Feb 20, 2011 - Presidents' Week - Mexican Riviera

[minie_meese]

........ Mix it up anyway you want.[/COLOR]

Deb - your answers were great. I try to deliver get things delivered just before or after dinner figuring people will we around as will the room attendants. We've never had anything taken and don't know anyone who has but there have been posts about it. We also bring small plastic electrical ties to fasten our fish extender around the fish (and a pair of clippers to take it off on the last day). Most people are honest but I think kids walking around late in the evening are when things disappear.

Someone posted no-sew instructions for making a FE. I made one for someone last year and it came out great. I used felt for my pockets and it worked great. I also used the iron on Disney character patches to decorate the pockets - I got them at Jo-Ann Fabrics - they work great too.

Please do whatever you are comfortable with - I love all of the different things people come up with so letting people use their creativity is a great thing.

As for bags, the Michael's near me has a candy making section and they sell clear plastic bags with twist ties. They look really nice - you can also get some with designs. Mine have polka dots.

 

[silence]

Anyone else stalking the boards for trip reports from the 1/23 cruise? I was even doing it all day yesterday. I can't wait to see some Navigators.

Oh, and still no cruise docs here.

 

[talie]

Anyone else stalking the boards for trip reports from the 1/23 cruise? I was even doing it all day yesterday. I can't wait to see some Navigators.

Oh, and still no cruise docs here.

I'm definitely doing some stalking here. So far the reviews seem generally positive with some negatives thrown in as well.

I'm not 100% sure but it sounds as though they had a Day 3 and 5 Cabo itinerary. Lots of talk about long tender lines and not much time in port. I think I'm glad we got the itinerary we did with one long day in Cabo.

I'm also glad that they've got two or three more cruises to work out some kinks before we board the ship. Sounds like they are still breaking in some new staff. (I'm sure the whole Mazatlan change isn't helping matters either.)

 

[LKFan]

I'm stalking as well.

The people who posted on the "Cruise to Nowhere" thread seemed to think that the line for Castaway Club members was shorter than that for first time cruisers. I wonder who they are using to check in at the port. These aren't DCL employees from Florida. They aren't Disneyland employees. Since they are only working one day a week for Disney, I can see how customer service might be lacking.

I find the food reviews interesting. I understand the complaints about the lack of buffet hours but people on the PC cruise thought the food was a step up from previous Wonder cruises. Did they change chefs when they arrived in LA?

Our plan for Cabo is to have lunch on the ship the first day and leave after the crowds. The second day we have an early excursion (Dolphin swim) booked with Disney so they should get us off on time. Maybe the long lines and tendering is why some reports say "all aboard" at 1:30 and others say 2:30.

 

[LKFan]

I just noticed that the DCL site is now allowing you to book excursions on both days of Cabo.

 

[talie]

I just noticed that the DCL site is now allowing you to book excursions on both days of Cabo.

Oh, must get on that. I came home to cruise docs! They went to my travel agent first so I'm assuming that is what the delay was. It's obvious they were printed awhile ago as they have a Mazatlan excusion on them that I canceled weeks ago (well before the change in itinerary).

 

[gichicdoc]

Oh, must get on that. I came home to cruise docs! They went to my travel agent first so I'm assuming that is what the delay was. It's obvious they were printed awhile ago as they have a Mazatlan excusion on them that I canceled weeks ago (well before the change in itinerary).

Just did mine today too. Any guesses as to what hotel they will use for the Resort Pool Getaway? I like that it doesn't leave until 11:45 - we can sleep in or catch a late breakfast.

 

[talie]

There are a couple of new reviews over on the MR Cruise thread. Sounds like it was really crowded and that they had some definite issues.

 

[silence]

Navigators are up! WHOOHOOO

Though, now I'm feeling totally overwhelmed with all this info!

Question for those here that have done DCL before. I am reading all these reviews about the line to sign up the kids for the kids clubs. I totally thought I read online that if you pre-registered, they recommend not standing in line before you board the ship, but rather, go to the clubs once you board as the lines are much shorter? Or did I just imagine that?

 

[minie_meese]

Navigators are up! WHOOHOOO

Though, now I'm feeling totally overwhelmed with all this info!

Question for those here that have done DCL before. I am reading all these reviews about the line to sign up the kids for the kids clubs. I totally thought I read online that if you pre-registered, they recommend not standing in line before you board the ship, but rather, go to the clubs once you board as the lines are much shorter? Or did I just imagine that?

I was glad to read over the Navigators too. You will get the detail day Navigators delivered to your stateroom the night before so you have a change to go through them. It is a lot of detail. We usually bring a hilighter with us and hilight the things we are interested in.

As for the kids club you did not imagine skipping the line at the port. We have always pre-registered online and gone to the table on deck 5 near the kids club to sign in and get the bracelets. The lines were always long for the kids club sign up at Port Canaveral and we were told there was no reason to stand in line. If anything has changed I'd like to know.

The port staff at Port Canaveral were always great and everything else ran like clockwork when we've been there. The people in California are all new so I am sure it is going to take a little time to get things running smoothly. Hopefully things will be better in 3 weeks. I'm guessing the ship's staff is suffering from some of that. We talked about that with our assistant server on our last cruise. He said at least 1/3 of the ship was moving over to the Dream. He was staying with the Wonder so I hope we will get to see him. He was phenomenal.

