First time Cruisers, Second Honeymooners! - a PTR! 10.8.11 eastern Magic!

[MrsZ]

Well Hello!

Welcome to my very first cruise PTR! I am here to learn all things Disney Cruise line and hopefully give me and my new hubby an amazing first wedding anniversary trip. Before we get started I feel I should give alittle back story and some introductions

Who we are:

I (for all intensive purposes) am Mrs. Z! (I am still getting used to this title... I feel very old!) I am an intense Disney fan and have been a bunch of times as a child and so far three times in my adult life with my now husband. (again husband is a very NEW word for me) We got engaged in Disney on 11/4/2008 (see its in my siggie ) And we just got married 25 days ago, october 2nd to be exact, at Disney's boardwalk.

Here I am in a sneak peak from my wedding photographer looking absolutely horrified as a rather large family is taking my picture from down below in the AKL lobby (if you are that family please PM me so I can send you my email and you can send me those photos )

Now for Mr. Z! He is my one and only, the ying to my yang if you will. He is an amazing man with one of the kindest hearts i've ever seen (Dont worry last sappy thing you'll see the rest of this PTR) He was never really into Disney until our first trip there together back in 2007 and to set the record straight he didn't need to be forced into a disney wedding... he actually embraced it! (good boy! ) We have two lovely "sons", you may call them dogs, and our life together is falling into place rather nicely!

Here he is looking rather "dapper" at Sea Breeze Point right before the ceremony. Notice how he is not worried at all... cool as a cucumber!

Why:

Ok so being the most AMAZING wife in the world I did a crazy thing for my husband... He has been saying since we got together in 2005 that he would LOVE to go to an island someday but we kept putting it off to go to DW instead... oops I decided that since he is the awesome man he is, that he deserves an equally awesome wedding gift... enter the 7 night eastern carribbean cruise leaving on October 8th 2011!

HELP! :

Now that he obviously got his wedding gift (he squealed like a little girl btw ) I am in the beginning stages of trying to figure this whole DCL process out. I know alittle just from rummaging on the boards (i'm not new to these board... just started using a new user name )but I dont knoq nearly as much as you all must know! What we have decided so far is this... we are going to fly down to orlando a day or two before the cruise and hang out at WL and maybe do a park or two. At this point we aren't sure 100% yet. Then I'm hoping there is some way to get transportation from the WL to the ship. Thats about all I have figured out.... seriously. This, I must point out, is completely out of character for me. Anytime we plan any Disney trip I have a spreadsheet of events and ADR's and schedules lol. With this I am clueless. So any advice, help, tips, ect that you can give me is MUCH appreciated!

I know its alittle less than a year away but I'm hoping by starting early I can learn as much as I can from you all and maybe have alittle fun too. Not going to lie, I do feel like there is a void in my life now that wedding planning is over But its on to bigger and better things and this will be a great distraction for me!

Thanks for reading and I hope I can keep you all entertained for the next 338days or so!

xoxo
-Mrs. Z

oh and p.s. I just love sharing wedding pictures so here is one of us together just for good measure

 

[MrsZ]

Ok i've been doing some more searching and reading and here are some questions I have..

1.) the days before the cruise when at VWL... would you do a one bedroom or a studio?

2.) rent a car or use the transfers? from what i read it might be cheaper where its just the two of us to just use disney transportation

3.) explain the whole dinner rotation, palo, buffet thing... this confuses me to the point of a headache Does it screw everything up if you dont go to the normal dinner? how does palo work?

4.) I wanted to know what you suggest for two adults to do... nothing against little ones but it is for our anniversary/second honeymoon So what do grown ups like to do?

5.) excursions - some people say not to do too much and enjoy the ship, others seem to do alot of excursions. Advice?

I think I did enough research and questioning for one day

TIA!

xoxo
Mrs. Z

 

[MintJulep]

Ok i've been doing some more searching and reading and here are some questions I have..

1.) the days before the cruise when at VWL... would you do a one bedroom or a studio?

