February 16, 2008 - 7 night Eastern

[Wachsdds]

What a cool surprise. We surprised our kids a few years ago. They figured out that were in Florida and were let down we headed away from the parks. We told them we were going to their great grandma's. They fell asleep in the car and woke up as we were crossing the bridge to the port. The surprise was awesome. Keep the kids guessing!! Let them discover the surprise when they see the ship.

I have been involved with this meet board for a while and seeing the New York and Northeast members always wondering where they actually live. I read your post and was going to respond about the driving until I saw the town Somers since we are also from the Cradle of the American Circus. A pretty small world or large ship!!! How old are your kids. I have little young ones DS8, DS5, DS2 and DD8months. The older two are at SIS and Primrose. Again, welcome to the cruise!!

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Hi Sandra,
According to Mapquest it would take us about 18 hours to get from our house to the Port. We both drive and we could do this trip in two stages. We'll be on vacation!! I can't wait... My daughter still doesn't know, we want to surprise her... She thinks we are going skiing on that week... Boy, what a contrast...
Anyway, Thanks for your good wishes. We'll be careful and take our time.
Regards,

Hi There

We were also, going to go on this cruise, but the airfare stopped us. We are waiting for next year.

Here is a cool site for driving

http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

 

[Sandaneli]

This cruise was a Christmas present for our kids. They are DD13 and DS15 and they love Disney cruises. Actually its the only cruise line we've been on. On Christmas morning they each had a few gifts and then we gave them boxes to open at the same time. In the box was a mickey mouse mug and inside that was a postcard we had received some time ago that had Mickey on it and said "So glad you're coming back to the ship". It was great to watch their faces as they realized they were going on another cruise.

I've read accounts of people keeping the surprise right up to the port. That would be fantastic. Also there is a really cute video on youtube of a girl being surprised for her birthday with a cruise. I'm not sure how to find it but if you're familiar with youtube you might be able to.

Only 26 days

 

[mom2dina]

Hi!
Well we got our room number it is 6002 so we are a family of 4 so we got upgraded from a 12 GTY to a 11. oh well ... not much of an upgrade. I still can't wait

The good thing is they upgraded our entire party (3 rooms the others only have 3 in a room) and we will all be right next to each other.

I am so looking forward to this

 

[Wachsdds]

What does GTY stand for??

 

[sisterpate]

Nevermind... we got our room, too. We are still cat. 12. That's OK since we are in the room to brush teeth and change clothes.

I stand corrected... the reservation said 12; however, the room assigned wasn't. They moved us to a Cat. 9. Yeah!!! Are we there yet? Purchased my Bonine and wristbands tonight.

 

[sisterpate]

We were in a cat 12 2017 on the Med cruise last summer and it was fine. The room isn't as important as being on the ship

We are a family of 4 on our 4th Disney Cruise (3rd with kids).

You and your friends will have a fabulous time. This is a great idea for a reunion. There are so many things for adults to do on a Disney Cruise. It's the best kept secret there is.

Be sure to go online to the DCL website and book Palo, the food and service is even better than in the regular dining rooms and they are wonderful.

Only 27 more days

Sandra

Hi Sandra,

My DH and I did a cat. 12 back in 2005 and we were happy. We did Eastern then, too.

Our cruise director (Bonnie/UT Guest) has all our Palo ressies done. She also set our excursions. We are doing the Regatta in St. Maarten and the historic walk on St. Thomas. We are also doing the glass bottom boat at Disney's island. Just hoping we can doc this time. Back in Feb. 05 we got an extra sea day because it was too rough to doc.

How can life be wrong when we are less than four weeks away from cruise heaven. Hope to meet you on board.

Renée

 

[Sandaneli]

I think we are planning a DisMeet I'll go back a few pages and see if a time and place were decided on yet.

It would be disappointing to miss Castaway Cay. Did you feel the rough seas on the ship or did the Captain stay away altogether?

Cat 9 is a nice upgrade do you know if you're on the deck 1 or 2? We have never been upgraded that would be a nice surprise.

Are you and your friends meeting on the ship or before the cruise?

Sandra

 

[AlfreNY]

GTY means the they assure you that you'll get a room the category you requested or better. I guess is sort of a marketing strategy to sell more rooms at a lower price. That is why you hear people saying the got upgraded from 12 to 11 or 9. I don't know what criteria Disney uses to make this decisions but I'm sure I'd love to know! For me my room doesn't matter much, you just go there to shower, change clothes and sleep.
Patricia thanks for the website link on fuel costs to drive down. It will cost me aprox. $156.20 each way. We'll be staying at the Radisson at the Port on Friday night. They are the closest hotel to the port and offer free shuttle service to the Disney Magic!
Repeat after me: "Just a few more days... Just a few more days... Just a few more days... "

 

[sisterpate]

