Eastern Caribbean Fantasy Oct. 5, 2013

[Deb T.]

Since I've already been able to book activities for this cruise, I just received this email from DCL:

We are truly glad that you will be sailing with us soon.

Our records indicate that you, or a member of your party, have already pre-reserved some of your cruise activities, including a relaxing spa experience onboard. We wanted to take a moment and let you know that at the time of the spa services, an 18% automatic gratuity will be applied to the service check.

As you may know, it is customary in the spa industry to give gratuities in recognition of service, and we have at our Guests' request established this guideline. As a convenience, the gratuity will be automatically added at the completion of your spa service.

Should you wish to review or make modifications to your pre-reserved cruise experiences, please visit the My Cruise Plans section of our website at www.disneycruise.com/plan.

Again, we look forward to sailing with you soon and trust that you will have an exceptional voyage aboard Disney Cruise Line.

Sincerely,

The Cast and Crew
Disney Cruise Line

This is a brand new policy. The 18% gratuity is now a mandatory minimum amount, applying to each and every spa experience. You can add additional gratuity, but you won't be able to give less. From personal experience, we've always tipped at least 20% because we've always received exemplary service!

 

[pixiehallow]

And every other happy smilie!!!!!

We made our final payment today!!!!!

YEAH

 

[Viking]

18% auto gratuity?
Did the staff get stiffed so often that they deem this necessary? We usually also tip 20% when we're in the US, but we also prefer to determine the amount on our own.

We'll wait a couple of weeks til making our final payment as the Euro is presently winning against the Dollar. If this trend continues, our cruise will become cheaper. A change of just 5 cents will save us a hundred bucks. In the last four weeks the Euro already gained 4 Cents against the Dollar.

 

[pixiehallow]

My Vista Print order came today

Everything looks great

One step closer to being ready to go.

All I have left is to make our pirate shirts, and I will be ready to pack.

 

[Mercinursi]

My Vista Print order came today

Everything looks great

One step closer to being ready to go.

All I have left is to make our pirate shirts, and I will be ready to pack.

Tink, glad to hear your order came in and it looks great. Got my order in. Decided to use the design and made some autograph books for the kids! They will each get a vacation gift when we get ready to go. Some stuff for them to do on the long drive down and some things for the cruise.

DH and I decided to pull the kids from school a day early and spend one day in the park. Bought the tickets today. This is one time having hubby work for the DOD is good. The Disney tickets have not gone up in price on the base!

Still working on FE gifts, and am wondering if a decision has been made about splitting the group?

It is getting so close! It is starting to seem real now!

 

[Bajamama03]

I put together an order on vista print with a groupon and couldn't have done it without you!!
I'm so excited for it to get here!

I've also adjusted my attitude about getting a cabana. Had my heart set on it but if one happens to be available, great! If not, who cares???? It's a Disney Cruise vacation with my DH and Castaway Cay is paradise!! I intend to have a fabulous time no matter where we spread our beach towels!!

~jackie

 

[pixiehallow]

I put together an order on vista print with a groupon and couldn't have done it without you!!
I'm so excited for it to get here!

I've also adjusted my attitude about getting a cabana. Had my heart set on it but if one happens to be available, great! If not, who cares???? It's a Disney Cruise vacation with my DH and Castaway Cay is paradise!! I intend to have a fabulous time no matter where we spread our beach towels!!

~jackie

Jackie,
I am lovin the attitude

We had a melt down with our oldest 3 cruises back. The Disney fries (at the quick service dinner area ) were not exactly how he had remembered them. So he proceeded to have a grumpy attitude. Until we reminded him, that it is only what you make of it. or When faced with the decision to make the trip what he wanted it to be, or be bummed out, he choose to have fun. He replaced the fries he was sooooo looking forward to with ice cream cookie sandwiches (he would get 2 of the always fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and take them over to the soft serve ice cream machine, and make himself an ice cream sandwich).

Long story short.....No matter what the cruise brings, set your plans for fun.
And be thankful you are on a Disney boat, not one of those other drift at sea for a week or longer boats

Only 113 days

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to April,

Happy Birthday to you

 

[Deb T.]

I put together an order on vista print with a groupon and couldn't have done it without you!!
I'm so excited for it to get here!

I've also adjusted my attitude about getting a cabana. Had my heart set on it but if one happens to be available, great! If not, who cares???? It's a Disney Cruise vacation with my DH and Castaway Cay is paradise!! I intend to have a fabulous time no matter where we spread our beach towels!!

~jackie

Jackie,
I am lovin the attitude

We had a melt down with our oldest 3 cruises back. The Disney fries (at the quick service dinner area ) were not exactly how he had remembered them. So he proceeded to have a grumpy attitude. Until we reminded him, that it is only what you make of it. or When faced with the decision to make the trip what he wanted it to be, or be bummed out, he choose to have fun. He replaced the fries he was sooooo looking forward to with ice cream cookie sandwiches (he would get 2 of the always fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and take them over to the soft serve ice cream machine, and make himself an ice cream sandwich).