2.) rent a car or use the transfers? from what i read it might be cheaper where its just the two of us to just use disney transportation

3.) explain the whole dinner rotation, palo, buffet thing... this confuses me to the point of a headache Does it screw everything up if you dont go to the normal dinner? how does palo work?

4.) I wanted to know what you suggest for two adults to do... nothing against little ones but it is for our anniversary/second honeymoon So what do grown ups like to do?

5.) excursions - some people say not to do too much and enjoy the ship, others seem to do alot of excursions. Advice?

I think I did enough research and questioning for one day

TIA!

xoxo
Mrs. Z

Your photos are gorgeous!!!

I also saw you had some questions, so I thought I would try and answer them the best I could!


1. I think this depends on how long you are going to be there. If you are only going to be there one day, I would say just do a studio. If you are going to be there longer and you would like to stretch out, then go for the one bedroom. But, this is completely up to you.

2. In my opinion, I would use the Disney transfer. It is so much easier than having to find your luggage (if you are flying), find the rental car desk, have them take you to your car, check in with the car at the resort, park the car, then drive to PC, if you are parking it there, you will have to pay for parking.

If you have Disney, then your bags show up in your room, load them on to the bus to go to PC then they show up in your room again. Plus, if you are flying and your airline is participating, then you can do onboard check in and you wont' see your bags until you land back at home.

3. When you arrive at the ship, you will get your key to the world card which is just like the key to the world cards at the resorts. On the card you will see a listing of letters. Example: APLLPA. This would mean that you would start at Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, lumier's, lumier's, Parrot Cay, Animator's Palate. You will also get a dinning ticket that will list what restaurant you start at and also your table number.

If you decide to go to Palo, you just don't go to your scheduled restaurant that evening and the rotation continues. So, if using the example above, you decide you want to go to Palo on the second day, you just don't go to Parrot Cay, and the next day you go to lumier's.

Also, for Palo, you might want to try the brunch. There are a lot more choices and it is buffet style so you can try a whole bunch of different things.

4. I completely understand about wanting to have some romance on the cruise! My husband and I would often go to Rockin' Bar D after dinner (we had the late dinner service). They would have adult only shows, and they even had the newlywed game show one evening that was really cute!

You can always hang out at the adult only pool and hot tub area, go for a romantic walk around the ship, or even share a drink in Sessions which is a beautiful piano bar.

Make sure your reservations list that you are celebrating your anniversary. We told our travel agent and we ended up getting a cake one night at dinner, an anniversary dessert at Palo, and even our stateroom host made us a special towel animal and left us a sweet happy anniversary note! The Disney Cruise Line really goes out of it's way to make you feel special while celebrating!


5. When we went on our last cruise we only did one port excursion. (We took a tour of ruins in Cozumel.) At Key West, we kind of did our own thing and took a site seeing trolley and toured Hemmingway's home. I think we were alright there, and I don't think an excursion would have enhanced KW anymore.

But, in Grand Cayman we didn't take an excursion and we decided to go to the beach on our own, and I don't think it was the best way to enjoy the Island. We ended up going to a public part of Seven Mile Island which wasn't that nice. There were no chairs and no trees. It was pretty much plop down your towel and go into the water. So I think maybe we would have liked it more if we would have done the excursion.

Like I said, we liked Cozumel the best, and I think it had something to with the fact that we did take an excursion. We got to see a lot of the island, and learn about the area and the locals.

Once again it is entirely up to you, our plan is to get off at the two ports just because we haven't been there before. We figure we have three sea days that we can use to enjoy the ship.



I hope that I was able to answer some of your questions and I hope I didn't overwhelm you. Don't worry, you have some time to get everything figured out, plus every on DIS is super helpful and friendly!

 

[nikapluto]

Ok so I posted and now edited....IT was You!! We saw you two get married on our way to Epcot!! My mom and I got all teary eyed and were saying how beautiful you looked! Congratulations!

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Congratulations on your wedding! Your photos are beautiful!

Ok i've been doing some more searching and reading and here are some questions I have..

1.) the days before the cruise when at VWL... would you do a one bedroom or a studio?
I would go for a studio. If I am only going to WDW for a couple of days pre-cruise, I don't really go all out. I just use it to relax and hang out, not too much splurging.

