From WDW to DL With Love - January 06, 2011 part 3

[KayR]

For those of you who are wine drinkers and bring your own bottles of wine on board the ship, I have a few questions:

1. Do you take your bottle(s) of wine to the dining room and get charged the cork fee? And, what is the cork fee??

2. Do you just drink your own wine outside of the dining rooms and buy wine from the ship in the dining room? If so, do you bring your own cork screw, or can you get a cork screw (and glasses) from the room steward??

3. For those of you who have to fly to MCO, do you pack wine in your suitcase (we have travel containers for bottles of wine, so we could do this) and bring it that way, or do you buy wine once you get to Florida?

4. If you do buy wine after you get Florida, I have a question about this. We will not be renting a car, but doing Disney transportation. We'll be staying at WDW for a few days before the cruise. Is there any place at Downtown Disney where you can buy bottles of wine? I'm guessing not. And, if not, is it worth a cab ride from WDW to the nearest place that would sell bottles of wine, buy a few bottles, and then take the cab back?? Just wondering if the cab ride would be so expensive it wouldn't make sense.

Ok, that is it. So many questions. But, we've never brought our own wine on board. We've always just purchased bottles and glasses on the ship. But, given this is such a long cruise, we are trying to figure out ways to keep our ship board account low, and we thought if we took our own wine on board, that might help... but I also just don't know if the hassle of taking it on board, or the cork fees, or the cost of taking a cab to buy wine once we get there would end up being just as expensive as if we just bought it on the ship.

Thanks!
kathy

We usually buy our drinks in Florida, even though we usually fly with unlimited checked baggage due to DH flying club status. I just don't want to deal with liquids in the hold. However we are usually in Florida several days before the cruise and rent a car, so it makes it easier for us!

We usually travel with a pen knife with a corkscrew (checked into the airplane hold of course) as it is mega handy. But from what I understand, you could request a corkscrew from your stateroom host. I believe they will also get you glasses should you ask. That way you can walk into your restaurant with a glass of wine and avoid the corkage fee. Of course, some boxed wine is OK too (unless you are a total wine snob )

I don't know about wine places in DTD, There used to be a grocery store in the Crossroads area just north of WDW - not sure if there is still one there. There are two grocery delivery services in the area - GardenGrocer.com and wegoshop.com - you could use one of them to get your wine for you and deliver to the hotel - you would have to pay a delivery charge, but sometimes that may be worth it for the saving in your time and hassle.

HTH

--Kay

 

[Tigfanjeff]

Was cruising around the boards last night and came across a poster who was worried about the violence in Mexico.......
I live here in California and just like the rest of the world I am sure you are all aware that the violence in Mexico is a problem that is growing at a rapid rate.
I am fully aware that most of these issues are isolated to the drug cartels struggle for control and as of right now they are mainly along the border towns……not so much in the tourist towns AS OF NOW…….
Well anyway a couple of people answered the posted concern and said that on their Mexican Riviera cruise itineraries for 2011 a change had been made, Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta had been removed as ports of call. They said as of now DCL was not able to provide them with a reason as to why or provide them with details as to which ports might replace these ports.
I wonder if DCL is looking into doing the same with our cruise and if so maybe this is why it is taking them so long to release a list of excursions.

Having a parent in law enforcement I am often sent this link when I go on vacation....my mom is always the first to ask "Have you checked the travel warnings?"........

http://travel.state.gov/travel/

The two ports that seemed to have disappeared are PV and Mazatlan. Neither of these is currently an issue as far as the violence is concerned and neither is that high up in the areas of drug trade. These ports are *STILL* listed on all of the itineraries except the actual reservation ones. If you go to find a cruise, they still come up there.

My guess is that this is no different from our magic trip without the Panama Canal (As our cruise was originally listed as not having) or the fact that Disney still thinks we're going to Tierra Del Fuego (Punta Arenas vs. Puntarenas). You don't see anyone here posting things like that. Yet for some reason, paranoia has gripped that thread.

The fact is, you don't see people not going to New York because of violence in Detroit. You didn't see people cancel their vacations to Seattle when the LA Riots happened. This is no different. It's a problem in a small number of areas regarding the drug trade. The government of Mexico has gone so far as to commit 30,000 troops to fight the problem. That's a pretty strong response from the government.

Compare that to St. Thomas where a cruise passenger was actually killed in drug violence 2 months ago. Did you see Disney cancel the trips there?

So really, why would they cancel trips to two ports that are further away from the violence then Los Angeles itself is (Ok, maybe mazatlan isn't, but I'm not breaking out a map and measuring) in a country that has already committed a strong government response to those problems when it hasn't canceled anything to a port where recent violence ended in the death of a cruise ship passenger?

