Eastern Caribbean Fantasy Oct. 5, 2013

[tigerlilly878]

Hey guys, I have a question about reserving Brunch and Dinner at Palo and the excursions... Being as we haven't sailed with Disney before I plan on being on the reservation system at midnight on July 22 when I can reserve stuff.... but with everyone else getting first choices so early will we even be able to get those reservations... I am starting to worry....

Should I just not get my hopes up??

Thanks,
Christina

 

[Deb T.]

2 notes...
We are under thunderstorm and flash flood warnings too. We are having storms with 45 mile an hour winds.
As for the sky ride, I have heard the same mixed reviews.

Yikes! Stay safe! TS Andrea has passed us now. Thankfully, she was moving very quickly and didn't hang around as other TS's and hurricanes have previously!

 

[Deb T.]

I am hoping some Palo Brunch reservations are still available when July 7 rolls around and we can finally book. I really want to try brunch there.

I just checked, and there is plenty of Palo Brunch availability! When you are able to book, keep in mind that Palo Brunch is only offered on sea days. Since we will have three sea days, I believe your chances are excellent for snagging a reservation.

 

[Deb T.]

Hey guys, I have a question about reserving Brunch and Dinner at Palo and the excursions... Being as we haven't sailed with Disney before I plan on being on the reservation system at midnight on July 22 when I can reserve stuff.... but with everyone else getting first choices so early will we even be able to get those reservations... I am starting to worry....

Should I just not get my hopes up??

Thanks,
Christina

Don't despair. You have a couple of things working in your favor! First, this itinerary has three glorious sea days, giving everyone three different opportunities for booking a Palo Brunch! Second, since this is a 7-nt sailing, I believe you'll have an excellent chance of getting a Palo Dinner reservation! Keep in mind that it is much more difficult to book Palo on 3- and 4-night cruises because the same number of cruisers that on our itinerary would be vying for considerably fewer available days than we'll have for booking.

One caveat - You can only pre-book one Palo Brunch and one Palo Dinner per sailing. But then once onboard, anyone can book additional meals, as availability allows.

IF for some reason you are not able to secure a Palo Brunch or Dinner reservation, there are three strategies you can do that have resulted in 100% success for me!
- On embarkation day, you can go directly to Palo from 1:00-3:15pm for changes and/or new reservations, based on availability. (We have found them there as early as noon... shhhhhh!)
- Also on embarkation day, you can call 7-9735 from any phone onboard beginning at 3:15pm. If no one answers, leave a message with your name, cabin number, and day that you are hoping for, and they will return your call. (Just be sure to check your stateroom phone messages!)
- Anytime that Palo is open, stop by and inquire about availability.

GOOD LUCK!!!! Here's Pixie Dust to help the magic happen for you and everyone else who's hoping to dine in Palo!

 

[Deb T.]

Hey guys, I have a question about reserving Brunch and Dinner at Palo and the excursions... Being as we haven't sailed with Disney before I plan on being on the reservation system at midnight on July 22 when I can reserve stuff.... but with everyone else getting first choices so early will we even be able to get those reservations... I am starting to worry....

Should I just not get my hopes up??

Thanks,
Christina

Now, as for excursions, well that's another story entirely. What we always do is prioritize so that we can try to book our most desired excursions first, then work our way down the list until we've snagged as many of our first choices as possible. We also make a list of second (and sometimes third) excursion choices in case we can't get all of our first choices, and then attempt to book them in order, also. Does that make sense??

Here's an example of what we do:
Let's say we really, really, really want to do Excursion X on St. Maarten, Excursion Y on St. Thomas, and Excursion Z on Castaway Cay, but we are most interested in St. Thomas' Excursion Y. We also make a back up list of excursions for all ports. THEN, when our booking window opens, we would try for the St. Thomas Excursion Y FIRST, then St. Maarten's Excursion X, then CC's Excursion Z. After that round, we'd try for our second choices, as needed, for any ports where we weren't able to get our first choice. Then we'd repeat again for a third choice, if needed.

Again, here's for good luck!!!

 

[kmronnie3]

Well thank you for checking. I will keep looking and maybe something will come up. I know this sounds strange but I guess people can't reserve them for other guests can they? Lol

 

[Deb T.]

Well thank you for checking. I will keep looking and maybe something will come up. I know this sounds strange but I guess people can't reserve them for other guests can they? Lol

I just checked again, and now all Cabana's are rented. I'm really sorry. Try to stay positive, get on the Cabana waitlist as soon as you can, and we'll all keep our fingers crossed for you! I wonder if you called now, if DCL would go ahead and place you on the waitlist?? It would certainly be worth a try! Good luck!

 

[TamaraH]

Wanted to find out if there are any Girl Scouts in the group. We have some FE gifts that would be perfect for them.
Kim

I've got one Brownie and one Daisy.

 

[Kprovax]

I've got one Brownie and one Daisy.