2.) rent a car or use the transfers? from what i read it might be cheaper where its just the two of us to just use disney transportation
Personally, I like to be at port early. To do this, you must rent a car. DCL transportation gets to port around 1-2 PM. DCL transportation is more convenient, but I don't mind the "hassle" little that it is renting a car.

3.) explain the whole dinner rotation, palo, buffet thing... this confuses me to the point of a headache Does it screw everything up if you dont go to the normal dinner? how does palo work? You will be assigned a dining time, table and rotation. You can choose to eat at your assigned table each night, or you can choose to skip it and just go to the buffet. If you choose to book Palo, you could choose a couple of things. You can skip your assigned time all together, and just go to Palo. You could eat either appetizer or dessert in the main dining room and eat your main meal at Palo. For your first time, I would suggest skipping the main dining room all together and really enjoying Palo. You can choose main (early) dining, or late dining. Main dining has more families, so DH and I like late dining so it has more adults. But, if you go to Palo, I would schedule it for early dining time (around 6 or 6:30) so that you can enjoy the view. It gets too dark around 8 or so. I hope that helps more than confuses you!

4.) I wanted to know what you suggest for two adults to do... nothing against little ones but it is for our anniversary/second honeymoon So what do grown ups like to do?
There are a variety of adult only areas/activities on the ship. There are alcohol tastings, art of entertaining series, adult pool and coffee bar, late night adult only shows, etc... DH and I follow the following schedule at night: 6:30-7:30 regular show/7:30-8:00 piano and pre-dinner drinks in Sessions/8:00-9:30 dinner/9:30-10:30 adult entertainment. You will get a daily navigator each night for the next day's activities so you can see what is offered for the adults.

5.) excursions - some people say not to do too much and enjoy the ship, others seem to do alot of excursions. Advice?
The eastern itinerary is mostly beaches. So, if you are "beach people" you can just grab a cab and head to the local beach. Disney will offer excursions for a premium price that you might choose to do. The benefit of going with Disney is the security of having the ship know where you are, so if a delay occurs, you will be taken care of. DH and I do excursions in most places because we want to see the area, but others choose to relax. It really depends on what you enjoy on your vacation.

I think I did enough research and questioning for one day

TIA!

xoxo
Mrs. Z

Answers in red. HTH!

 

[MrsZ]

Oh my! just got home from work and CPR training and I figured i'd come and check to see if anyone liked my TR! You guys have been busy!!

Your photos are gorgeous!!!

I also saw you had some questions, so I thought I would try and answer them the best I could!


1. I think this depends on how long you are going to be there. If you are only going to be there one day, I would say just do a studio. If you are going to be there longer and you would like to stretch out, then go for the one bedroom. But, this is completely up to you.

2. In my opinion, I would use the Disney transfer. It is so much easier than having to find your luggage (if you are flying), find the rental car desk, have them take you to your car, check in with the car at the resort, park the car, then drive to PC, if you are parking it there, you will have to pay for parking.

If you have Disney, then your bags show up in your room, load them on to the bus to go to PC then they show up in your room again. Plus, if you are flying and your airline is participating, then you can do onboard check in and you wont' see your bags until you land back at home.

3. When you arrive at the ship, you will get your key to the world card which is just like the key to the world cards at the resorts. On the card you will see a listing of letters. Example: APLLPA. This would mean that you would start at Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, lumier's, lumier's, Parrot Cay, Animator's Palate. You will also get a dinning ticket that will list what restaurant you start at and also your table number.

If you decide to go to Palo, you just don't go to your scheduled restaurant that evening and the rotation continues. So, if using the example above, you decide you want to go to Palo on the second day, you just don't go to Parrot Cay, and the next day you go to lumier's.

Also, for Palo, you might want to try the brunch. There are a lot more choices and it is buffet style so you can try a whole bunch of different things.

4. I completely understand about wanting to have some romance on the cruise! My husband and I would often go to Rockin' Bar D after dinner (we had the late dinner service). They would have adult only shows, and they even had the newlywed game show one evening that was really cute!

