EBPC December 9, 2012!!! Who's in????

[dthogue]

We booked on board last week for the Panama Canal cruise. I REALLY want to go but we have to decide if we should take our boys (8 and 6) out of school for the 2 weeks before Christmas break.

Decisions, decisions. Come on guys tell me I'm right for allowing them to miss 2 weeks of school.

We booked a Verandah, deck 6 but that IGT rate of about $4500 for all 4 of us is very tempting. The ship looks empty, maybe we could pay for an uprgrade at the port and save some $$.

Any thoughts?

I have to agree with the others - with the age of your boys I wouldn't have a problem taking them out of school - my DD will be 14 and we are taking her out of school - I will get her work ahead of time and she will have all of Christmas break to get it done.

 

[dthogue]

I'm thinking about re-shopping this cruise while we're onboard Magic in June and see if we can upgrade to an oceanview for not much more than we're paying for our inside. With the 10% discount and the OBC, we might be able to do it, although I really like the sideways Cat. 11 that we have reserved right now.

Beth

sounds like a great plan - good luck!

Hi everyone! DW already checked in for our family, but I figured I throw my hello in there too. 14 nights! yikes! I can't wait! I've said for years that it takes me until about day 6 to relax on a 7 night cruse...so I figure when I hit that I'll have 8-9 more days! nice!

I'll be starting a PTR shortly...will post the link when I do so hopefully you guys can jump onboard that as well. Heck...we don't have anything else going on in life anyway....riiiight????

anyway I can't wait to meet you guys on Mickey's Boat!

Drew (Disneyzell)

Welcome - gotta go read your trip report!!!

Welcome newcomers!

I'm posting the response I received from DCL about how time changes will be handled on our cruise:



I'm asuming when we move our clock forward on Dec 10, it means that we actually move our clocks ahead the night before so that we wake up in the new time zone. Does that sound correct to you?

If correct, then the following should be our time change itinerary:

1 Sun, Dec 9 Los Angeles PST 4:00 p.m.

2 Mon, Dec 10 At Sea PST

3 Tue, Dec 11 Cabo San Lucas MST 11:15 a.m. 4:30 p.m.

4 Wed, Dec 12 Puerto Vallarta MST 10:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m.

5 Thur, Dec 13 At Sea CST

6 Fri, Dec 14 At Sea CST

7 Sat, Dec 15 At Sea CST

8 Sun, Dec 16 At Sea EST

9 Mon, Dec 17 Panama Canal EST

10 Tue, Dec 18 Cartagena EST 9:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m.

11 Wed, Dec 19 At Sea EST

12 Th, Dec 20 At Sea EST

13 Fri, Dec 21 Costa Maya CST 7:45 a.m. 4:30 p.m.

14 Sat, Dec 22 At Sea EST

15 Sun, Dec 23 Miami, Florida EST 7:30 a.m.

I fear I am going to be so confused and not ever know what time it is

 

[mom24cuties]

I just took three of my kids ( DS9, DD 8 and DD 6) out of school for the Fantasy MV and they don't even have any homework to make up! Makes the decision to take them out of school for the PC cruise very easy. I hope next year's teachers are as easygoing....

 

[abbyar]

There's no specific warning about Cabo, only the state it is in.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

This is why I'm nervous though:

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-26/...val-cruise-lines-cruise-officials?_s=PM:WORLD

 

[socababy]

I'll be taking my 9 and 7 year old out of school for this cruise too! I'm not concerned about my 7 year old but the 9 year old will probably have some work to do on the cruise. The good thing about the timing is that when we get back, I'll have 2 weeks to make sure they are caught up and are where they need to be for when school resumes.

When I asked the office for permission, they said elementary school is the time to do it!

We booked on board last week for the Panama Canal cruise. I REALLY want to go but we have to decide if we should take our boys (8 and 6) out of school for the 2 weeks before Christmas break.

Decisions, decisions. Come on guys tell me I'm right for allowing them to miss 2 weeks of school.

We booked a Verandah, deck 6 but that IGT rate of about $4500 for all 4 of us is very tempting. The ship looks empty, maybe we could pay for an uprgrade at the port and save some $$.

Any thoughts?

 

[dee bee]

Member request sent!


From everything I've read, Cabo is very safe...am I missing something?

We go to Cabo a couple of times a year and we have always felt safe there. They are very friendly and just about everyone speaks english.

 

[dee bee]

sounds like a great plan - good luck!



Welcome - gotta go read your trip report!!!



I fear I am going to be so confused and not ever know what time it is

Disney time is always the best time!

 

[dee bee]

We are traveling with a group of 11 (kids and adults) and have never cruised Disney at Christmas time before. I see that there is gingerbread house making but are there other Christmas themed events? Are the shows also geared toward the holidays?

 

[mom24cuties]

We cruised last year in early December and there was a tree lighting ceremony. Two of my kids were asked by CMs to participate. They were on the stairs in front of Triton's and threw pixie dust (sparkles) on the tree. Mickey Mouse was there and they were very close to him. It was fun for them and they even were given a little gift bag for helping. It was great!

 

[dededisney]

We are traveling with a group of 11 (kids and adults) and have never cruised Disney at Christmas time before. I see that there is gingerbread house making but are there other Christmas themed events? Are the shows also geared toward the holidays?

We were on a Disney cruise on Christmas back in 2008, so it might be different since it was actually Christmas eve/day on board. But, first, if you want to do the gingerbread house, make sure as soon as you board, go straight to guest services to get a ticket...from what I remember, there were not a lot of slots available. On xmas eve, they had cookies set out so you could take back to your cabin for Santa, Mrs. Clause read "Twas the Night Before Xmas" in the atrium and then on Xmas day, all the kids were given a gift (Pixar 2009 calendar) and they had face painting. The shows were the same as always, so no special holiday themes (at least that I can remember).