Oh that's great! Even if we split the group I will still bring the special FE Gifts for the GS on board.
Kim

 

[alagille]

Hi, I am just starting to look into the forums, so if I screw something up, I'm only used to posting in Lines or Liners:->. Please be kind! I'm excited to have just rebooked our 2013 cruise for this one and am hoping to "meet" a few people before we go. I haven't yet read this whole thread, but have a little light reading to do before the trip. If some kind member can help me find the roll call and FB page for this cruise, that would be great!

 

[Viking]

Welcome, Alagille.
There's no FB-page for this group, but Tink has created a Yahoo-Group for us for which you'll surely get an invitation soon.


Tink,
i'have made my travel arrangements for the Denver-trip - or better: our assistant has made them
I'll fly over on 7/20 and return on 7/26. Unfortunately the nonstop-flight from Germany was so expensive that I now have to switch planes in Philly on the way to, and in Charlotte on the from Denver. The difference was 630 bucks
I'll finalize my agenda for the trip in the next two weeks. Then we can check whether there's a possibility to get together while I'm there. For Sunday, 7/21, I'm thinking about either riding the train through Royal Gorge or go to Cripple Creek in the morning and early afternoon, followed by hitting the outlets in Castle Rock. In the evening I may hit Downtown Denver and have dinner at Bubba Gump's. That's just a preliminary plan as my coworkers may have something different in mind for me. I'll get back to you as soon as I know more.

 

[tigerlilly878]

Now, as for excursions, well that's another story entirely. What we always do is prioritize so that we can try to book our most desired excursions first, then work our way down the list until we've snagged as many of our first choices as possible. We also make a list of second (and sometimes third) excursion choices in case we can't get all of our first choices, and then attempt to book them in order, also. Does that make sense??

Here's an example of what we do:
Let's say we really, really, really want to do Excursion X on St. Maarten, Excursion Y on St. Thomas, and Excursion Z on Castaway Cay, but we are most interested in St. Thomas' Excursion Y. We also make a back up list of excursions for all ports. THEN, when our booking window opens, we would try for the St. Thomas Excursion Y FIRST, then St. Maarten's Excursion X, then CC's Excursion Z. After that round, we'd try for our second choices, as needed, for any ports where we weren't able to get our first choice. Then we'd repeat again for a third choice, if needed.

Again, here's for good luck!!!

Thanks deb for all the advice! I generally don't do much chatter on the boards but I am very excited and plan on taking part in all the meets n stuff... My first order of business once on board ship will be to ride the aqua duck! Anyone else?

 

[pixiehallow]

Welcome to our group alagille

I am glad you found us.
And lucky you
you found a very helpful, friendly group....
We are patient and always ready to lend what ever assistance is needed.
So take your time reading and getting caught up.
Another great tool is our group page....I will send you an invite via PM shortly...
That is where we have the most up to date member list (admittedly, I have a few names that I need to add (people who have joined, but have not gotten the chance to add their info to the who are you list on the group page)), the FE list, group meets, and wonderful information about our cruise.
One question, are you interested in taking part in our FE exchange?
if so, just let me know, and I will get you added to the list.

Oh, one more side note...we recently chose our group shirts. I do not know if you use groupon, but there was a groupon for vista print that several of us got, and we ordered shirts through vista. If you are interested in getting a shirt, you can search for a vista print groupon (it was $15 for a $60 voucher or $17 for a $70 voucher). Or, Vista has a banner add (just search $6 shirts from vista print), that makes the cost of the shirts very reasonable. Let me know about this also. I have the design ready to go for anyone wanting to get their shirt.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Tink,
i'have made my travel arrangements for the Denver-trip - or better: our assistant has made them
I'll fly over on 7/20 and return on 7/26. Unfortunately the nonstop-flight from Germany was so expensive that I now have to switch planes in Philly on the way to, and in Charlotte on the from Denver. The difference was 630 bucks
I'll finalize my agenda for the trip in the next two weeks. Then we can check whether there's a possibility to get together while I'm there. For Sunday, 7/21, I'm thinking about either riding the train through Royal Gorge or go to Cripple Creek in the morning and early afternoon, followed by hitting the outlets in Castle Rock. In the evening I may hit Downtown Denver and have dinner at Bubba Gump's. That's just a preliminary plan as my coworkers may have something different in mind for me. I'll get back to you as soon as I know more.

Eric,
What I know absolutely right now is our Sunday Morning plans. We had the option, with the conference to either (A) take part in a golf tournement.....which Chuck and I are not big golf fans. We think of it as an over priced glorified game of fetch...minus the dog of the 4 legged variety.
or (B) white water rafting @ Clear Creek Canyon...and being from the part of Texas that we call home, water sports are a big part of our lives. So, the natural decision was to go rafting (even if the water is only 23 degrees ) We will be rafting from 9 Am (well leaving the hotel at 8:15) until 2 PM.
Aside from that, I know we are staying in Black Hawk (that is the location of the conference). I am not sure about flights or arrival/departure dates/times yet. The owner (who lives in Colorado) may be wanting to send us a new vehicle. If so, we (Chuck and I ) would opt to drive it back to Texas (the cost to drive the vehicle back would be substantially less than the cost of 2 tickets from Denver to Texas, plus the cost of shipping the vehicle). If we do that than we will be a little more flexible with our time.
When I know, I will let you know