You can always hang out at the adult only pool and hot tub area, go for a romantic walk around the ship, or even share a drink in Sessions which is a beautiful piano bar.

Make sure your reservations list that you are celebrating your anniversary. We told our travel agent and we ended up getting a cake one night at dinner, an anniversary dessert at Palo, and even our stateroom host made us a special towel animal and left us a sweet happy anniversary note! The Disney Cruise Line really goes out of it's way to make you feel special while celebrating!


5. When we went on our last cruise we only did one port excursion. (We took a tour of ruins in Cozumel.) At Key West, we kind of did our own thing and took a site seeing trolley and toured Hemmingway's home. I think we were alright there, and I don't think an excursion would have enhanced KW anymore.

But, in Grand Cayman we didn't take an excursion and we decided to go to the beach on our own, and I don't think it was the best way to enjoy the Island. We ended up going to a public part of Seven Mile Island which wasn't that nice. There were no chairs and no trees. It was pretty much plop down your towel and go into the water. So I think maybe we would have liked it more if we would have done the excursion.

Like I said, we liked Cozumel the best, and I think it had something to with the fact that we did take an excursion. We got to see a lot of the island, and learn about the area and the locals.

Once again it is entirely up to you, our plan is to get off at the two ports just because we haven't been there before. We figure we have three sea days that we can use to enjoy the ship.



I hope that I was able to answer some of your questions and I hope I didn't overwhelm you. Don't worry, you have some time to get everything figured out, plus every on DIS is super helpful and friendly!

THANK YOU!!! This helped me so much!!! the whole thing with the dinners had me so confused but now i get it... and thanks for the tip on Palo! I made sure that i told them it was for our first anniversary... we got so much pixie dust on our wedding weekend and honeymoon so i'm hoping for alittle for our anniversary too

Ok so I posted and now edited....IT was You!! We saw you two get married on our way to Epcot!! My mom and I got all teary eyed and were saying how beautiful you looked! Congratulations!

That is sooo cool! Thank you very very much! It was an awesome day and the wedding was absolutely beautiful! I couldn't have asked for more.

Congratulations on your wedding! Your photos are beautiful!



Answers in red. HTH!

Thank you for all of your help! The schedule you guys have for evenings sounds really nice! I think I'm going to go look up Sessions!! Sounds really cool!
Yea as far as the excursions i know i've always wanted to do a dolphin encounter so DH and I were thinking of doing that at St. Thomas (i think thats where it is) and possibly rent some jet ski's at castaway cay. But i'm sure that'll all change because DH can't seem to ever make up his mind until the last second We'll see... we have plenty of time

Again thank you so much for you help!

 

[Chilly]

Hi Hun! Just subcribing I'll come back later with some tips.

 

[MrsZ]

Hi Hun! Just subcribing I'll come back later with some tips.

Hey Claire!!!!

Thanks for subbing!

 

[MrsZ]

Ugh... Ok so I was supposed to do some DCL research with DH last night but between me working late alot, his school two nights a week, and everything else going on we both were really tired and DH ended up falling asleep on the couch right after dinner

I know we obviously have alot of time before the cruise but I have a little confession to make....

I think I am having alittle bit of post-wedding depression It has been four weeks today since the wedding and I knew i'd be sad for a bit when it was over but does it really last this long? I find myself looking at the same sneak peak photos from my photographer over and over again and it almost sees like... "That can't be me! It can't be over just like that!" I know everyone says that it goes by really quick and i thought that i had mentally prepared for that but apparently I didn't prepare well enough.

I've been trying to occupy my time with other things like work, I'm actually in the middle of cleaning out my closet and dresser to get rid of clothes i dont wear/need anymore, I've started doing crafty stuff... but all it takes is me to see my dress, or shoes in my closet and i get sad again that I wont be wearing them again. ::Sigh:: I hope I get over this quickly... I'm hoping that cruise planning will be a good distraction. Maybe I can pin DH down later today and see if we can talk cruise later.

Sorry about the venting session... I just hate feeling like a big baby!

 

[MrsZ]

Good Morning and Happy November 1st!

