"Double Dip Delight" 09.27.2008 - Take 3!

[GammaRee]

I wanted to know how many of you actually added the insurance to your costs....also how many of you got passports as well. I did not do either. I want to know from the ones who have sailed before if you always added insurance or if it really is necessary. your comments about this is very important...thanks

You are required to have passports by the US government to reenter the USA.
Are you asking about the guide book Passporter? If so, I have never used the guide books.

 

[nenner1]

From what I read, the one in Cozumel has you standing in the water. It didn't indicate that we would be on a grate of any kind, but it may have just not mentioned it.

For those of you curious about the Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel...watch the travel channel for Samantha Brown's special on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas. There is a segment in it where she goes to there for the encounter/swim.
When I watched it I remember there being a wooden platform in the water you stand on. We also did the one in Nassau, and like Stacy said we all had to take everything off but our bathingsuits and wristbands. There was a metal platform in the water and it was covered in algae...very slippery and slimy. I expect the one in Cozumel may be the same...so just to prepare those of you with little ones....as they may be grossed out by standing on slime!

Hi All,
I am trying to prepare for this cruise and freaking out. I am nowhere near ready. I keep reading all the things everyone has done to get ready. I don't have a fish extender. Had the bright idea to steal someone's idea from the other day and use a plastic pocket. Can't find one anywhere. Went to Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Family Dollar. I also went to local fabric store and looked at material, even though I can't a sew a button on.

My F/E gifts need to be made and I am slowly working on them. Trying to gather ideas for the kiddies.

I have hunted hi and low for a formal dress and can't find anything reasonably priced or what I want.

I know everyone has calmed you...but don't feel alone, by any means.
I have soooooooooooo much to do and I am making no progress on anything. Just when I think I will get some time, I get a new "assignment". (This week: making spirit noisemakers and banner signs for cheer.) We're literally and figurativey in the same boat...

Stressed over a dress?

EBAY!

I LOVE how you say destress on EBAY... yet that is the cause for my stress.. cuz people keep outbidding LMAO... off to check my 27dress's im watching.

Um, ya...I'm with Drea on this one. I've given up on eBay. I did just buy a bunch of casual cruise clothes from AE with my 40% off rewards. I'm over the dress thing. I tried on my dresses from last year and they aren't going over my hips so I need all new ones. It's funny I have free license to buy whatever I want dresswise and I just don't want to. It isn't much fun going up a size..(sizes? )

I did find one I like....at Torrid on clearance. Its very sequiny. Almost too sequiny. I'm afraid you'll all laugh at my 80's-ness.

I wanted to know how many of you actually added the insurance to your costs....also how many of you got passports as well. I did not do either. I want to know from the ones who have sailed before if you always added insurance or if it really is necessary. your comments about this is very important...thanks

You are required to have passports by the US government to reenter the USA.
Are you asking about the guide book Passporter? If so, I have never used the guide books.

Mslady.....we don't *usually* do either. We don't have passports (well, I have the passport card but it isn't good for air travel). You don't *HAVE* to have a passport to come back into the US by land or by sea, so you do not need one to cruise....but it is recommended. If you were to have an emergency and need to fly back to the US you couldn't do it without a passport...(yes if something does happen and you can get an emergency one fromt he consulate but really it is never recommeded to travel outside of the country without one) THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I'll repeat that we dont have 'em. For five of us it would have been a big expense...and we are pretty much fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants folks so we'll take our chances this time. And I work at a Passport acceptance office. I always say if something happens, we can just ride the burro back up over the border....

As far as insurance...normally we don't get that either. This time we did, it being hurricane season, and this cruise being a larger expense than our other cruises. Plus from what I've been reading it is really helpful to have in case of illness, etc. I would shop around....we got ours from insuremytrip.com and it was pretty cheap ($100 and change).

 

[Fizzgig]

We got insurance quotes from insuremytrip.com and we all have passports. We ended up getting a better price from our travel agents for the same coverage, actually. With the food allergies DH and DD have, it makes sense to have trip insurance and passports. Even with the Allergy Twins, it was only about $130 for the four of us for this trip. (Mom, I did get you covered, right? Or did you get a separate policy because your airfare was different? I can't remember.)

In addition, I did a poll a while back in the main cruise board. With over a hundred responses, almost half the respondents had at least one medical evacuation from their cruise. Quite a few had multiple medical evacuations. Our first cruise (4 day Wonder) was a reversed itinerary due to an almost immediate medical evacuation. There's a reason Disney has such a wonderful infirmary on board--people actually need those services on a fairly regular basis.

I bumped the thread in the main board.

Hope that helps!

 

[googles111]

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!

