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

[WVURunner]

Mine are in the making
It,s alot of work but so much fun!
The gift is for the whole family so it should be fine, but still!
I wanted to make little paintings with Mickey on them but no space in the luggage!
Now i have another great gift! What that is, ya'll see it on board!!!!!
1 hint you might need sharpies(no pillowcases)

Oh no, I hope we aren't doing the same thing!

 

[DeAnnaBelle]

On the Hawaii cruise, one designated stateroom had a white board on their door that listed any room changes. I'm not sure if someone has volunteered for that or not yet.

And since there's usually a meet-and-greet the first day after boarding, you can get your room number changed on the list. The list on someone's door is a great backup too for anyone who doesn't make it to the meet and greet. But if your room does change, it would be great if you could have at least one person stop in at the M&G and let the organizer know your room number changed.

On the same note, I'd just like to thank Tammy again for organizing this and keeping the spreadsheet on google docs. The cruise I'm taking in Sept out of NYC is doing a FE and they keep posting the list with all the cabin numbers on the thread.... which anyone can see, even if they don't even sign up for an account on the DISboards. Would that give anyone else the heebie jeebies a little or is it just me? Like... the list includes the number of kids in the cabin and their ages and everything....

Good Morning, Happy Cruisers!

That was me, and I'll be happy to do it on this cruise also. 5131, aft, just downstairs from the buffet and on the same deck as the movie theatre, nursery and kids clubs.

Not sure what the downside would be - what nefarious scheme would some other happy cruiser think up to do with that information? Besides, your kids aren't likely to be in the cabins without you. The potential upside is - people (like me) who aren't on the FE list might leave you a little surprise . . .

Happy Day, all.

It has been my pleaseure taking care of the FE exchange list - I'm hoping that the spreadsheet is working well for everyone - you all are a great group to work with - any problems please let me know.

Here is my plan for the upgrades/changes:

I will be at the meet on the first day and you can make changes then.

I will also post the list on my stateroom door at 1:30pm and you can stop by and make changes there before 8:00pm.

you can text or call my cell phone (I will email my number later)

you can leave a message on my stateroom phone

I was planning on delivering new lists that night, but with 55 cabins that is just too much, so I will ask that everyone please stop by my cabin after 8:00pm on Sunday to get the updated list - hope that will work for everyone -

Comments, questions, concerns - let me know!

You are all SO amazingly helpful! Thank you so much! Tammy, I can't believe how organized you are! I can only imagine how much work this must be!

Thank you thank you thank you! ❤

 

[ArGa]

I have a few questions about dining on the ship. I understand the whole rotational dining concept. Since there are three restaurants in the rotation, I assume that we eat at every one at least 4 times. And I know that certain nights will be formal and theme nights etc. And I know that Animator's Palate does the colour change show on the first night you dine there. So, my question is, when is the best time to opt out of the rotation and book at dinner at Palo's? Is there a least favourite dining room that I should give up for a night or two?

Second question, what are our options for breakfast and lunch? Can you choose any one of the dining rooms and if so, does that mean that you can sit at any table and will have any server? Or do most people go with the buffet restaurant?

Also, I am undecided on whether to go for early or late dinner seating. We have been booked for late dining but are on the waitlist for early. At home, we normally eat around 5:00 so an 8:00 meal seems really late for me. On top of that, being from Ontario, my internal clock will already be 3 hours later so dinner will feel like 11:00. I understand though that the time will change as we travel east and we will be back in my time zone within a few days. Now I am just thinking that my poor stomach will never know when to expect a meal during this whole trip! What do you east coast people suggest?

 

[chrissyt27]

I have a few questions about dining on the ship. I understand the whole rotational dining concept. Since there are three restaurants in the rotation, I assume that we eat at every one at least 4 times. And I know that certain nights will be formal and theme nights etc. And I know that Animator's Palate does the colour change show on the first night you dine there. So, my question is, when is the best time to opt out of the rotation and book at dinner at Palo's? Is there a least favourite dining room that I should give up for a night or two?