Sorry for my previous venting post but I think I needed to get that out. I'm feeling better though! Halloween was a blast, I did get to pin DH down for some cruise talk, and we're one month closer

DH and I decided that we'll only go down the day before the cruise and spend just a night at the VWL. I would love to do two days and do some parks but DH wants to make this trip about the cruise and he promised me the we can go back to WDW in 2012... He knows I really want to go to disney to see the christmas lights so he pinky swore we will be going in either november or early december. We are defiantely going to be staying in a one bedroom villa, it wont be too expensive just for one night Should be a cool experience! There was some talk of maybe heading to EPCOT that day for the food and wine festival (we love that soooo much!) and some rides but I think that'll ultimately depend on how the funds are looking.

We also decided just to use disney transportation to get to and from MCO and the VWL, and from VWL to PC. We figured we'd try it this time and then if we ever cruise again base our decision next time on our experience. We've never had a problem with ME or the disney bus system. Fingers crossed we have a good experience with using them to get to PC.

We also looked at some port excursions and I did save them on the DCL website but I'm at work right now and they blocked the DCL (and WDW) websites DRAT! When I get home I'll double check them all and you guys can tell me which excursions are good and which we should skip


xoxo
-MrsZ

 

[Chilly]

On your wedding day before I came to see you I went back to the WP, it made me feel sooo sad. I still get post wedding blues.

 

[MrsZ]

On your wedding day before I came to see you I went back to the WP, it made me feel sooo sad. I still get post wedding blues.

Awe claire!

I'm glad I'm not the only one. The last night of our honeymoon adam took me for a walk and he took me to SBP He was so sweet. We both a tad emotional.

It will go away in time i'm sure.

 

[JoBird]

YAY BUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, Congratulations on your wedding-- and oh my gosh you were a BEAUTIFUL bride! And I must say that your DH was looking very handsome and spiffy in his duds as well! You two are just adorable and oh my gosh your pictures MIGHT be the most gorgeous I've ever seen.

Thanks so much for finding me-- I've been wondering and wondering about ya!

I have never been on a Disney cruise before so I'll be of no help but I'll read and happily nod in agreement whenever you decide on something.

So glad you're back....

Jo

 

[MrsZ]

YAY BUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, Congratulations on your wedding-- and oh my gosh you were a BEAUTIFUL bride! And I must say that your DH was looking very handsome and spiffy in his duds as well! You two are just adorable and oh my gosh your pictures MIGHT be the most gorgeous I've ever seen.

Thanks so much for finding me-- I've been wondering and wondering about ya!

I have never been on a Disney cruise before so I'll be of no help but I'll read and happily nod in agreement whenever you decide on something.

So glad you're back....

Jo

Yay JO!!!!

So glad you joined in! I was thinking about changing the name of this PTR to "the idiots guide to DCL: So don't worry if you can't give much advice!

Glad you're joining in!!

 

[MrsZ]

So DH had a tough day at work and is napping on the couch and i am in the middle of laundry .... since i have some time before the next load needs to be folded i thought i'd post some of the port excursions that DH and I were thinking about doing

Tortola Dolphin encounter on St Thomas

Skyride to Paradise point on st thomas

Discover Scuba diving (you dont have to be certified! )

Screaming eagle jet boat (thats all DH! )

And finally

The Extreme getaway package on castaway cay


Any advice on any of these excursions? All the excursions are on St Thomas/john except for the extreme getaway package (really want to see the sting rays!) which is one castaway cay. We are thinking about just hanging out on the beach at St Martin. Thought?

 

[JoBird]

So DH had a tough day at work and is napping on the couch and i am in the middle of laundry .... since i have some time before the next load needs to be folded i thought i'd post some of the port excursions that DH and I were thinking about doing

Tortola Dolphin encounter on St Thomas

Skyride to Paradise point on st thomas

Discover Scuba diving (you dont have to be certified! )

Screaming eagle jet boat (thats all DH! )

And finally

The Extreme getaway package on castaway cay


Any advice on any of these excursions? All the excursions are on St Thomas/john except for the extreme getaway package (really want to see the sting rays!) which is one castaway cay. We are thinking about just hanging out on the beach at St Martin. Thought?