You guys rock. I may have found someone to borrow/buy a dress from and I am getting started on F/E gifts tonight.

You guys are truly the best and I can't wait to meet you all in person.

I feel much better now.

I can't sew and I just made mine with fabric tape and an iron. It's not as good as some of the ones on here, but it will do.. I am picky.. see how I messed up on Clement.. lol I put our initials on each pocket too. Oldest to youngest.

Mslady.....we don't *usually* do either. We don't have passports (well, I have the passport card but it isn't good for air travel). You don't *HAVE* to have a passport to come back into the US by land or by sea, so you do not need one to cruise....but it is recommended.

As far as insurance...normally we don't get that either. we got ours from insuremytrip.com and

We used them too. What you don't have to have a passport? I thought you had to?
Tonya

 

[GammaRee]

According to the Western Hemishere Travel Initiative, the deadline for passports has been pushed back AGAIN. Passports or passport cards were to be mandatory for returning to the US beginning January of 2008.

From the State Department's website:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
CURRENTLY:
U.S. citizens need to present either (a) a passport, passport card (scheduled to be in full production beginning in July 2008), or WHTI-compliant document; or (b) a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.

We've all had passports for years and my boyfriend had to get one for our May trip. Sorry - I did not mean to be passing along bad data.

And I highly recommend getting insurance. Like Brandie said, it is (relatively) cheap and can save you a lot of worry. Even tho most of my Alaska cruise was within the US, it was still very expensive for the two families who had to leave the ship in Juneau due to medical reasons. Without trip insurance, they would have to pay for everyone to be transported back to the lower 48 states.

 

[FatCat]

Insurance...

Depending on your risk factor and financial situation you can get insurance to cover several things. You can actually cater your insurance to your needs vs. buying the blanket policies.

Ex.

IMHO the primary reasons people get insurance is for

1. Trip Cancellation

2. Travel issues and extra expenditures (Trip interuption)

3. Medical Reasons.



Now all of these have different degrees but the Medical one in particular can have the highest magnitude. The cost for evacuation can be severe.



So I would recommend at the minimum to get a very basic policy for Medical/Evacuation purposes. The other items of Trip Cancellation and Travel issues are a Risk and Financial equation. Last time I ran the numbers the Trip Cancellation(especially with a pre-existing condition waiver) count for the highest percentage of the blanket policy.

 

[nenner1]

According to the Western Hemishere Travel Initiative, the deadline for passports has been pushed back AGAIN.

Yes...

In one of the Postal Bulletins at work there was a notice from the Dept. of State informing us that even after the WHTI land/sea implementation date of 6/1/09 that a WHTI compliant document will be acceptable for land sea travel...what this means is that even after full implementation you can still use certified copies of birth certificates and photo ID's.

(ETA: There are restrictions regarding embarking/debarking in non-US ports)

However.....Do as I say and not as I do.....get your full passport book.

 

[buddydecat]

Hi all! Haven't posted, but I've been reading. Just finished FE gifts tonight while watching the olympics, (too addicting). I'm not stressing....YET! But have tons to do. Trying to do everyone's great ideas is time consuming. Not to mention kids started back to school, I'm back at work, blah...blah...blah.

Counting down the days to R & R and meeting everyone! Speaking of, I didn't vote for precruise meet, just tell me when & where.

 

[anewmac]

Tonya LOVE the F/e Great job!

We got both insurance and passports.. Im more of the what if person.. rather have them and not need them then need them and not have um. That being said... its also my excuser for the next 5yrs (for the boys) and 7 for us.. to MAKE us use them and find our next vacation far far away.. just to get it stamped LOL... I cant just use it for one trip... like my last one LMAO thats no fun!

 

[TVEPFOX]

I've been lurking for awhile, enjoying all the info. I posted back months ago that my DH, DD and myself were on this cruise, but I was too busy to keep up with all the fun. I love all the talk of meeting up and FE. I wish I had time for neat stuff like that.

I do have a question, maybe it was answered in one of the thousands of posts... when is formal night? Please tell me it's not Sunday! I bring our formal clothes on board clean, but not ironed and send them to be pressed. They come out so nice and only cost a couple of bucks. We send them out the minute we get into our stateroom. There have been times we're sitting waiting for them to come back when formal night is the second night out.

Some background... this is our 6th DCL. We always do WDW for a week before jumping on the ship. DH and myself both work in television, hence our crazy schedules. We live in Albany, NY. Our DD is starting 1st grade in September, yes, I'm pulling her out of school for two weeks. Sue me. Working in tv we have very limited times when we can take vacation, September is one of them.

