to wait till EVERYONE pays ?

 

[Scooby3x1y]

what if your reservation is linked with other people but you are the person who set up the reservation ? Will you have to wait till EVERYONE pays ?

Reservations being linked doesn't mean anything other than, they know your parties are traveling together, cabins near one another, you'll be at or near the same dinner tables, etc.

The only way it would matter with linking reservations is if you paid for their cabins (ressie) or they paid for yours.

Also, it is a good idea to pay it off, if you're going to, 48 hours before. I had one time when it was after hours and the payment didn't credit until the next day. If the reservations matter to you, paying it off 24 hours earlier, shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Kidlette]

I think you can ship your items out too. Has anybody done that? I know when we cruised out of Fl. a lot of people shipped FE gifts and other things to the ship. Can we do that on this cruise too? I know if it's different because it's in Ca.
Tonya

Hey Tonya - I don't know the direct answer to your question, but if you or Steve need to ship your gifts you could send them to us and we could bring them to the ship for you guys. We're local, so it would be pretty easy.

 

[Kidlette]

OK - I am going to try and catch up all in this one post!

Yanira: You're awesome, and you're getting a HUG!! We have to meet so early though that you might get two - chances are I will be delirious and forget I already hugged you so I'll do it again!

Steve: What can I say? Do you know what I think would be hilarious? Have Emma ask Tinker Bell! I would pay to see that!

Pier: Sorry everyone, I know NOTHING about the pier. I was supposed to go there once several years ago for a travel agent event but I wound up lost and crying in the middle of a REALLY scary area

FE's:

To clarify: The only reason we started voting on and considering splitting the list is because it originally looked like there were going to be 50+ cabins. At this point its looking to be 16 cabins (give or take one or two) - so the splitting of the list is not necessary. Honestly, most groups never split the list, even if it's 100 cabins long.

There are no rules and no requirements - simply, you give only what you can and/or want to.

You do not have to buy for every person and you don't even have to buy for every cabin and you certainly do not have to give stuff every day either.

These are the "rules" we will follow:
* Our list will stay 1 big list
* You can buy as you choose - pick cabins you want to give to and ignore others or buy for the whole list - it's up to you
* Frequency is also up to you. So long as you participate giving at least 1 gift during the cruise, quantity and frequency do not matter

Cari: I am sorry to hear you feel that way, but as others said, if you only want to buy for 6 or 10 cabins you could always choose the ones you want to give to and just give to them. Others would still be able to leave gifts for you if you are still on the list. However, if you and/or Amber would like to be removed from the list then we will respect that decision. Please let me know ASAP so I can update the list and other participants will know how many cabins to buy for. I also want to apologize if you feel like everything's changing. As I said earlier, the splitting only came about because of the sheer number of cabins we thought we would have. Splitting the list at this point would mean only 8 cabins per group and that is simply too few. (As you said yourself a couple of days ago - 12 cabins per group would be OK, so 8 is definitely too small of a group). I hope you understand.

If anyone has any questions/comments, etc. please feel free to email or PM me directly. If anyone wants to be added or removed from the list then let me know and I will update it this weekend.

Pammy1, Cathy, and others - I did see your posts; thank you for your updates! Cathy, I was waiting to update your cabin because it was a bit more confusing. I will update it this weekend with your most recent info. If anything changes it's not a problem at all - just keep me posted!

P.S. If anyone is interested I found the key to losing weight! It's easy, get married, wait until you're 30 to go back to school, work full time and take 5 college courses at once - you'll drop the pounds like no body's business!

Toodles,
Jessica

 

[airtime247]

Lori - Sorry I missed an earlier question you posted but I've never heard of a CA resident discount for the cruises. They do offer SoCal discounts to the parks pretty frequently but even those exclude us folks from the northern part of the state.

Pam - I know they scale back the entertainment and program offerings when in port but there is still plenty to do. I think a lot of people use it as an opportunity to not have to fight over lounge chairs by the pool or otherwise pamper themselves. We've never stayed on the ship before but maybe other people on here would have some advice. We might start staying onboard after we've sailed a bit more and get bored with the ports. This will only be our first time repeating an itinerary.

Kris - About the time contradiction, I think the morning time (I thought it was 6am?) is for if you try to call them in. I heard they advertise that time for online but people have been able to book at midnight EST.

Cari - You are right about the voting, we did decide to split it but it was when our group was a lot larger. Now that our numbers have dwindled down, nearly everyone thinks it's a manageable enough number to buy for every cabin.

Jessica - Thanks for the offer to let us ship our FE gifts to you. We will see how we are doing with space in our luggage. I would like to take up some space so we can fill it with souvenirs on the way home. We are also staying with Amy's mom the two nights before so we would probably just ship it to her if we had to but I will let you know if we need to take you up on that offer!

Thanks for posting your weight loss secret. I had a bad scale morning so I feel obligated to share my weight gain secret with the group - have a four year old daughter.

You'll be stress eating like you wouldn't believe. It also adds greatly to the grey hair and frown wrinkles, none of which I had before she was born. I love her more than the world but wow, she's wearing me down fast!

Good night gang!
-steve

 

[denversees4me]

Jessica
Let me talk to Amber and see what she wants to do - As for Wendi and I we will still participate maybe we will just do it in halves 9 1 day and 9 the other day we can figure it out - I am so used to a 3 night cruise where buying for large ammounts of cabins dosent really matter bec its just 3 nights - I just dont like leaving people out or picking and choosing - I will figure it out though -no worries you guys didnt hurt my feelings ... Im not easily offended life is too short for that
I will let you know Ambers decision tomorrow
goodnight all

 

[Kidlette]

Pam[/B] - I know they scale back the entertainment and program offerings when in port but there is still plenty to do. I think a lot of people use it as an opportunity to not have to fight over lounge chairs by the pool or otherwise pamper themselves. We've never stayed on the ship before but maybe other people on here would have some advice. We might start staying onboard after we've sailed a bit more and get bored with the ports. This will only be our first time repeating an itinerary.

I forgot that I had wanted to comment towards this too!

Pam - they definitely scale back things while in port. There is a legal issue with cruisers spending money while docked in port; therefore ALL things where you would pay money are closed and/or not done! For instance, no shops, no bingo - nothing that's requires the cruiser to spend money!

It is a good time to relax or layout by the pool though. I just wouldn't bank on "activities". They may have some family game type things, but usually I just see people hanging out by the pool and watching a Disney movie on the top deck Jumbo tron thing.

 

[Kidlette]

Jessica
Let me talk to Amber and see what she wants to do - As for Wendi and I we will still participate maybe we will just do it in halves 9 1 day and 9 the other day we can figure it out - I am so used to a 3 night cruise where buying for large ammounts of cabins dosent really matter bec its just 3 nights - I just dont like leaving people out or picking and choosing - I will figure it out though -no worries you guys didnt hurt my feelings ... Im not easily offended life is too short for that
I will let you know Ambers decision tomorrow
goodnight all

Cari,
Thanks for understanding. I think it would be great if you still participate, but again, that's your decision. I don't know of anyone who was planning on buying for cabins daily, so please don't let that be your concern. I like your idea of 1/2 one day and 1/2 the next - Ryan and I just might steal that idea! I will wait to hear from you about Rick and Amber.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Lori - Sorry I missed an earlier question you posted but I've never heard of a CA resident discount for the cruises. They do offer SoCal discounts to the parks pretty frequently but even those exclude us folks from the northern part of the state.-steve

No worries. I know that there are FL resident discounts. I was just wondering if there were any for CA residents now that the Wonder will be there full time now.