Told you I'd nod at all the appropriate places!!

They all sound wonderful!

Lying on the beach sounds perfect too!

 

[Octoberbride03]

HI there

I made it

Dh and i have only done 1 cruise and we like to drive down, so I'll let other cruisers advise you on the whole transportation topic.

As far as your research goes: Have you ordered a Passporter yet? I'll tell you now, it is a MUST HAVE. Details galore. I wouldn't do DCL without it. Gives advice on EVERYTHING you can think and stuff you didn't

Now, your wedding pics are absolutely fabulous. You both look smashing.

I have no advice for excursions either. Our budget was lacking last cruise, plus the itinerary got changed up a bit by Hurricane Omar. So my 1 experience would be of no use to you.

But if you want tips on relaxing, I got em

 

[MrsZ]

Told you I'd nod at all the appropriate places!!

They all sound wonderful!

Lying on the beach sounds perfect too!

There is the JO head nod!

Yea we are going to try and book the dolphin encounter i think.

HI there

I made it

Dh and i have only done 1 cruise and we like to drive down, so I'll let other cruisers advise you on the whole transportation topic.

As far as your research goes: Have you ordered a Passporter yet? I'll tell you now, it is a MUST HAVE. Details galore. I wouldn't do DCL without it. Gives advice on EVERYTHING you can think and stuff you didn't

Now, your wedding pics are absolutely fabulous. You both look smashing.

I have no advice for excursions either. Our budget was lacking last cruise, plus the itinerary got changed up a bit by Hurricane Omar. So my 1 experience would be of no use to you.

But if you want tips on relaxing, I got em

Yay!!! So glad you're here!!!

THANK YOU! Youre so sweet to say that about our pics! I'm still waiting for all the pro pics to come back i'm dying to see them!

I have not gotten the passporter but i shall be checking that out!

Bummer about your last cruise getting changed a bit.. that stinks! But tell me where to relax! I love just lying at the beach.. DH not so much he's a go-go-go-er Do tell!

 

[rusafee1183]

Ok so I posted and now edited....IT was You!! We saw you two get married on our way to Epcot!! My mom and I got all teary eyed and were saying how beautiful you looked! Congratulations!

Yep! We saw you guys too! This sounds creepy, but I have a few pictures of your ceremony. My friend Jamie is renewing her vows and was having a hard time deciding between locations, so I took a few pictures to show her how beautiful it was! They're probably not very good because we were on the boat to DHS. But, I'll try to dig them up for you!

I came over to your TR because we're also going on our 1st DCL cruise and doing the Eastern itinerary. I have a lot of the same questions you do. It's overwhelming!!! The thing I'm having the hardest time with is deciding whether to do/not to do excursions. I'm kind of afraid to navigate the islands on my own....

Did you decide whether you want to do any yet?

Also - ETA: I bought the DCL Passporter and it is AMAZING. I love it. It's really easy to read and answers a lot of questions that you probably have.

Here's a link to their boards. They're also very helpful over there http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/

 

[wld4mky]

Mrs. Z
Love the wedding pictures! You are a lovely couple. We have done the Western and our next is the Eastern in Feb. I will let you know more about the excursions when we return. We will be celebrating 21 years of wedded bliss on this cruise . Time flies when you are having fun! We used a limo service from POFQ to the port. This time we are driving so I think we will be parking there. I want to be early to port 9:30 ish to hopfully get boarding pass #2 . I must suggest the "exotic rasul" at the spa. I have not done it yet but will on this cruise. It gets rave reviews . I am sure it will be a nice adult thing for you and your hubby. "Gifts by Shirley" if you want to surprise your hubby with a gift baskt in your room when you board. You can call her and tell her your celebration and pick a few things to have in the basket or leave it up to her to surprise you. You are aloud to bring alcohol on board in your carry-on. Maybe you could bring a bottle of Champagne if you like that or wine, beer etc. I will keep thinking and let you know if I come up with any more suggestions or ask away if you have any questions. I doubt this will be your only cruise. One and we were hooked. Enjoy!!!!