I confess, I'm an overpacker! And need to start sorting and planning. We've had some hairy experiences traveling in Sept. (that's the month we always cruise in). Hurricanes, TS, lost luggage, ugh! I'm hoping this one goes smooth.

If you did buy trip insurance, where did you get it? What's the cost per person? We normally don't purchase it because we've only had a problem once with DCL and a hurricane. We were on the Jeane cruise and came back into port Friday night (techinally Sat. morning at 1:00). DCL gave us 25% off our next cruise.

Our plans for the trip: Castaway: the best place on earth. Are you kidding me, get back on the ship at 2:30! That stinks! I'll be the one the ship will be waiting for. No one is going to board back ontime. They chopped our day, for what GC. GC is dull and overpriced in my opinion.

On GC: We're taking our DD to Stingray city and Rum point beach tour. We've done the stingrays, but I think she'll flip for it.

On Cozumel: We're letting her to the kids dolphin adventure. We've done it before (note the theme, been there done that).

You guys don't talk much about shopping! This year I'm going for a pair of blue diamond earrings. You'll know me when you see me. I'm the woman who LOVES blue diamonds. I got hooked on them last year. I love them for their color, they remind me of the sea. What are all you looking for?

I can't wait to get on the boat! It's been a long stressfull year for us, as I'm sure the rest of the country with prices going nutts.

Now all I want is a cabin number. We're GTY Nav. We've been that way since we booked on board last year.

Yeah, I write alot and don't spell well. That's the tv gal in me!

 

[thepanmanman]

Yes...

In one of the Postal Bulletins at work there was a notice from the Dept. of State informing us that even after the WHTI land/sea implementation date of 6/1/09 that a WHTI compliant document will be acceptable for land sea travel...what this means is that even after full implementation you can still use certified copies of birth certificates and photo ID's.

(ETA: There are restrictions regarding embarking/debarking in non-US ports)

However.....Do as I say and not as I do.....get your full passport book.

Are you a Postal employee? I am retired from the USPS.

We have passports and travel insurance. We have the passports because we live so close to Canada and visist a lot. It just makes going through customs faster.

We fly in thirty days. Can't wait.

 

[Fizzgig]

Heya... If you are having any problems with the DisDoubleDip website, feel free to PM me here and I'll see what I can do to help. We've got about 7 people who've signed up and haven't returned, so I'm making sure you know who to contact for help.

Hope that helps!

 

[FatCat]

No rOom #

 

[NHdisneylover]

Congrats on the tags, Hadley!!! No worries about the typing...we all love ya for reasons beyond typing skills! {{hugs}}

Google found your quote! You're Post #9!

BTW, if any of you are freaked out by snakes, use THIS link instead of the one below. This link is for the post ONLY. I noticed with a skip in my heart that the post following Hadley's has an unexpected PC intruder.

Thread: How in the world did it get in there??

not have a risk of having to pay for it--otehrwise we would get trip insurance.

Not yet...the poll is open through end of day August 31. I'll update Post #1 as well as DIS Double Dip when it's decided as well so you don't miss it.

Kimberly-I cant you believe you found that! You are too cool. Even with the typo I am so thrilled to have a tag I certainly do not want to loose one by changing my name like some of you have.

Chris--maybe DCL is having trouble figuring out where on the ship they can put "underwear guy" without frightening the other cruisers

Insurance--We do not buy it. Over the years we have saved more by never buying it than we would spend on airfare/hotel if plans needed to be changed due to bad weather or illness. HOWEVER our regular health insurance covers medical evacuation (they pay 90% of the first $10,000 and 100% after that) so we do

 

[Grandma4ever]

Your Countdown Date is: 9/20/08

Your Countdown Time is 0 years, 0 months and 27 days.

Your Countdown is also exactly 27 days.

Your Countdown is also approximately 648 hours.

Your Countdown is also approximately 38,880 minutes.

Your Countdown is also approximately 2,332,800 seconds.

Thought it was time for another countdown. Got to get some work done! Lois

 

[Buckeye Gal]

I've been lurking for awhile, enjoying all the info. I posted back months ago that my DH, DD and myself were on this cruise, but I was too busy to keep up with all the fun. I love all the talk of meeting up and FE. I wish I had time for neat stuff like that.

I do have a question, maybe it was answered in one of the thousands of posts... when is formal night? Please tell me it's not Sunday! ....You guys don't talk much about shopping! This year I'm going for a pair of blue diamond earrings. You'll know me when you see me. I'm the woman who LOVES blue diamonds. I got hooked on them last year. I love them for their color, they remind me of the sea.....

Hey there! Great to see you back with us!!!

Good news! Formal night is Monday. BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, Jen (nenner1) made an excellent matrix of everything going on through the week, which is posted in Post #1 of this thread. It's a great reference point. In fact, I printed it off this past week to put in a page protector and post on the door inside our cabin!

You're right...there's been little if any discussion around shopping unless it's related to alcohol, which includes rum cakes! OOOOOOhhh...I cannot WAIT to see your blue diamonds. They are indeed beautiful, but I've never seen them in person. So I WILL be seeking you out to see the sparkle of the seas!

 

[TVEPFOX]

Hey there! Great to see you back with us!!!

Good news! Formal night is Monday. BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, Jen (nenner1) made an excellent matrix of everything going on through the week, which is posted in Post #1 of this thread. It's a great reference point. In fact, I printed it off this past week to put in a page protector and post on the door inside our cabin!

You're right...there's been little if any discussion around shopping unless it's related to alcohol, which includes rum cakes! OOOOOOhhh...I cannot WAIT to see your blue diamonds. They are indeed beautiful, but I've never seen them in person. So I WILL be seeking you out to see the sparkle of the seas!

Thank God formal night is Mon. No ironing! Just throw the clothes in the suitcase!

I'll check out post #1. Normally we hang around outside of Cove Cave each night and sin (drink and smoke) until the kids club shutsdown! LOL!

The rum cakes are every where, including on the ship. We did go to the Rum Cake factory two years ago. It's free booze! We got trashed. It's amazing how drunk you can get from 24 dixie cups of rum!

Ladies, we need to talk bling!!!!!!!!!
I bought my first blue diamond on the last DCL in St. Marteen. It's a ring 1.20 tcw, 3 stones, 2 white diamonds, 1 blue. I liked it so much for my birthday I special orderd a 1.50 round solitare in blue. It took months to track one down. When had a jeweler order it from India. I love the choices of different colored diamonds in the Carib. but hate the price haggle. Especially with the silver in Mexico. Just give me the lowest price possible and no BS. Anyone have any luck with diamonds in Cayman? It's usually so expensive. In Mexico, we normally walk from shop to shop, them go in for the kill! LOL

 

[Buckeye Gal]

Lois, I'm LOVING those numbers!!

We have another newbie to our family! So I wanted to more officially welcome 2jaz to our group! 2jaz, we haven't had any other familes representing Wisconsin, so that now brings our state count up to 31 and our country count is 5!

So for those of you playing along, I've updated stats on Post #1 as well as the kid count matrix (link in Post #1 under Interesting Stats). Additionally, on the DIS Double Dip website, the following threads have been updated:

• Onboard DIS Meets member list
• We're Gonna Celebrate!
• Friday Night Whereabouts

...Normally we hang around outside of Cove Cave each night and sin (drink and smoke) until the kids club shutsdown! LOL!

The rum cakes are every where, including on the ship. We did go to the Rum Cake factory two years ago. It's free booze! We got trashed. It's amazing how drunk you can get from 24 dixie cups of rum!....

I can see pencils and notebooks labeled "Note to Self" being picked up now across the globe!

Well if I don't meet you at the DIS Meets, I'll certainly catch you around Cove Cafe. Both of those rings sound absolutley BEAUTIFUL and have lots of BLING BLING!! That's very special and cool that they both have a story behind them as well!

This is tooooo funny. As you know, earlier today I mention Rum Cakes, and I just looked at my email and found the following message from Tortuga Rums. Get an early start if you want to! {www.TortugaRumCakes.com‏}

 

[anc22]

I just wanted to put in a quick post. I have been M.I.A. for the last few days and have about 20 pages to catch up on

This weekend we have been holding a Fundraiser/garage sale to raise money for Cancer Treatment for my aunt who was diagnosed with Gall Bladder Cancer which has quickly spread to her liver, lungs, lymphnodes and blood. As of yesterday, we had raised almost $2000.00! Today is the last day of the sale. Who would have thought that putting together a garage sale could be this exhausting? Please keep us in your thoughts as we try to reach our goal of $2500.00 by the end of the day.

Thanks all

 

[MagicMe]

I just wanted to put in a quick post. I have been M.I.A. for the last few days and have about 20 pages to catch up on

This weekend we have been holding a Fundraiser/garage sale to raise money for Cancer Treatment for my aunt who was diagnosed with Gall Bladder Cancer which has quickly spread to her liver, lungs, lymphnodes and blood. As of yesterday, we had raised almost $2000.00! Today is the last day of the sale. Who would have thought that putting together a garage sale could be this exhausting? Please keep us in your thoughts as we try to reach our goal of $2500.00 by the end of the day.

Thanks all

I hope you make your goal and then some!