GTY means the they assure you that you'll get a room the category you requested or better. I guess is sort of a marketing strategy to sell more rooms at a lower price. That is why you hear people saying the got upgraded from 12 to 11 or 9. I don't know what criteria Disney uses to make this decisions but I'm sure I'd love to know! For me my room doesn't matter much, you just go there to shower, change clothes and sleep.
Patricia thanks for the website link on fuel costs to drive down. It will cost me aprox. $156.20 each way. We'll be staying at the Radisson at the Port on Friday night. They are the closest hotel to the port and offer free shuttle service to the Disney Magic!
Repeat after me: "Just a few more days... Just a few more days... Just a few more days... "

How much is the Radisson? We do not have a hotel the night before yet. We are all flying in Fri. night. Haven't decided if we should get ourselves over to the Cape or stay near the airport then shuttle in.

 

[sisterpate]

I think we are planning a DisMeet I'll go back a few pages and see if a time and place were decided on yet.

It would be disappointing to miss Castaway Cay. Did you feel the rough seas on the ship or did the Captain stay away altogether?

Cat 9 is a nice upgrade do you know if you're on the deck 1 or 2? We have never been upgraded that would be a nice surprise.

Are you and your friends meeting on the ship or before the cruise?

Sandra

Thanks for checking. I did the meet on my first cruise and it was fun. It is a great way to make new friends quickly.

I never really noticed the boat rocking; however, you could see the Capt'n was having a rough go. They tried until about 11 am before calling it quits. As soon as they did, the crew was in high gear switching to sea day.

We are on Deck 2 (2080). Do you know your room yet? We are meeting the night before. Andrea (flying in from England) arrives first. Bonnie and I fly in a few hours later; however, our flights land about 15 minutes apart.

What things are your "must do"/"must see" this trip? I am just hoping they are playing Enchanted about a bizillion times in the theater. (Love that movie!)

TTYS,
Renée

 

[Sandaneli]

Well, I just checked--no room assignment yet on our gty. I didn't expect it, but it is fun to look.

Since our cruise is only a month away.....are we going to plan anything for Disboard people? The common idea is a cruise meet shortly after boarding (usually about 3) either by the Goofy Pool or by Studio Sea. Another idea is the lime green color to make it easy for us to identify each other--in a name tag, lanyard, or whatever.

I'm not trying to play social hostess for the cruise, just suggesting some of the things Disboarders have done on previous cruises.

This was the suggestion for a DisMeet. Is anyone else interested in getting together?

 

[Sandaneli]

We booked rooms 6643 and 6641 from the beginning. We wanted rooms next to each other, we're travelling with teenagers but couldn't get connecting rooms. We like to be near the small deck on the 7th floor it's great in the morning and there is a staircase from 6 to 7 so the access is quick. There weren't any rooms available on the 7th floor when we booked.

We didn't take the kids with us on the Med cruise and booked this one out of pure guilt while in the Med last August by then there wasn't much left to pick from and since we wanted rooms next to each other we weren't willing to take a chance on not being together. I'm worried enough about the rooms not being connnected.

We haven't seen Enchanted yet. It is one of the things we are looking forward to. Also the new National Treasure Movie and the Hannah Montana Concert if it's available. IT comes out on Feb 1st so it might be.

Palo for dinner, and brunch are at the top of our list, next would be Diversions. It's fun to hang out there and they have the best guacamole in the world at about 5 every day. The french fries at Pluto's Dog house are absolutely incredible and a great snack while watching a movie at the Buena Vista Theater. Beyond that we are thinking of trying the rainforest room in the spa. There are so many things to do. The Med cruise was very busy and we didn't have much time to just relax so that is something we want to do on this cruise.

We don't have any excursions booked we probably won't get off the ship except for Castaway Cay.

We leave in 22 days today was only 15 degrees so it can't come soon enough for me.

Sandra

 

[AlfreNY]

The rate is $139.00/night; with tax is $154.29. The rooms are very nice and the pool is great. There also a bar near the pool for cocktails. I tried to copy and paste the link but it says that my post count is too low and does not allow me to paste. Just go to de Radisson website and look for the "Radisson Resort at the Port". Also, try radissonport dot com

My advice is to get to a hotel around the port the night before. The sooner you get checked-in in the morning, at the Magic, the better; it gets pretty busy from noon on. Once you get to the port, you leave the luggage at the curb, where the staff takes is to the ship and leaves it outside your cabin later on in the afternoon. Make sure you take a carry on with a bathing suit, SUNSCREEN, and personal items that you may need during the PM hours.
Additionally, last time the boarding went by group number. Group #1 boards first, then group #2, and so on. Then, you can wait around for the Disney characters that come around dressed in the nautical outfit to take pictures and get passengers in that wonderful Disney mood.

Exciting... uh?

 

[kcashner]

Right--boarding goes by number. Group 1 is concierge and disabilities needing assistance. Groups 2 - ? are by the order you arrived at the terminal. It goes very smoothly.