 

[Dishy24]

Navigators are up! WHOOHOOO

Though, now I'm feeling totally overwhelmed with all this info!

Which thread are you looking at? I just checked out the Jan 23rd meetup thread & don't see any Navigators. It does sound like there will be a TON of kids on the ship-- especially our sailing during Presidents Week! My last cruise was the TA & there was less than 600 kids on board! A friend of mine was just on the Panamal Canal cruise (she was also on the TA) & it had less than 300 kids!

 

[talie]

Which thread are you looking at? I just checked out the Jan 23rd meetup thread & don't see any Navigators. It does sound like there will be a TON of kids on the ship-- especially our sailing during Presidents Week! My last cruise was the TA & there was less than 600 kids on board! A friend of mine was just on the Panamal Canal cruise (she was also on the TA) & it had less than 300 kids!

Here is the post with the Navigators.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39779213&postcount=110

silence - I got the impression from various reviews that there were long lines in the Kid Clubs the first evening and the next morning, the first sea day. Sounds like it might be a good idea not to wait until the evening to register your kids for the Kids Club. Maybe get there sometime prior to the Muster Drill to pick up wristbands.

 

[silence]

Here is the post with the Navigators.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39779213&postcount=110

silence - I got the impression from various reviews that there were long lines in the Kid Clubs the first evening and the next morning, the first sea day. Sounds like it might be a good idea not to wait until the evening to register your kids for the Kids Club. Maybe get there sometime prior to the Muster Drill to pick up wristbands.

Right, my plan was to board the ship, drop the family off by the pool while they get something to eat (I think we decided to eat at a table by the pool vs. one of the restaurants, so the kids can enjoy the pool), run and check on Palo ressies and Tea w/Alice tickets and then go to the kids club to check DD in since I have pre-registered her online. I totally plan on being there when they open the terminal, even if it means I have to sit for hours there.

 

[LKFan]

When we cruised in June, we pre-registered our kids online but still had to wait in line at the port to get the wristband, sign the paperwork (agreeing to pay $xxx if the pager was lost, etc). The line was long and slow. I remember commenting to my husband that I thought it was odd that they didn't have two lines - one for people who had preregistered online and only needed the bracelet and another for those who hadn't registered at all.

The first night, when we brought our kids to the club, the entrance was backed up with people registering their kids, signing pager paperwork, etc. We had to kind of cut around them and get the attention of a CM to tell them we had already gone through the red tape and just needed to drop our kids off. They motioned for us to skip the line and let our kids in.

I'm not sure if that is the same scenario that is being described in the trip reports. Remember, in FL, many people have sailed DCL before. In CA, the majority of people will be newbies.

I think the fact that so many people are first time cruisers on DCL might also be the reason for the long lines checking in at the port. I'm guessing that those that didn't experience a long wait were Castaway Club members.

 

[DVC_Chris]

The milk thing they are reporting kind of weirded me out a bit. Makes me wonder if they forgot to load a container or two prior to deporting San Pedro.

I am excited though, my FE gifts arrived yesterday, and it was cool to see them.

 

[silence]

The milk thing they are reporting kind of weirded me out a bit. Makes me wonder if they forgot to load a container or two prior to deporting San Pedro.

I am excited though, my FE gifts arrived yesterday, and it was cool to see them.

ME TOO. I tell ya, my family will not be happy if we don't get our milk, me included. BIG time milk drinkers here.

 

[talie]

The first night, when we brought our kids to the club, the entrance was backed up with people registering their kids, signing pager paperwork, etc. We had to kind of cut around them and get the attention of a CM to tell them we had already gone through the red tape and just needed to drop our kids off. They motioned for us to skip the line and let our kids in.

I'm not sure if that is the same scenario that is being described in the trip reports. Remember, in FL, many people have sailed DCL before. In CA, the majority of people will be newbies.

I think the fact that so many people are first time cruisers on DCL might also be the reason for the long lines checking in at the port. I'm guessing that those that didn't experience a long wait were Castaway Club members.

One of the TRs I saw described exactly this situation. The person felt like the club needed one line for people registering kids and another for people who already had wristbands and just wanted to drop their kids.

And I agree with the others, the milk situation is just odd.

I'm just hoping they work out some of these logistical problems before our cruise. I figure they will probably have a few low key cruises before they get slammed with ours which I'm assuming will have tons of kids out on snow/furlough weeks.

 

[talie]

So I'm trying to book a private company tour in Cabo and the time changes were messing me up. I asked on some of the MR threads and found out the following info:

We changed to mountain time on monday and back to pacific time on sunday. We did not change times in pv. Christian told everyone to ignore the local time in pv.

As someone who is worried about having the late dining with my kids I'm happy that we'll gain an hour for most of the cruise.

 

[LKFan]

Disneycruise.com has a new set of registration screens. It includes choosing a port arrival time as well as a signature form that needs to be printed out and brought with to embarkation. Make sure you fill out the online information and print out the form before you leave home.

 

[silence]

Disneycruise.com has a new set of registration screens. It includes choosing a port arrival time as well as a signature form that needs to be printed out and brought with to embarkation. Make sure you fill out the online information and print out the form before you leave home.

I went online after I read the post on the main board and did mine and selected the earliest time.

I also talked to my TA, turns out my docs were sent to her, so I won't have them until she sees my DH on Friday. phooey.