Second question, what are our options for breakfast and lunch? Can you choose any one of the dining rooms and if so, does that mean that you can sit at any table and will have any server? Or do most people go with the buffet restaurant?

Also, I am undecided on whether to go for early or late dinner seating. We have been booked for late dining but are on the waitlist for early. At home, we normally eat around 5:00 so an 8:00 meal seems really late for me. On top of that, being from Ontario, my internal clock will already be 3 hours later so dinner will feel like 11:00. I understand though that the time will change as we travel east and we will be back in my time zone within a few days. Now I am just thinking that my poor stomach will never know when to expect a meal during this whole trip! What do you east coast people suggest?

Not sure about opting out for Palo. We've only been once for dinner and it was the last night of our 7 day.

You can go anywhere for breakfast and lunch. A buffet is on deck 9 for both or there will be table service as well. We like the buffet since you can sit outside on deck 9.

I have only ever done late seating. I am Midwest though. I like you don't have to rush back from excursions. We have seen some of the shows already so skip sometimes to just have extra time on land or in the spa.

 

[chrissyt27]

It looks like our passports need to be good for six months after our return.

http://aboutcartagena.org/visa-requirements.php



We must all lurk the Disboards! I sent an email to DH earlier to see if this sounded good to him too (yes, we communicate through emails). Haven't completely ruled out the ruins yet but this sounds like a very good option. Plus we can travel in group - safety in numbers!

I also emailed it to DH today, but he has been busy at work and he didn't see it. It killed me to wait to tell him about it. I am super excited, sounds fun!

If you decide to go let me know. I am hoping to call soon, I guess. Making reservations seems silly, but I think I will. I want to get massages!

And it's soooo cool he lets you use the phone. With it being the end of the world and all we can call home.

 

[CaptainandTennille]

We have made the last payment WHOOT!!!!!
Now hoping for some pixiedust!!!!!
Our little girl still has no idea we are going!!!
Have to keep that up for another 125 days pffff¿¡¿
Is it "strange" if my FE are only per stateroom, i feel like maybe i disappoint kids in some way!!!
(first FE, so a little unsure! It's kind of a big usable present )

I kept our last vacation a secret from my 3 kids, it was difficult toward the end and hard to prepare but it was a neat experience for them to be suprised. For this trip I used the mickey phone call to tell them we were going on this cruise, the looks on their faces were priceless!

 

[Manon_Paul_Nina]

I have a few questions about dining on the ship. I understand the whole rotational dining concept. Since there are three restaurants in the rotation, I assume that we eat at every one at least 4 times. And I know that certain nights will be formal and theme nights etc. And I know that Animator's Palate does the colour change show on the first night you dine there. So, my question is, when is the best time to opt out of the rotation and book at dinner at Palo's? Is there a least favourite dining room that I should give up for a night or two?

Second question, what are our options for breakfast and lunch? Can you choose any one of the dining rooms and if so, does that mean that you can sit at any table and will have any server? Or do most people go with the buffet restaurant?

Also, I am undecided on whether to go for early or late dinner seating. We have been booked for late dining but are on the waitlist for early. At home, we normally eat around 5:00 so an 8:00 meal seems really late for me. On top of that, being from Ontario, my internal clock will already be 3 hours later so dinner will feel like 11:00. I understand though that the time will change as we travel east and we will be back in my time zone within a few days. Now I am just thinking that my poor stomach will never know when to expect a meal during this whole trip! What do you east coast people suggest?

We never did Palo, but our least MD was Parrot Cay! And I hear from alot of other people that's the least of theirs too!


Breakfast is buffet on deck 9 or (brunch) in Parrot Cay or you can choose Tritons for tableservice.
We loved the buffetstyle the most, sitting outside is great!!!!
Lunch is either buffet on deck 9 or the brunch in Parrot Cay or tableservice in Tritons.
Tableservice or the brunch you will be shown to a table but you'll get random servers!