As to a dismeet--as far as I know, we have nothing scheduled yet. I will propose 3 pm starboard side by the Goofy pool. Now...somebody remind me!

Just send me to the Magic today. We have a water leak somewhere between the water valve at the sidewalk and the main entry shut off to the house--which we learned when we got a water bill three times higher than we've ever had before. SO....the plumber has shut off the water both to the house and at the sidewalk. Tomorrow or Friday (don't you love this definite scheduling) they will proceed to dig up my yard starting at the sidewalk and working toward the house until they find the leak. They promise that it is a simple fix after they find it. Meanwhile....I shower at the gym. I stopped at church to use the bathroom and bring home a couple pitchers of water (realized that I didn't have enough to fill cat bowl this morning!) Really makes me want to get out of here. I called the plumber back this morning after the "before you dig" service came out and marked all the lines...hoping that maybe I could get them to move up the digging. "We'll call you back and let you know which day we can be there." Oh well. At least I had run the dishwasher and done the laundry before we lost the water.

Maybe I'll pack for the Magic!!!

Enchanted is scheduled to be shown on the ship. Most movies run 3 or more times on each cruise to give a variety of time slots.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

There are so many things to do. The Med cruise was very busy and we didn't have much time to just relax so that is something we want to do on this cruise.

Sandra[/QUOTE]

Sandra, I loved the Med cruise. I am hoping Disney does it again, for I think I would sail with them to Europe in a heart beat. Our trip was just about perfect.

Do you remember what servers you had ? I had Sammy & Walter as the assisstant. They were great.

 

[Sandaneli]

Patricia - The Med Cruise was incredible. We went on July 28th and I would highly recommend it to anyone. There was a huge Disgroup and that added a lot of fun too. I don't remember our servers names but will look it up, they were terrible. We ate at Topsiders a few nights so we wouldn't have to deal with them. We are planning on requesting servers this time. I have been asking people who've just returned from the Magic who they had for servers and if they would recommend them. We've had a few suggestions.

It would be great if Disney went back to the Med. With the new ships I think there will be lots of destination options available. We're hoping for Hong Kong. Disney is the way to go Anywhere!

Dismeet - 3pm by the Goofy pool sounds good to me. That will give us time to eat and unpack before we meet.

KCashner - I'm sorry to hear about your water problems. It's unbelievable that they can't get someone to come out sooner and give you an exact time. How are you supposed to live in the house without water? Since it's the towns problem will they pay for you to be in a Hotel until they fix the problem? At least it might speed up their work on fixing the problem.
I do hope it gets fixed very soon so you can get back to planning your cruise.

Mom2Dina - I'm praying for your mom. Please let us know how she is doing.

Now it's back to

Sandra

 

[sisterpate]

The rate is $139.00/night; with tax is $154.29. The rooms are very nice and the pool is great. There also a bar near the pool for cocktails. I tried to copy and paste the link but it says that my post count is too low and does not allow me to paste. Just go to de Radisson website and look for the "Radisson Resort at the Port". Also, try radissonport dot com

My advice is to get to a hotel around the port the night before. The sooner you get checked-in in the morning, at the Magic, the better; it gets pretty busy from noon on. Once you get to the port, you leave the luggage at the curb, where the staff takes is to the ship and leaves it outside your cabin later on in the afternoon. Make sure you take a carry on with a bathing suit, SUNSCREEN, and personal items that you may need during the PM hours.
Additionally, last time the boarding went by group number. Group #1 boards first, then group #2, and so on. Then, you can wait around for the Disney characters that come around dressed in the nautical outfit to take pictures and get passengers in that wonderful Disney mood.

Exciting... uh?

Super! Thanks for the hotel info.

 

[kcashner]

The other option is to stay near the airport where hotels cost somewhat less. Of course, that means you need to be on the road by 9 to be at the port when it opens to incoming traffic by 10.

I had a brilliant flash today....DD wants to look at a couple of colleges in Florida so we were thinking of a trip over spring break. Mom thought...why not go to Florida 2 days early for the cruise and do college visits then? Yeah, right. The airlines want big bucks to alter our reservation, car rental rates are double what they were when we looked for the cruise (and in April), etc. The bottom line is that it will be essentially the same price to do a second trip (and she won't get to take days off school). Maybe we'll think about adding a day or two at WDW in April....don't have to book that one now.

 

[Sandaneli]

We are staying near the airport because our plane arrives late and we didn't want to arrive at the hotel after midnight. Also we have some family near Orlando we are hoping to see. The last time we stayed in Orlando and it worked out fine. I'd like to see WDW for the day on Friday but it's so expensive for 4 tickets for just one day.

Looking at colleges sounds like a good excuse to go back to Florida in April. That's actually my favorite month in Florida. The weather always seems perfect then.