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Was cruising around the boards last night and came across a poster who was worried about the violence in Mexico.......
I live here in California and just like the rest of the world I am sure you are all aware that the violence in Mexico is a problem that is growing at a rapid rate.
I am fully aware that most of these issues are isolated to the drug cartels struggle for control and as of right now they are mainly along the border towns……not so much in the tourist towns AS OF NOW…….
Well anyway a couple of people answered the posted concern and said that on their Mexican Riviera cruise itineraries for 2011 a change had been made, Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta had been removed as ports of call. They said as of now DCL was not able to provide them with a reason as to why or provide them with details as to which ports might replace these ports.
I wonder if DCL is looking into doing the same with our cruise and if so maybe this is why it is taking them so long to release a list of excursions.

Having a parent in law enforcement I am often sent this link when I go on vacation....my mom is always the first to ask "Have you checked the travel warnings?"........

http://travel.state.gov/travel/

Hi there,

I have a MR cruise booked and it hasn't disappeared from mine yet. Nor, as a TA, have I been notified of any itenerary changes for any of my clients on any of the MR cruises. I think it is more of a glitch in thier system then anything else. If it does change, you will be officially notified by Disney or your TA of a change.

Thank you for the link though!

 

[carmie3377]

If it does change, you will be officially notified by Disney or your TA of a change.

We were on the Dec Eastern that originally had St. Croix but it was changed to Tortola a few months out. The way I found out - here on the Dis. I think the problem was with DVC as the people on our thread that didn't get notified had booked with DVC. So, although most were notified officially, a few of us were not.

 

[LimoFam5]

I totally agree......I was just asking because I was surprised at how many people were saying these ports have been removed from their reservation.

My personal opinion is there are some parts of Mexico that are WAY WAY safer then many many parts of the US. I would rather get out and see the world............

WELL then when the HECK will the port adventures be released.

 

[LovesToRun]

Important!!

For any fellow cruisers who may be going to WDW prior to sailing. There are free dining packages available for those days, just announced today. I have already flipped my ressie to take advantage of it. Staying at POP from the 1st to 6th, also booked all my dining and excited I got "Le Cellier" !! Anybody else at POP? Hoping to find someone else to share transportation early to the port.

Thank you for sharing this!! We're going to WDW on these dates before the cruise! How exciting. I'm emailing my TA right now.

-kathy

 

[unkamike]

WDW Resort Prices just posted today, Good discounts!!
Booked POP Century $62.00!!!

 

[danfromca]

Important!!

For any fellow cruisers who may be going to WDW prior to sailing. There are free dining packages available for those days, just announced today. I have already flipped my ressie to take advantage of it. Staying at POP from the 1st to 6th, also booked all my dining and excited I got "Le Cellier" !! Anybody else at POP? Hoping to find someone else to share transportation early to the port.

There are also room discounts of 25%-40% depending on where you stay for those who aren't staying long enough to qualify for the free dining.

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I don't know about anyone else, but when I go to my reservation on the DCL website, the Costa Rica stop is not listed as well as the same stops others have mentioned. I just thought it was some kind of glitch. I hope Disney keeps them as I am looking forward to all 3!

 

[Tigfanjeff]

I don't know about anyone else, but when I go to my reservation on the DCL website, the Costa Rica stop is not listed as well as the same stops others have mentioned. I just thought it was some kind of glitch. I hope Disney keeps them as I am looking forward to all 3!

Still listed for me

View Cruise Details
Sail Date
January 6, 2011
Ship
Disney Wonder
Ports
Port Canaveral, Florida, Castaway Cay, At Sea, At Sea, Aruba, West Indies, At Sea, Panama Canal, At Sea, Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, At Sea, At Sea, Manzanillo, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, At Sea, Los Angeles, California

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Sorry, Jeff, I knew that last post was worded poorly. I meant this:

Day 9 - - Friday, January 14, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 10 - At Sea - Saturday, January 15, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 11 - At Sea - Sunday, January 16, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 12 - - Monday, January 17, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 13 - - Tuesday, January 18, 2011
No activities reserved.

It is the list of ports in the "My Cruise Plans" link...not that you can make any cruise plans.

 

[Tigfanjeff]

Sorry, Jeff, I knew that last post was worded poorly. I meant this:

Day 9 - - Friday, January 14, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 10 - At Sea - Saturday, January 15, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 11 - At Sea - Sunday, January 16, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 12 - - Monday, January 17, 2011
No activities reserved.
Day 13 - - Tuesday, January 18, 2011
No activities reserved.

It is the list of ports in the "My Cruise Plans" link...not that you can make any cruise plans.

Maybe they are just getting ready to release shore excursions.

 

[Pixie Dust II]

All I did was find the website, jump in a time or two and get so sick! This has not been fun! I will be going home Sunday and hopefully things will get back to normal. Maybe it is just too much time away from the normal pattern. Even the dog had to go to the vet today!He even said this is the worse area in the whole country for allergies! I felt so bad for little Princess Jasmine. We will both be better soon.

I do want to do FE. Do we have any idea how many we are talking about? The huge group that was in our Eurpoean cruise ended up with 12. I was shocked! We always had so much fun with them!

Have a good evening. I am going to lie down with Jasmine for a little while!

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

All I did was find the website, jump in a time or two and get so sick! This has not been fun! I will be going home Sunday and hopefully things will get back to normal. Maybe it is just too much time away from the normal pattern. Even the dog had to go to the vet today!He even said this is the worse area in the whole country for allergies! I felt so bad for little Princess Jasmine. We will both be better soon.

I do want to do FE. Do we have any idea how many we are talking about? The huge group that was in our Eurpoean cruise ended up with 12. I was shocked! We always had so much fun with them!

Have a good evening. I am going to lie down with Jasmine for a little while!

I hope everyone is feeling better soon!

 

[cardidog]

Hi all! Can anyone/someone/everyone PM me their most favorite yet cost-saving place to stay around Disneyland? Is it really worth the $ to stay on-site for 3 nights after the cruise? Also, where would you stay for 2 nights pre-cruise if all you were going to do was watch your husband/wife/significant other enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios while you miss the Mouse. Sigh.

I also need to find the best limo company to get from the port to Disneyland---any ideas?

Can't wait for tomorrow---Southwest fares released for our return flight! Those 2 free checked bags per person will be filled with Disney loot---and lots of laundry too!

Thanks for your ideas and helping with my plans!

 

[DVCinderella]

After 10 cruises, I know I'm a little more "critical" than I was on the first one, so I think what happens is this - on one's first cruise everything is new and exciting and special so it's "wonderful" in our memories. On subsequent cruises, we know what to expect, we compare everything to the previous time(s), so maybe the lustre is a little dimmed.

Well put...and very true.

Interesting note - last night, I followed (I think it was) Kay's link to the excursions page, instead of signing in. I read all the ports information, and when I closed my browser, a survey popped up about the Disney cruise website! I took it - and definitely left my comments about the fact that excursions weren't out yet only 3 weeks before my booking date, why when I log in I have to put in my ressie # and birthdate, etc etc.

ALSO, they wanted to know whereelse I was getting cruise information - and among the choices were cruise critic, disboards, allearsnet, AAA, and some others. They wanted me to rate how helpful each of the sites I used was. (Now THERE's a leading question- I gave them an earful!)

I always fill out any surveys Disney sends me. We always receive a postcard after any DVC stay, and I always do the on-line survey.

After our last stay in May, I got the usual postcard, and then 2 months later I got an e-mail from DVC asking me to take another survey. It had more to do with upgrades they are thinking of making to the existing DVC resorts...anything from changing the shower heads, to allowing pets. I was very vocal! I agree with you wholeheartedly...I do think they listen to surveys. Disney is all about collecting data! They are masters at it.

 

[KayR]

Hi all! Can anyone/someone/everyone PM me their most favorite yet cost-saving place to stay around Disneyland? Is it really worth the $ to stay on-site for 3 nights after the cruise? Also, where would you stay for 2 nights pre-cruise if all you were going to do was watch your husband/wife/significant other enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios while you miss the Mouse. Sigh.

I also need to find the best limo company to get from the port to Disneyland---any ideas?

Can't wait for tomorrow---Southwest fares released for our return flight! Those 2 free checked bags per person will be filled with Disney loot---and lots of laundry too!

Thanks for your ideas and helping with my plans!

We have stayed at the HoJo (Howard Johnson) which is across the street from DL. Other people love the Candy Cane Inn which is nearby too (but I have no experience there). When we stayed at the HoJo, they offered an Entertainment Book rate which was a great deal compared to their regular rate.

HTH

-Kay

 

[KayR]

Just checked and the HoJo don't have the entertainment book rate for the dates at the end of the cruise. That may change though.

Dates / Rates : http://www.hojoanaheim.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14

 

[hawkaye19]

There will only be the three of us, we did the limo in LA on the last repo as there was no shuttle available

We went with my mom n sister (so their was 8 of us), and we found it cheaper to rent a strech limo ... not sure if it still is or how many of ya'll there is.

 

[hawkaye19]

You usually get there about 12:30 if memory serves me correctly.....as long as we get there and we do not have to drag all our luggage with us......I'll be happy ;-)

We are planning to stay at POP also! What are your plans getting to the port? We were thinking of using DCL bus, but I don't think you get there early.