Long story short.....No matter what the cruise brings, set your plans for fun.
And be thankful you are on a Disney boat, not one of those other drift at sea for a week or longer boats

Only 113 days

Loved, loved, loved these two posts, ladies!!! As much as I love the DIS Boards, I do believe some of the posts on the main cruise page can sometimes raise expectations to unreasonably high levels. I'm really happy for cruisers who have received a special perk or magical moment onboard, but when they post their good fortune, it can make the rest of us want to strive for the exact same experience, which can set people up for disappointment. I mean, who wouldn't like an automatic cabin upgrade, be chosen as the Family of the Day for boarding first, be tapped on the shoulder for a private character meet and greet, have a server who can put on a magic show every night, etc., but for the vast majority of us, this probably won't happen. For example, we've cruised DCL 13 times and have never received a visit from the upgrade fairy. We sailed once with family that included seven kids between the age of 5 and 7 (set of triplets, set of twins, and two singlets), and our server never did any "tricks"... but he did make "hats" out of napkins one night.

We honestly aren't looking for anything other than a safe, fun cruise vacation. And I can honestly say that we've always experienced that!

Can't wait to meet all of you onboard!

 

[Viking]

Loved, loved, loved these two posts, ladies!!! As much as I love the DIS Boards, I do believe some of the posts on the main cruise page can sometimes raise expectations to unreasonably high levels. I'm really happy for cruisers who have received a special perk or magical moment onboard, but when they post their good fortune, it can make the rest of us want to strive for the exact same experience, which can set people up for disappointment. I mean, who wouldn't like an automatic cabin upgrade, be chosen as the Family of the Day for boarding first, be tapped on the shoulder for a private character meet and greet, have a server who can put on a magic show every night, etc., but for the vast majority of us, this probably won't happen. For example, we've cruised DCL 13 times and have never received a visit from the upgrade fairy. We sailed once with family that included seven kids between the age of 5 and 7 (set of triplets, set of twins, and two singlets), and our server never did any "tricks"... but he did make "hats" out of napkins one night.

We honestly aren't looking for anything other than a safe, fun cruise vacation. And I can honestly say that we've always experienced that!

Can't wait to meet all of you onboard!

We had a very special DCL Moment on 10/14/2003:
It was DW's birthday and we were sitting in the theatre to watch 'Who wants to be a Mouseketeer' and after the second candidate Anja's seat number was called up for the hot seat. As she didn't want to go on the stage I tried my luck. 20 minutes later I had a nice WWTBAM-pin - and a voucher for a free cruise
As this took place on a Tuesday that special moment lasted another three days, because wherever we went on the ship or on CC People approached me and asked 'Aren't you the guy who won the free cruise?'
But I have to admit that I wouldn't have been able to answer the final question without the help of the kids in the first row.

But to be honest: Even more magical was the big number of friends we found on our 2001-cruise, called 'Cruisetoberfest'. Now -twelve years later- we'll be cruising with a lot of them again and ten of us will even dine together plus one couple we met during Cruisetoberfest IV - and after the cruise we'll visit two families we met during Cruisetobefest and Cruisetoberfest II.

 

[Deb T.]

We had a very special DCL Moment on 10/14/2003:
It was DW's birthday and we were sitting in the theatre to watch 'Who wants to be a Mouseketeer' and after the second candidate Anja's seat number was called up for the hot seat. As she didn't want to go on the stage I tried my luck. 20 minutes later I had a nice WWTBAM-pin - and a voucher for a free cruise
As this took place on a Tuesday that special moment lasted another three days, because wherever we went on the ship or on CC People approached me and asked 'Aren't you the guy who won the free cruise?'
But I have to admit that I wouldn't have been able to answer the final question without the help of the kids in the first row.

But to be honest: Even more magical was the big number of friends we found on our 2001-cruise, called 'Cruisetoberfest'. Now -twelve years later- we'll be cruising with a lot of them again and ten of us will even dine together plus one couple we met during Cruisetoberfest IV - and after the cruise we'll visit two families we met during Cruisetobefest and Cruisetoberfest II.

Wow! That's AWESOME about winning a free cruise!! Congratulations!!!

I believe magic happens when you least expect it!

We have also made many new friends from all over the world on our previous cruises and through the DIS boards, and have been fortunate enough to do repeat cruises with some of them. Another reason why I love the DIS boards!

 

[Mercinursi]

A FREE cruise?! WOW!!! That's amazing!

I have to say I am ok without the cabana too. We are so excited about going on the cruise that I know everything will be wonderful. I do agree with Tink and DebT, that attitude means everything. If you go into any situation and it will be your attitude that determines how everything will be. If you have your expectations too high or let every little problem upset you, you aren't going to have fun. I tend to go thru life with a positive attitude. I have a MIL that complains about everything, I am always amazed by how differently we view the world.

