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

[dthogue]

We would like to join
Dana and Paul Bewley
2 adults
no children
Cabin 6054

I will add you to the list, but I need your email address.

Tammy

 

[dthogue]

I posted my hotel info a few days ago. I am also spending a night in Ft Lauderdale post-cruise. We're renting a car from Budget near the port and returning it to FLL the next day. I think our rate for a full size is around $50 with taxes included. For hotel I went with Hotwire and got a GREAT deal at Westin Diplomat for only $150 (fees and taxes included). I've looked at many travel sites and cannot get that hotel for less than $330. The hotel is right on the ocean with great pools and only a 10-minute drive to FLL.

I remember reading this, but couldn't remember who posted I was hoping you would repost - I didn't have the energy to go back and search through the thread

Did you know what hotel you were booking ahead of time with Hotwire? Does Budget have a shuttle from the port to their office?

 

[WVURunner]

I need a little advice for our arrival in Miami. Coming home, we're staying overnight in Florida. We're a party of 12 and will not only need rental cars but a couple of hotel rooms. We're flying out of Fort Lauderdale. Does anyone know of a family friendly hotel that would be convenient either in Miami or Fort Lauderdale or have any suggestions about transportation?
I'd really appreciate any advice.

If you are looking for a "fun" place to stay on the beach in Fort Lauderdale and have a rental car, you might want to look into the Pelican Grand Beach Resort. It is right on the beach and has pools and a lazy river. The reef in Lauderdale by the Sea is only about 100 meters off of the beach so it is great for diving and snorkerling. My extended family stayed at this hotel for my grandfather's 80th birthday party and we all had a great time. This was back in September of 2002 though.

 

[Travelbee]

Did you know what hotel you were booking ahead of time with Hotwire? Does Budget have a shuttle from the port to their office?

I did not know which hotel I would get when I booked but I have a pretty good idea what the options are thanks to a wonderful website betterbidding.com. I've always checked the hotel list there before I bid on Priceline and Hotwire. Of course, there's no guarantees that Hotwire or Priceline won't add new hotels but so far I have yet to get a hotel that is not listed on Betterbidding. If you try to match the amenities listed, you can further narrow it down. My criteria was a 4* in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Beach and the website listed 3 potentials (Crowne Plaza, Diplomat Country Club and Spa or the Westin). Since I'd be happy with any of those, I just booked it. BTW, I just check Hotwire and the option I picked is still showing up ($127 + $21.99 in fees/taxes).

From my research, Budget does not have a shuttle from the port to their office. Even with taxi fare (~$10-$15) to the office, Budget's rate is still cheaper than renting from other companies. I also used a coupon from retailmenot for the rental car that someone from this thread suggested .

 

[DisneyManFamily4]

I don't have an answer to your question, I have been looking for a hotel too for Sunday evening.

I came across the website www.cruisemiami.org that has alot of helpful information including a listing of hotels in the area.

I'm not sure what area we want to stay in though - I've been looking at the downtown Miami area. We are flying out of FLL - I can't decide if we should stay in Miami or head north to FLL

Thanks, I'll be sure to look that website up. I'm also debating between staying in miami or Fort Lauderdale...

If you are looking for a "fun" place to stay on the beach in Fort Lauderdale and have a rental car, you might want to look into the Pelican Grand Beach Resort. It is right on the beach and has pools and a lazy river. The reef in Lauderdale by the Sea is only about 100 meters off of the beach so it is great for diving and snorkerling. My extended family stayed at this hotel for my grandfather's 80th birthday party and we all had a great time. This was back in September of 2002 though.

That does sound like a great resort. I'm going to look into it. Thanks!

 

[LindaBabe]

Good Morning, Happy Cruisers!

On Wearing the same clothing over again - which I always do. I pack seperates and mix them up. But, last cruise, I discovered to my horror that I had managed to wear the same top on all the evenings there were photo ops in the diningrooms, so let's talk about that.

As well as the charactor ops which can occur on the main floor of the atrium, on deck 4 overlooking the atrium, on deck 4 at the head of the stairs, AND on deck 4 in the foyer of the Walt Theatre; there will be backdrops in the atrium and possibly on deck 4 overlooking the atrium, photos on the stairs, and white background "lifestyle" portraits. Those are sometimes full length and may or may not include the feet.

THen the photographers come in the diningrooms - on formal and semi formal nights to take photos of you seated at the diningtable. PALO will offer another photo op. You'll want your own camera for character breakfasts and casual character encounters, plus the cast members who do not work for the photo shop are always willing to take your picture with your own camera.

Usually there'll be a photographer on the dock for port days, but if you get off the ship early, they may not be set up yet.

The Panama Canal offers it's own set of photo ops as the photographers roam deck 10 taking photos of guests with the scenery. There will also be photos OF the ship in the canal available for purchase.

IF you have friends ashore who are willing to standby the computer on Canal crossing day, they can capture some terrific screen shots from the web cams at the locks! Every lock has one or more and the photos can be pretty darn good, but they require patience on the part of the person standing by.

So, when you're packing, remember to plan for photos, not just fun!

Happy Day, All!

 

[mouse66]

It is going to be a Disney Christmas for Mike, Kim, and Michael 10 (DS), and Victoria 8 (DD). This will be our First Disney Cruise.

We will also be going to Disneyland (First time) before the cruise and Disney world after the cruise. Christmas Day in the Magic Kingdom.

We also plan on visiting La Brea Tar Pits while at our first port, LA.

This will be our first Christmas without snow around. We have had a few green Christmas days but it is usually cold in Buffalo and there is snow at the ski resorts.

We just started reading all the information on the web. This thread is great

We all can not wait for the cruise, December seems so far away.

Mike, Kim, and Michael 10 (DS), and Victoria 8 (DD)

 

[Jeff Spencer]

Jeff, feel free to tell me if it's too much work, but is there a way to put a list of all of the "product" offerings on the website? Such as the pillowcases Katy is making, the two different offers of certificates, lanyards, etc? That way people can just check the list and place orders with the right people.

The first offering of certificates is on the site. I can add the pillowcases and other certificates and lanyards. With daughter's wedding and all the family we had visiting and work being crazy I have just not had time to read through the posts to keep up. If someone could tell me what page/post has the information I'd be happy to do it.

Here is a picture of Katy and her new husband Ed.

 

[skayrobe]

Jeff, that is a great pic of your daughter and her husband. Your daughter looks so beautiful. I hope it has settled down at your house. I think the days right after the wedding are just as hectic as the days before. Thanks for all the hard work on the website, I check it almost every day to see if there is anything I might have missed. Sherry

 

[tweetybabee]

I just booked our airfare from Pittsburgh to LAX on Southwest. They are having a sale and I booked using points so we got airfare for 3 for $15. WooHoo!! Now I need to choose a hotel for a night in LA. Does anyone have any experience with the Queen Mary? It sounds like a fun place.

We booked our Southwest flights the day the schedule for December was released for fear the prices would only go up. Luckily, the price for our PHL to SNA flight has since dropped a bit (perhaps because of the current sale), so we re-booked and got a $14 credit for two of us and an 840 point refund for the other.

Our FLL to PHL flight is still the same price. We're not expecting that to drop since it's the day before Christmas Eve, but it's worth checking from time to time.

 

[Cruise]

The Panama Canal offers it's own set of photo ops as the photographers roam deck 10 taking photos of guests with the scenery. There will also be photos OF the ship in the canal available for purchase.

I was thinking about this the other day. Do they offer both sizes of the photos of the ship in the Canal? Or is it just one or the other? I was considering the possibility of having the ship photo be the one I put in a character signature mat.

 

[PBewley]

Having trouble trying to send my email address. says I must have 10 posts.

so my email done with spaces is p b e w l e y @ v e r i z o n . n e t
hope this works for you.

 

[tweetybabee]

We haven't been to Castaway Cay yet (and unfortunately won't get there on the December cruise), but the Disney Parks blog just posted some pretty cool pictures of the island at night. Check them out, if you haven't seen them already.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...ht-stars-at-disney-cruise-lines-castaway-cay/

 

[Lawrence J]

Fish Extender Exchange UPDATE ​

We are up to 46 cabins participating - the spreadsheet has been updated. If you would like to join us, please see page one for the details.

A few of you have asked if we will be spilting into smaller groups and some of you have given suggestions on how to do it. For the most part though, I think the majority of participants are planning on delivering to everyone who signs up.

I have given thought to all the suggestions and in order to keep this fun and stress free (at least for me), I will not be spiliting into groups at this time.

What I propose is to make the cutoff date to join the exchange October 9th. Which is 2 months before sailing. At that point, a decision will be made if we will spilt into groups smaller groups. If a spilt is made you will be asked if you want to gift to everyone (be on both lists) or if you want to be on only one list. Unless we get a extraordinary amount of participants, the list will be divided in half, based strictly on numbers. The logistics of doing it any earlier are too much

We also talked about delivery - once the decision is made about spliting or not spilting into groups, each cabin will be assigned either week one or week two to deliver their gifts. This will only be a GUIDELINE, not set in stone - if for some reason your week doesn't work, you are free to deliver whenever you want - it is just a way to avoid having the gifts all delivered the same week.

Hope that clarifies some of the questions - I realize I can not make everyone happy, I will try to do the best for all involved!

I'm new to the FE thing but the exchange sounds like fun. How do I get on the list?

Lawrence J
Larry & Kim
Disney Dream-October/2011

 

[dthogue]

Having trouble trying to send my email address. says I must have 10 posts.

so my email done with spaces is p b e w l e y @ v e r i z o n . n e t
hope this works for you.

Got it - you should have received 2 emails from me :thumbsup

The link to the online spreadsheet is also posted on our cruise website.

 

[dthogue]

I'm new to the FE thing but the exchange sounds like fun. How do I get on the list?

Lawrence J
Larry & Kim
Disney Dream-October/2011

I will need:

Dis name
names of the adults
names, ages and sex of any children
cabin number
email address

 

[Lawrence J]

Lawrence J
Larry & Kim
The kids are too big to go with Mom & Dad
Cabin 7072
L T E M O L D @ A O L . C O M

 

[LindaBabe]

I was thinking about this the other day. Do they offer both sizes of the photos of the ship in the Canal? Or is it just one or the other? I was considering the possibility of having the ship photo be the one I put in a character signature mat.

The one I have in my scrapbook is 8 x 10.

 

[Cruise]

The one I have in my scrapbook is 8 x 10.

Thanks! I'll plan on that one then. Probably better to have the big one anyway.

 

[LindaBabe]

Thanks! I'll plan on that one then. Probably better to have the big one anyway.

Well,that sounds like a plan. If you mat for a big photo and end up with a smaller one, you can always double mat, whereas if you mat for a smaller photo and can only get the larger, you can't make the opening larger.