About the seating, we were assigned to second seating but on the waitlist for early and last week we got it!!!
For us it's the best thing because we travel with our DD who is 4!
If you have early seating you will have diner with mostly familys!!!
Our DD loves "fine" dining, and enjoys being at the table!
We had alot of compliments from other older guests that we had a well brought up DD.
But there was a family next to us, even us had to call the diningroom manager!!! Their kids were screaming and crying and the parents didn't look after them!!!! So you can experience that aswel!
You'll have to dicide that for yourself!!!

 

[LindaBabe]

GOOD Morning, Happy Cruisers!

Woke up at o'darkthirty this morning, so I went to the gym and grocery early. Gym was better - quiet and people really working rather than sitting on the machines and chatting.

I have a few questions about dining on the ship. I understand the whole rotational dining concept. Since there are three restaurants in the rotation, I assume that we eat at every one at least 4 times. And I know that certain nights will be formal and theme nights etc. And I know that Animator's Palate does the colour change show on the first night you dine there. So, my question is, when is the best time to opt out of the rotation and book at dinner at Palo's? Is there a least favourite dining room that I should give up for a night or two?

Second question, what are our options for breakfast and lunch? Can you choose any one of the dining rooms and if so, does that mean that you can sit at any table and will have any server? Or do most people go with the buffet restaurant?

Also, I am undecided on whether to go for early or late dinner seating. We have been booked for late dining but are on the waitlist for early. At home, we normally eat around 5:00 so an 8:00 meal seems really late for me. On top of that, being from Ontario, my internal clock will already be 3 hours later so dinner will feel like 11:00. I understand though that the time will change as we travel east and we will be back in my time zone within a few days. Now I am just thinking that my poor stomach will never know when to expect a meal during this whole trip! What do you east coast people suggest?

Theme nights have theme dinners too, so it's not like you will be offered the same thing twice even though you visit the same restaurant more than once. I actually like the new menus in Parrot Cay and my least favorite on the Hawaii was in Animators.

It's difficult to know what to skip in order to go to Palo. One solution is to do brunch instead, which I actually like better than dinner.

Some parents prefer late dinner, reasoning that their children will be awake to enjoy the early show. The servers generally bring the kids food out quickly, and at 9 pm, the kid club counselors come to get them, so the adults can finish their dinners in peace.

The old lady does early dinner, although it can be very inconvenient and I am often late on port days. At my age it behooves one to have a few hours between dinner and bed - and I am LONG past the age where I want to dance the night away!

Breakfast. I LOVE breakfast. If it's a glorious day and I'm out early then yes, the buffet. But I HATE the line and juggling trays at the buffet only to discover there's another line around the corner for something yummy like omelets.

If I can wait until they open, my fav is Tritons for eggs benedict or eggs florentine. Parrot Cay is really nice for breakfast and lunch also, with the added advantage that there's lots of seating and your beverages are served to you. They will also serve you fried or scrambled 'shelled' eggs, if you want them.

The biggest issue for an early riser, there isn't early morning food available. Goofy's gallery opens about half an hour before the buffet for fruit and pastry, but even that can leave the sunrise photographer ravenous.

One little tip - if you hanker for something special that's not on the menu, don't be afraid to ask! Your head server can be a real in this area.

Happy Day, all!

 

[JessicasMom]

I have a few questions about dining on the ship. I understand the whole rotational dining concept. Since there are three restaurants in the rotation, I assume that we eat at every one at least 4 times. And I know that certain nights will be formal and theme nights etc. And I know that Animator's Palate does the colour change show on the first night you dine there. So, my question is, when is the best time to opt out of the rotation and book at dinner at Palo's? Is there a least favourite dining room that I should give up for a night or two?

Second question, what are our options for breakfast and lunch? Can you choose any one of the dining rooms and if so, does that mean that you can sit at any table and will have any server? Or do most people go with the buffet restaurant?

