Disney Wonder Jan 23, 2011

hi, just tried to message you about the fish extender list and it wont allow me to because i just joined this forum :( we are in room 5626 with 2 adults and 1 child. this is the cutest idea! and we are thrilled about our very first disney cruise!
 
Take a look here.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

When you renew your passport it is only like $10 extra for it. If you already have a passport, I think it is still only $10 to get one.

It looks like the passport card runs an additional $30 and can't be used for air, which is what one is most likely going to need if he/she is late returning to the ship and is left behind.

I carry a copy of my passport in port along with a driver's license and a certified birth certificate card. Personally, I don't see the need to spend the extra $30 on something that is of much more limited use than a passport.

Kris
 
It looks like the passport card runs an additional $30 and can't be used for air, which is what one is most likely going to need if he/she is late returning to the ship and is left behind.

I carry a copy of my passport in port along with a driver's license and a certified birth certificate card. Personally, I don't see the need to spend the extra $30 on something that is of much more limited use than a passport.

Kris

Agree, not as good as the passport. I remember only paying $10 for it. It must have gone up. What I liked about it is to keeping the passport book safe and sound. That is a high dollar item for thieves.
 

Agree, not as good as the passport. I remember only paying $10 for it. It must have gone up. What I liked about it is to keeping the passport book safe and sound. That is a high dollar item for thieves.

You are correct about keeping the passport safe, although I would guess the cards might be equally sought after. Of course, it's easier to keep the cards safe due to their size.

Another thin to consider is that some state are now issuing licenses that are as good as a passport card (at least that's what I've heard). Supposedly, these "enhanced licenses" will serve the same purpose as the card.

It would be nice if the price was less, though. I'd use the card as my ID when flying as it would be easier to pull out and handle than the book.
 
Keep in mind that while the hotel on Priceline will include a shuttle to the port, it is not likely that they will include parking while on the cruise, so expect to pay extra for that. Even so, you'll pay less at the hotel than at the port (probably about $6 per day versus $12). You may want to call the hotel before bidding to be sure.

Kris

called the hotel yesterday about that very issue. 10/day IF they have space.
 
Very funny, Steve.

Here's my two cents after a dozen cruises, but only one so far on Disney:

12. Have small bills on hand to tip the porters and room service. I generally tip $1-$2 per bag and $2-$3 for room service, more if I'm ordering a lot.


Kris

Just for this cruise I saved most of my tips from working the Renn Fest this past fall. Do you think $200.00 in $1 will be enough for room service:rotfl2:
Yes I have over $200.00 in ones just waiting to tip. :rotfl:
 
Hey Cathy, that's a great idea! Too bad lawyers don't get tips. What a rip. "Thanks for getting my sentence down to 72 months, here's a $50 and keep the change." Hasn't happened yet. My daughter has money from my swear jar. Like $86,000.00, but it's all in nickels and such. That's it! I'll tip everyone a sack o' nickels! FE's are gonna be heavy.... "hey mom, that guy from deck 7 filled up my FE with pennies again. Can you have the steward throw a sack of nickels at him? He has a lot for some reason."
 
Hey all, is there anything to do in Mazatlan?? I've been looking but I dunno. Climb to the lighthouse? (But it's my 9 year old DD's B-day and I don't think she likes the idea.) Maybe go shopping in the golden area or old Mazatlan. Rock Island? El Cid? What say you, my well-appointed band of social advisors?

I booked the catamaran sightseeing tour of Los Arcos and such for Cabo, and I don't recall what for Puerto Vallarta, maybe a walking tour I think. The DW and I love old churches (I studied religion in college and she's a history scholar. We both like KISS though, so the marriage works), but the kids are going to be bored. This is really a lot harder than it looked in the brochure! Anyone else with kids addressed these issues, or am I just missing the big picture? Dolphin excursion instead???? This is exactly why I invented the "Dave Colada" (Nyquil and Xanax, add grendadine to taste), but it's not working for this dilemma.