~Tink~

 

[hng1979]

This sailing will be our first Disney cruise, but not our first cruise in general. I would like to join the FE list if I'm still able. Here is my family:

DW and teacher, Heather: 33
DH and firefighter, Michael: 34
DS, Dawson: 10
DD, Daisy: 7 (Will be 8 on 10/23)
Stateroom: 8656


We are so excited and can't wait. If this is not the appropriate place to post the request, please let me know and I'll keep searching for the thread. Thanks. Heather

 

[pixiehallow]

Welcome to our group hng1979



We are excited to have you (and my DH is excited to see a fire fighter join... past fire fighter but still has a love for the calling)

As I mentioned on the other thread, I have sent you an invite to our group page.
Once you sign up on the group page, there is a table under 'database' for the FE. Please take a minute and add all your info in for us.
I will add an updated FE to the next post for everyone.

Also, we just finished up votes for group shirts, and started ordering them. If you are interested, there still may be some groupons available for vista print (if you need any help tracking them down, let me know), or vista print has a $6 shirt sale....I am not a fan of Vista Print, but that is who the groupon was for, and that is where I have the shirt designed.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Everyone in our group is very helpful.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Here is the most up to date FE....based on vote, we only have about one more month before it is finalized.

pixiehallow
Tiggerb
TamaraH
actnkidz
CorEeyore
ARLO1
Mercinursi
jamelynn24
FrozenMinnie
TCCDad
kmronnie3
Contrady family
Marchetti family
Santam01
JulFromMD
JulFromMD +1
JulFromMD + 2
JulFromMD +3
JulFromMD +4
jbhatch
Jacqueline
Jacqueline +1
Jacqueline + 2
Dowley
goofydvc
Tenn
LadyCP
chipmunklove
ozdisneyfan
Jgamy
SinDee
Tiggerlily878
Kprovax
Kprovax +1
Deb T
Wanderluster25
hng1979

NOW...37 confirmed and counting.....

And just a reminder, if you are not on this list and want to be, just let me know. We don't want to leave anyone out that wants to share in the fun of FE gifts

At this point there is rumor we may be loosing 1 more cabin as well. I will let you know as soon as they give me a definite yes or no.

 

[Viking]

Tink,
are you in car sales?

I already changed my plan: I'll drive down to Colorado Springs in the morning to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, then Shopping in Castle Rock, back to the hotel for an hour in the gym, and then probably dinner at Five Guys.
I always thought that zoo was just a small tourist trap, but after checking it out on the web it now looks very promising.

Just in case you haven't been to that area yet: Please take into account that the high elevation makes for very thin air. All physical activity is more strenuous than usual. I usually run at about 9-9:30minutes per mile when working out or slightly under 8min/mile when doing races, but in Denver I usually do just 10min/mile and rarely do more than 5miles, whereas back home I do up to 13 miles - and Black Hawk is located even 3,000ft higher than Denver!!

 

[pixiehallow]

Tink,
are you in car sales?

I already changed my plan: I'll drive down to Colorado Springs in the morning to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, then Shopping in Castle Rock, back to the hotel for an hour in the gym, and then probably dinner at Five Guys.
I always thought that zoo was just a small tourist trap, but after checking it out on the web it now looks very promising.

Just in case you haven't been to that area yet: Please take into account that the high elevation makes for very thin air. All physical activity is more strenuous than usual. I usually run at about 9-9:30minutes per mile when working out or slightly under 8min/mile when doing races, but in Denver I usually do just 10min/mile and rarely do more than 5miles, whereas back home I do up to 13 miles - and Black Hawk is located even 3,000ft higher than Denver!!

No, Not car sales

Chuck is the area manager for a green (eco-friendly) carpet cleaning company in the San Antonio area. The owner has 2 franchise locations (one in Colorado Springs where he lives, and the other in San Antonio). We basically take care of all operations down here. The owner is currently selling the location in Colorado, and wants to give us one of the newer Scions to use down here instead of the GMC truck.
And I will take the altitude under advisement. That is actually why we opted to not take part in the 5k on Monday morning. Plus, I was not planning on being overly strenuous with the rafting. I will paddle when need be, but will be on a boat full of guys who should be able to handle the brunt of the work. However, some exercise will be needed to keep my body temperature up with below freezing water temps.

I have not heard about the zoo. I will have to check into it (probably for our next visit though).
Speaking of...have you ever done the Gatorland in Orlando? Clarkie wants to go when we are in Orlando this time around. He loves animals, and saw they had a zip line over the marsh land. Just not sure if it is worth it or not.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

I have just finished updating the 'Who Are You' table under database on the group page.
We currently are missing 26 cabin numbers. Half of which are FE participants.

Could everyone please take some time to stop by the group page and go to the 'Who are you ' form under the database link.
Find your name (they are all alphabetically by your DIS board name), and check to see if we have all your info (DIS name, group name, and cabin #) in correctly.
If not, you can click the edit button at the end of the row your name is on, and fix what ever is blank or incorrect. Thank you

~Tink~