 

[JessicasMom]

There's no specific warning about Cabo, only the state it is in.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

This is why I'm nervous though:

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-26/...val-cruise-lines-cruise-officials?_s=PM:WORLD

Yes, I've read both before, but I still think Cabo is relatively unaffected. I wouldn't even consider an excursion outside PV, though...even if it is run by DCL. We'll get off the ship and...well, I haven't figured that out, yet...but it will definitely involve a stop at Walmart or Sam's across the street! My mother, who is 72 and had never cruised until last year, will probably stay on the ship (although she was genuinely worried about Cozumel last year and ended up having a fabulous time!). I really enjoy getting to know new places , so I'd like to take a city tour...we'll see.

 

[adnil530]

Hi All! I've taken the plunge and booked this cruise. Hopefully, I can make it work. I'm in the process of starting a business and will know in July if I can make this cruise work out.

I've wanted to do a Panama crossing for a long time. DH is retired Coast Guard and has done it many times...he doesn't see my great interest in doing it

It will only be me and my dd11, she will turn 12 on board. Our other daughter is in high school and will not be able to miss that much school. They don't get out for Winter break until December 21! I'll be planning my Castaway Cay day on December 21!

I'll go back and read the posts to catch up. A very active thread! That's great!

Glad to be booked!

Linda

 

[dededisney]

Hi All! I've taken the plunge and booked this cruise. Hopefully, I can make it work. I'm in the process of starting a business and will know in July if I can make this cruise work out.

I've wanted to do a Panama crossing for a long time. DH is retired Coast Guard and has done it many times...he doesn't see my great interest in doing it

It will only be me and my dd11, she will turn 12 on board. Our other daughter is in high school and will not be able to miss that much school. They don't get out for Winter break until December 21! I'll be planning my Castaway Cay day on December 21!

I'll go back and read the posts to catch up. A very active thread! That's great!

Glad to be booked!

Linda

Hopefully you can make it work. What a great time you and your daughter would have! I don't want to rain too much on your parade, but we are not stopping at Castaway Cay I think because this cruise was a last minute scramble on Disney's part, they couldn't get too many ports (including their own island!) But, we'll have fun regardless and I am sure they will have some fun things planned instead!

Deanna

 

[dededisney]

just wanted to remind everyone that we do have the facebook page set up and some conversations going over there if you would like to join...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/313468622054824/

 

[DindelsPA]

Good Morning all!

Well, we've decided to take the plunge and join you guys through the PC.
Our DD will be 13 at cruise time and in 8th grade so I was very excited to see others in her age group here.

This will be our third attempt at this cruise. Life's circumstances made for changes then but I'm keeping the faith that circumstances will allow for it this time.

I am a transplanted Bergen Co. girl now living in the Poconos so it seems like there's already a lot in common with folks here. LOL

Count us in for a certificate and group excursions, especially to Costa Maya. Time to join the FB group!

 

[Moby]

Good Morning all!

Well, we've decided to take the plunge and join you guys through the PC.
Our DD will be 13 at cruise time and in 8th grade so I was very excited to see others in her age group here.

This will be our third attempt at this cruise. Life's circumstances made for changes then but I'm keeping the faith that circumstances will allow for it this time.

I am a transplanted Bergen Co. girl now living in the Poconos so it seems like there's already a lot in common with folks here. LOL

Count us in for a certificate and group excursions, especially to Costa Maya. Time to join the FB group!

I'll join you in keeping the faith that circumstances will allow you to cruise the PC in December!

My dd will be 14 at cruise time and will also be in 8th grade!

 

[dthogue]

Good Morning all!

Well, we've decided to take the plunge and join you guys through the PC.
Our DD will be 13 at cruise time and in 8th grade so I was very excited to see others in her age group here.

This will be our third attempt at this cruise. Life's circumstances made for changes then but I'm keeping the faith that circumstances will allow for it this time.

I am a transplanted Bergen Co. girl now living in the Poconos so it seems like there's already a lot in common with folks here. LOL

Count us in for a certificate and group excursions, especially to Costa Maya. Time to join the FB group!

so glad to have you join us - they say the third time is a charm, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for you!

We live near Hershey, so not too far from you. My middle daughter went to East Stroudsburg University for a few semesters, than transferred to a school closer to home.

I have a DD who turns 14 in May - she will be thrilled to know there is another girl her age cruising with us!

 

[dee bee]

We cruised last year in early December and there was a tree lighting ceremony. Two of my kids were asked by CMs to participate. They were on the stairs in front of Triton's and threw pixie dust (sparkles) on the tree. Mickey Mouse was there and they were very close to him. It was fun for them and they even were given a little gift bag for helping. It was great!

That's sounds so nice! I can't wait!

 

[JessicasMom]

If the trend continues, "PC" will soon stand for Pennsylvania Cruisers ....but we'll share... there's plenty of room for everyone!

I just checked the DCL website, and the itinerary has been corrected to show only one day sailing the Canal. The time in Cartagena has been shortened thirty minutes...leaving at 5:30pm instead of 6...wonder what difference it makes? Now, if they would just post those VGTs

 

[BethC1952]

If the trend continues, "PC" will soon stand for Pennsylvania Cruisers ....but we'll share... there's plenty of room for everyone!

I just checked the DCL website, and the itinerary has been corrected to show only one day sailing the Canal. The time in Cartagena has been shortened thirty minutes...leaving at 5:30pm instead of 6...wonder what difference it makes? Now, if they would just post those VGTs

I'm not greedy--I would even settle for an OGT! I'm still happy with my inside room and won't change it unless either OGT or VGT are released!

Beth