Thanks! Dave
 
Hey all, is there anything to do in Mazatlan?? I've been looking but I dunno. Climb to the lighthouse? (But it's my 9 year old DD's B-day and I don't think she likes the idea.) Maybe go shopping in the golden area or old Mazatlan. Rock Island? El Cid? What say you, my well-appointed band of social advisors?
Thanks! Dave
You can get a hold of Randi to see if there is room for you guys on our ride. :goodvibes I don't know how many of there are but I know someone canceled recently. We have all kinds of riders going so you don't have to worry. I had to bribe Jeff to ride, I have ridden and used to own horses & our 10 year old has ridden ponies a few times & can't wait to ride a big horse. If you think you want to join us here is her website: Randi's Happy Horses She will want to know what kind of experience you have to match you up with the right horse, too! Just an idea for you :idea:
Off to create my FE's! :dance3:
Later!
Sue
 
That sounds AWESOME! My DW and DD can both ride and my DS and myself can fall off amusingly for your entertainment. But I'm all for that. I'll check into that right away. You're the best!!!!
 
I'm so excited about this upcoming solo trip. I'm scheduled to do the Canopy Adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Catamaran Cruise and Kayaking in Mazatlan and Certified 2 Tank Scuba Diving in Cabo San Lucas. Anyone else signed up for these port adventures?
 
I'm so excited about this upcoming solo trip. I'm scheduled to do the Canopy Adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Catamaran Cruise and Kayaking in Mazatlan and Certified 2 Tank Scuba Diving in Cabo San Lucas. Anyone else signed up for these port adventures?

My DH and 3 older kids are signed up for the Canopy Adventure in PV, and the two of us are doing Discover Scuba in Cabo. We're staying on the boat in Mazatlan.
 
so far, we are not signed up for any excursions....the ones I want, won't let 3 year olds attend (mostly boat) or the ones the 3 year old wants, are the really really expensive ones. I think we are going to do day passes at a beach resort or take taxi to beach/walk around....since I have a group of 12, no official stuff but Joanna/Matt may go parasailing.
 
called the hotel yesterday about that very issue. 10/day IF they have space.

Thanks for letting those who need to know this. For a $2 savings per day, I don't think it would be worth the hassle of waiting on a shuttle. For $14, I'd rather be able to leave when I'm ready to rather than waiting.

Kris
 
Just for this cruise I saved most of my tips from working the Renn Fest this past fall. Do you think $200.00 in $1 will be enough for room service:rotfl2:
Yes I have over $200.00 in ones just waiting to tip. :rotfl:

That would be a lot of room service ;)

Kris
 
You can get a hold of Randi to see if there is room for you guys on our ride. :goodvibes I don't know how many of there are but I know someone canceled recently. We have all kinds of riders going so you don't have to worry. I had to bribe Jeff to ride, I have ridden and used to own horses & our 10 year old has ridden ponies a few times & can't wait to ride a big horse. If you think you want to join us here is her website: Randi's Happy Horses She will want to know what kind of experience you have to match you up with the right horse, too! Just an idea for you :idea:
Off to create my FE's! :dance3:
Later!
Sue

I was going to suggest the same thing. Another option is to Google Mazatlan Frank who arranges tours there. If you're looking for a beach excursion, Stone Island is a good option or a day pass at one of the resorts.

Kris
 
You guys are the best! Steve, you're my new best friend. I definately want to party with you. I had Twister, a Oujia board and 50,000 dominos already packed, so you saved me some trouble. I feel really prepared! My wife keeps making me put the snorkel away before bedtime, but showering seems easier these days (except the swim fins keep covering the drain). I'm going to try the priceline thing; thank you for the instructions. I tried to call William Shatner first but Nimoy kept picking up.

These tips are terrific. Thanks again.

Dave

Yaaaaay, my first bromance! I'm so excited! Yeah, we've definitely got to hang out. I say we ditch the kids on pub night, have some brews and enjoy some late night (gasp) PG-rated humor as only Disney can do it.

Just don't let me have more than one drink or I'll start crying and pouring my heart out to you. "I-I-I mean, (sniff) why did Bambi's mom (sniff) have to die? Why Dave??? And why does Cruella have to be so insensitive? Doesn't she know how that makes me feel? (sniff)"

Sorry your wife didn't care for your snorkel ideas. Hey, do you know what you should try? Wait until she's relaxing in a bubble bath, and then barge in wearing floaties and do a cannonball into the tub. I'm sure she will get a good chuckle out of that. And just with the small chance she doesn't share your good-natured humor, make sure you don't bring your rubber ducky with you as it may end up somewhere you don't care for.