I am very excited to meet everyone and hope that we have the same great experiences I have read about with new friendships.

Personally, with Tink telling us about the Vistaprint groupon offer (although I'm sorry you had a hard time with them) I feel like we have started having some of the magic already! Can't wait to see what else is there to discover!

 

[pixiehallow]

A FREE cruise?! WOW!!! That's amazing!

I have to say I am ok without the cabana too. We are so excited about going on the cruise that I know everything will be wonderful. I do agree with Tink and DebT, that attitude means everything. If you go into any situation and it will be your attitude that determines how everything will be. If you have your expectations too high or let every little problem upset you, you aren't going to have fun. I tend to go thru life with a positive attitude. I have a MIL that complains about everything, I am always amazed by how differently we view the world.

I am very excited to meet everyone and hope that we have the same great experiences I have read about with new friendships.

Personally, with Tink telling us about the Vistaprint groupon offer (although I'm sorry you had a hard time with them) I feel like we have started having some of the magic already! Can't wait to see what else is there to discover!

Experience aside,
I am very excited with the shirts. Plus, one of our group members asked me to set up theirs on a polo w/ embroidery, and those shirts look even more amazing. I just needed to deal with the attitudes their staff had so I could move on to the excitement of planning.
And I am excited
Everything is falling into place, and by the end of the month, I will be ready to pack.
And so far, I will atest to the fact that the magic is already a part of this group, with some of the small wonders that have already taken place. If nothing else sparkles of pixiedust, I already have some of the previous style stories to share post-cruise.

~Tink~

 

[goofydvc]

My shirts came today and They look really good. Tink thank you so much for all your help. I also had a grand slam shirt made - with this cruise we would have been on all 4 ships and we will be platium . Next week it is time to make plans - Dh wants to go to crazy plan beach - are there any firm plans with those who were going there?

 

[pixiehallow]

My shirts came today and They look really good. Tink thank you so much for all your help. I also had a grand slam shirt made - with this cruise we would have been on all 4 ships and we will be platium . Next week it is time to make plans - Dh wants to go to crazy plan beach - are there any firm plans with those who were going there?

Not firm plans yet. However, there is a sign up on the group page where you can add your in put.
Oz is helping with that meet.

 

[pixiehallow]

P.S. Your welcome. I enjoy the art work , and am glad to lend a hand

~ Tink ~

 

[Deb T.]

I also had a grand slam shirt made - with this cruise we would have been on all 4 ships and we will be platium .

This is our Grand Slam cruise, too!!

Next week it is time to make plans - Dh wants to go to crazy plan beach - are there any firm plans with those who were going there?

Not firm plans yet. However, there is a sign up on the group page where you can add your in put.
Oz is helping with that meet.

We already signed up for this on the group page. None of the DCL-sponsored St. Maarten excursions appealed to us, so we were going to go with Bernard's Tours anyway, but it would definitely be more fun to do it together as a DIS group! So, count us in, Oz!

 

[Viking]

I just signed us up for the Maho Beach/Orient Bay-excursion. As stated earlier our preference would be to go to Orient Bay in the morning and to Maho Beach around 1pm as that is the time when the interesting aircraft show up.

Tink,
where can I download the final design? The Vista Print-deal isn't feasible for us as we're based in Germany and need to use a local provider.

 

[pixiehallow]

I just signed us up for the Maho Beach/Orient Bay-excursion. As stated earlier our preference would be to go to Orient Bay in the morning and to Maho Beach around 1pm as that is the time when the interesting aircraft show up.

Tink,
where can I download the final design? The Vista Print-deal isn't feasible for us as we're based in Germany and need to use a local provider.

Eric,
Let me send you the final picture. As for the whole design with wording and such, I will have to send you a picture of the shirt most likely to see how they came out. Vista had said I could get a digital proof to share with everyone so that the group could use it to attach to their orders (thus you would have at least been able to see it). However, this was one of the big issues I had with them. They charged me for the proof, but it was not shareable, nor attachable. I could not send it to anyone to even look at the design.
I will work on it tomorrow (my Saturday)
Searching for airfare right now.
~Tink~

 

[ozdisneyfan]

Eric,
Let me send you the final picture. As for the whole design with wording and such, I will have to send you a picture of the shirt most likely to see how they came out. Vista had said I could get a digital proof to share with everyone so that the group could use it to attach to their orders (thus you would have at least been able to see it). However, this was one of the big issues I had with them. They charged me for the proof, but it was not shareable, nor attachable. I could not send it to anyone to even look at the design.
I will work on it tomorrow (my Saturday)
Searching for airfare right now.
~Tink~

Hi Tink,

Could you send it to me also? I am also having the outside of the US issue....

Thanks
Lea