Also, I am undecided on whether to go for early or late dinner seating. We have been booked for late dining but are on the waitlist for early. At home, we normally eat around 5:00 so an 8:00 meal seems really late for me. On top of that, being from Ontario, my internal clock will already be 3 hours later so dinner will feel like 11:00. I understand though that the time will change as we travel east and we will be back in my time zone within a few days. Now I am just thinking that my poor stomach will never know when to expect a meal during this whole trip! What do you east coast people suggest?

We never did Palo, but our least MD was Parrot Cay! And I hear from alot of other people that's the least of theirs too!

On the 2010 EBTA, AP didn't "change" the first night there, which was disappointing (they wanted to heighten the anticipation). I think it did on the 2011 WBTA. Last year, we didn't schedule Palo based on any particular theme night, but we did wait until we had done each MDR once. Basically, we were just happy to be able to book Palo online in advance, for brunch, dinner, and tea (no longer offered...), so we took what we could get. We did brunch on day 2 (sea day) and dinner on day 4 or 5...don't recall which... knowing that we could probably book another dinner onboard for the second week if we wanted. We loved our servers and tablemates so much, we didn't bother to do Palo again, but there was lots of availability for dinner (not so much for brunch). Even if you don't book Palo in advance, you can book onboard once you have your dining rotation, if skipping a particular DR is important to you.

For breakfast, we had room service, did the buffet, and ate in the DR, but most days, DH went up one deck to the buffet and brought food back to the room. Since we had early seating for dinner, and we're not early risers, we rarely did a big lunch...maybe grabbed some chicken strips or a panini, usually just because it was there...not because we were hungry . This time, we have second seating, which we'll be trying for the first time on any cruise. I'm not sure how it will work out, but I'm hoping we won't feel so rushed (not only to get there on-time, but also to finish the meal, knowing there are others coming). Don't get me wrong, the servers do NOT rush you through the meal, but they don't waste any time, either. We like the late-night shows, so I'm hoping we won't be uncomfortably full by the time we go to bed.

Swimming against the current here....We love Parrot Cay! AP is definitely my least favorite.

 

[Manon_Paul_Nina]

WBTA cruisers who were your servers?
Ours where Agus from Indonesia and Pedro from Colombia (i think that hè was from there)
Our stateroom host was Rex (deck 5 aft.)
Rex was great but our servers were so so!
Hope we get better ones this year!!!

 

[socababy]

We have done the MR cruise 3 times but have never gotten off the ship in PV. I keep reading about the Las Caletas excursion and it has gotten such great reviews. I finally decide that we should do it only to realize that it probably won't be offered since we are in port such short time. Now I am bummed!

Only 9 more days until I can find out what is offered!

 

[JessicasMom]

WBTA cruisers who were your servers?
Ours where Agus from Indonesia and Pedro from Colombia (i think that hè was from there)
Our stateroom host was Rex (deck 5 aft.)
Rex was great but our servers were so so!
Hope we get better ones this year!!!

We had Putu from Indonesia and Mugu from Mauritius. Putu was very outgoing and experienced; Mugu was quiet but very sweet and attentive. Overall, service was excellent! Ryan was our cabin steward (8 aft)...friendly and competent, but not really amazing. The steward ("P") we had the year before was much more fun.

 

[LindaBabe]

WBTA cruisers who were your servers?
Ours where Agus from Indonesia and Pedro from Colombia (i think that hè was from there)
Our stateroom host was Rex (deck 5 aft.)
Rex was great but our servers were so so!
Hope we get better ones this year!!!

Isn't that awful? I have NO memory of who they were. Our stateroom host was Gil, Deck 5 forward.

By the time we went on the western in November, Our stateroom host Deck 5 aft was Raymund from Philippines - BEST ROOM HOST EVER. He set up little scenes with our Teddy Bears (er ah, took them on excursions - we couldn't WAit to get back to our room every day to see what they had done in our absence. You know he got a very nice tip

 

[WVURunner]

If I can wait until they open, my fav is Tritons for eggs benedict or eggs florentine. The biggest issue for an early riser, there isn't early morning food available. Goofy's gallery opens about half an hour before the buffet for fruit and pastry, but even that can leave the sunrise photographer ravenous.

I love eggs benedict and eggs florentine but I also don't like waiting for Tritons to open so our solution is to have two breakfasts. We order room service early and eat as we are getting ready to run. Then we had back to the room, snack on the leftovers and shower and get ready then head to breakfast #2 at Tritons. Best of both worlds!

I am not a buffet fan so I enjoy doing sit down meals when I can on sea days.

 

[decked out]

Sorry to hear that High Tea has been discontinued at Palo, but on the other hand it spoiled our appetites for dinner.

We have always had second seating. It seems pretty late for dinner, but we also heard that families with small children mostly go to the first seating. Maybe it is a little more grown up to eat later. It can also be very relaxing to skip the formal dining and grab a burger by the pool or hit Beach Blanket
Buffet, especially on a longer cruise.

Whatever happens, don't skip your character breakfast.

I saw that there were at least a few couples that are sailing without their older children. We are in the same boat and might like to try to put together a table of disboarders for dining instead of waiting for the luck of the draw...

 

[LindaBabe]

I love eggs benedict and eggs florentine but I also don't like waiting for Tritons to open so our solution is to have two breakfasts. We order room service early and eat as we are getting ready to run. Then we had back to the room, snack on the leftovers and shower and get ready then head to breakfast #2 at Tritons. Best of both worlds!

I am not a buffet fan so I enjoy doing sit down meals when I can on sea days.

Oh boy! you are a girl after my own true heart - BRING IT ON BREAKFAST! I don't run, but I'll meet you at Tritons!

 

[ArGa]

Sorry to hear that High Tea has been discontinued at Palo, but on the other hand it spoiled our appetites for dinner.

We have always had second seating. It seems pretty late for dinner, but we also heard that families with small children mostly go to the first seating. Maybe it is a little more grown up to eat later. It can also be very relaxing to skip the formal dining and grab a burger by the pool or hit Beach Blanket
Buffet, especially on a longer cruise.

Whatever happens, don't skip your character breakfast.

I saw that there were at least a few couples that are sailing without their older children. We are in the same boat and might like to try to put together a table of disboarders for dining instead of waiting for the luck of the draw...

"We are in the same boat" (haha, no pun intended). DH and I would love to join your table for dining. I am not sure how one goes about arranging that because this whole cruising thing is new to us but count us in please. And late seating is fine with us. As I said, everything is a first for us so I will find out what works best for us as I go along. I am just so thankful to be able to take this wonderful cruise with my husband and with fellow Disney lovers!

 

[WVURunner]

I don't run, but I'll meet you at Tritons!

You are more than welcome to meet us in Tritons if you don't mind eating your breakfast with two vey well-behaved children!

 

[WVURunner]

So we are getting close to a 100 people participating in the OE. I cannot wait to see the different ornaments everyone brings. I was discussing this event with my mom and she pointed out the large number of participates and that it might take 2 hrs to do the exchange. We came up with three options:
1. Play the game as normal and let it run 2 hrs if need be and enjoy everyone’s company.
2. Change it from 3 to 2 steals to lessen the amount of time due to steals
3. Break the group into 2 groups within the Lounge
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Bought a new car this week, a Mazda 6, so now it is back to vacation planning!

Does anyone know if there is a liquor store near (within walking distance to) Disneyland? How do alcohol sales work in CA? Can you buy beer/wine at gas stations? And liquor at grocery stores or only state run liquor stores and beer distributors? We would like to pick up a few adult refreshments before boarding the cruise.

I know a few people are celebrating birthdays/anniversaries that are not participating in the FE. If you fall into this category, do you mind PMing me your cabin #. Thanks.

I have my niece and nephew this weekend and we are taking them on their first overnight canoe trip on the Delaware River. I can't wait to take them!

 

[BethC1952]

Just made our final payment! YAY!!!!

Now I can finish planning my Canada cruise so that I can finish planning this cruise. I love cruising. I don't love planning!

Beth