I say bring your dominos though! We could build a killer set down the halls or on deck. "Hey Cap'n, can you keep her still? We're trying to work here!" We would be instant YouTube sensations. I could actually retire at 70!!! If the bones (my uncle says that's what they call dominos in prison) are too much to pack though, we can just bring our Slinkys and have races down the stairs. We should wait until it's crowded like after a show ends to make it more competitive. "Pardon me folks, coming through."

I can see you're a man who likes his hobbies too. Just know that, while Disney doesn't specifically state it in the contract, they forbid lawn darts, javelin, skeet shooting, and bringing your own mallets to play whack-a-mole during the character breakfast. Jessica and Ryan found this out the hard way.

Your wonderful vision about the nickels reminded me of a story. In high school my buddy Henry and I went to Taco Bell with a sack of change, almost all pennies, and bought $13 worth of food. On a side note, you've got a real problem if two people are taking down $13 in food from the 59-79-99 menu. It's no wonder I was so stinkin' fat. Anyway, you should have seen the look on the poor girl's face at the register when, after telling us the total, Henry muscled this large sack of change up on to the counter. Fortunately the place was pretty empty but they ended up calling out six people in all to help count pennies. Most of our order was ready before they were done counting.

Cathy, you should settle your cruise bill with all those $1's on the last night!

-steve
 
I haven't posted in two days and I'm already behind. I love it!

Frank - Great tip about the mugs. I'm a bit of a chugger and always got annoyed carrying a handful of small cups back to our table when it was just the two of us. I'll definitely bring a couple large mugs and like Kris says, use the small cups to fill them.

Kris - Your list should be a must read before anyone is allowed to book a cruise. Fantastic tips. I just want to add that we too try to get on the ship as early as possible. Since you can't get into your cabins yet, I recommend wearing your bathing suits under your clothes so you don't have to worry about finding a place to change. As soon as you get on the ship though, make sure you go straight to Guest Services, Palo, or wherever to make any reservations you couldn't do online. Then head for the buffet for lunch before it gets too crazy. Then there will be plenty of time to relax at the pools before most people are even on the ship.

I think it was the third night of cruise #1 where I lost all shame in ordering more than one entree/appetizer/dessert. Go for it. It's the best place to experiment and try new things. On my dime, I'd never try ordering things like escargot but I always do it on cruises. We usually order an extra dessert too to share. They don't mind at all. I guarantee if you look like you are having trouble deciding between two things, the server will just say, "I'll bring you both."

Regarding the shoe organizer, we just use it because counter space is so limited. I keep my toothbrush and razor in there and Amy stuffs the other 15 pockets with who knows what.

Another tip I wanted to add is to bring a refillable water bottle (Nalgene/Camelbak) as they will try to sell you water bottles when leaving the ship. You can fill up your bottle with the ship's water before leaving for port and can also take it to the pools with you. Also, I think it's a country-specific thing but we've found we were never allowed to take opened food into ports. We tried a couple of times to grab a bagel or muffin or something to munch on for early excursions and they will make you finish it onboard or toss it.

The only thing we know for sure is we are doing the whale watching excursion in Cabo. We canceled the Canopy tour through Disney but haven't booked through Los Veranos yet and still don't know if we will. For Mazatlan, we will most likely stay on the ship.

Woohoo! Three weeks from today and we fly out of here! :cool1:

-steve
 
Today in the mail: Passporter's Guide to DCL, Hidden Mickeys of DCL guidebook, and ..... finally.... our cruise info!!!! We are official now. Took 'em long enough. But who's complaining? We're going on a Disney Cruise!!! Oh yeah! They don't make an emoticon for how happy I am!!
 

GET UP TO A $1000 SHIPBOARD CREDIT AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT!

If you make your Disney Cruise Line reservation with Dreams Unlimited Travel you’ll receive these incredible shipboard credits to spend on your cruise!

















Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE


New Posts





DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom