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

[sak0526]

Kathy here is the kicker, I refuse to do laundry on vacation. I mean what's the point of vacation if I am doing chores. I will be gone for 17 days. So I need room for 17 different shorts and shirt combos not to mention evening wear. My DW is a great packer but this going to be a lot of stuff again.

Alan I'm with ya here - unless i can slip laundry in when i can veg somewhere. like in sarasota i can sit by the pool and after 30 mins move from washer to dryer and in 45 to the condo. or as we're going to bed at DVC and throw it in dryer when we get up to shower and stuff. But cooking - not in years on vaca = well maybe an occassional lunch when we're in sarasots afor 2 weeks instead of 1 there and one at disney. but on this trip... laundry. refuse to pack 18 days of stuff.
Sherri

 

[LovesToRun]

I don't know where I read this, but I thought I saw somewhere that the port adventures will be posted the first week of September. I could be wrong, but that is what I've had in my mind.

I just looked, and this is what I was thinking of (if you read down in this description in the link, it says they will be released 120 days out from sailing, which I believe will be the first week of September.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/caribbean/ports/aruba-west-indies/

So, soon!! Can't wait to see what port adventures they are offering!

-kathy

 

[JenKatt]

I just looked, and this is what I was thinking of (if you read down in this description in the link, it says they will be released 120 days out from sailing, which I believe will be the first week of September.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/caribbean/ports/aruba-west-indies/

So, soon!! Can't wait to see what port adventures they are offering!

-kathy

They can't be released 120 days out, that's when first booking opens. Not very fair on DCL's part.

 

[KayR]

I just looked at the DCL blurb about port adventures and noticed that they are non-refundable. Has that always been the case? I thought they were refundable up to a point? Or am I wrong? (I have never booked anything except on Castaway Cay, so I hadn't really paid attention!)

-Kay

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Oh, that worked....Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

No problem, any time!

Kay: The excursions can be cancelled up to 3 days before sail date. When you board if you wish to cancel something, you can do so at Port Adventures (deck 3 midship). You can cancel before the day of the excursion. If you just don't show up or choose not to do the excursion the day it takes place, it is non-refundable unless there is an extenuating circumstance. Excursions are not charged to your onboard account until the day of the activity. Signature excursions may be different. HTH!

 

[Tinkerbel129]

Below is the statistics from the home page list of PC cruisers. I would like to add my own little twist to the 100 staterooms part.......if we were all on the same deck, it would be...

All of DECK 8!!






268 people in 100 staterooms, traveling as 88 parties.
This is 11.17% of the normal guest capacity(2400) of the Wonder.
This is 9.93% of the maximum guest capacity (2700) of the Wonder.
This is 11.4% of the available staterooms(877)

 

[LovesToRun]

I'm sure this question has been asked here already, but does anyone know what night pirate night might be on the Panama Canal cruise?

Also, i wonder if there are any other special nights since this is such a long cruise... like some special theme night once we get to the Mexican Riviera?


Thanks!
Kathy

 

[LindaBabe]

No problem, any time!

Kay: The excursions can be cancelled up to 3 days before sail date. When you board if you wish to cancel something, you can do so at Port Adventures (deck 3 midship). You can cancel before the day of the excursion. If you just don't show up or choose not to do the excursion the day it takes place, it is non-refundable unless there is an extenuating circumstance. Excursions are not charged to your onboard account until the day of the activity. Signature excursions may be different. HTH!

I wouldn't count on it being quite that easy.

In November, my husband caught a cold and tried to cancel a few days before a snorkeling excursion (he couldn't breathe through his nose) and they gave him a hard time. He had to see the ships doc and they still were giving him grief about canceling. he resigned himself to the loss of the money because he was so miserable but they ultimately relented, after the fact. It was not easy, and he was REALLY ill.

 

[LovesToRun]

They can't be released 120 days out, that's when first booking opens. Not very fair on DCL's part.

I totally agree with you... I wish they would have had the port adventures out a month or two ago. But, that is what it says on the website... maybe that is not accurate info? Who knows... I guess time will tell.

 

[LovesToRun]

I wouldn't count on it being quite that easy.

In November, my husband caught a cold and tried to cancel a few days before a snorkeling excursion (he couldn't breathe through his nose) and they gave him a hard time. He had to see the ships doc and they still were giving him grief about canceling. he resigned himself to the loss of the money because he was so miserable but they ultimately relented, after the fact. It was not easy, and he was REALLY ill.

I injured myself pretty bad (the morning we arrived to St. Thomas) on our last Disney Cruise this past Jan and spent an hour in the ship ER (long story!!). As a result, I never got off the ship at St. Thomas, and my husband and kids did not either (naturally... they were in the ship hospital waiting room waiting for me), and so we missed our shore excursion at St. Thomas.

The ship doctor sent a note to the shore excursion desk, and because of that, they fully refunded my shore excursion. But, my husband went to the shore excursion desk explaining that my husband and kids did not do the shore excursion either because they were in the ship hospital with me. The shore excursion desk would not at all refund my husband and kid's shore excursion. And, to be fair to them, i can understand why they didn't refund my husband and kids since they were not injured, and technically, they COULD have gone on the shore excursion, but they just did not want to leave me alone not knowing what my condition was. (I ended up being ok, just very severely injured my ankle in a total freak accident on the Disney Magic, and am still in PT 3 times a week almost 7 months later!)

So, I think if you have a doctor's note (if the ship doctor agrees you're truly not able to do the shore excursion... in my case, I couldn't even get off the ship), I am sure they would refund your excursion. Otherwise, I wouldn't count on them refunding you.

So, my family and I are hoping for NO injuries on the PC cruise!!

-Kathy

 

[KayR]

No problem, any time!

Kay: The excursions can be cancelled up to 3 days before sail date. When you board if you wish to cancel something, you can do so at Port Adventures (deck 3 midship). You can cancel before the day of the excursion. If you just don't show up or choose not to do the excursion the day it takes place, it is non-refundable unless there is an extenuating circumstance. Excursions are not charged to your onboard account until the day of the activity. Signature excursions may be different. HTH!

I wouldn't count on it being quite that easy.

In November, my husband caught a cold and tried to cancel a few days before a snorkeling excursion (he couldn't breathe through his nose) and they gave him a hard time. He had to see the ships doc and they still were giving him grief about canceling. he resigned himself to the loss of the money because he was so miserable but they ultimately relented, after the fact. It was not easy, and he was REALLY ill.

I wonder if DCL have changed things because it quite clearly states on their website

"All Port Adventure tickets are non-refundable and pricing is subject to change without notice"

I don't think I will book any DCL excursions, but if I do, I will check out the cancellation policy first.

-Kay

 

[Tinkerbel129]

Been thinking about this for awhile and thought I would just put it out there for thought. Having done the 05 & 08 Panama cruise (eastbound) (not to mention the huge difference in costs), anyone that has done a special cruise will get my drift. Wondering what the level of entertainment will be, in 05 it was really pretty good, in 08 it was ok. With the excitement of a new ship, will we get short changed?

 

[sak0526]

i'm so burnt out and ready for this cruise! though we are going to see if i can get off work and sneak a quick trip to the world from the 20th -23. it seems expensive to fly for just then. but i'm just wanting off. even if we dont go to the parks! but i may be able to sneak in...anyone else going to be there this weekend?

sherri

 

[sak0526]

Been thinking about this for awhile and thought I would just put it out there for thought. Having done the 05 & 08 Panama cruise (eastbound) (not to mention the huge difference in costs), anyone that has done a special cruise will get my drift. Wondering what the level of entertainment will be, in 05 it was really pretty good, in 08 it was ok. With the excitement of a new ship, will we get short changed?

no, dd says we'll get 8-9 shows, whuich is a lot considering in MY WORDS that they've been doing 3/4 days cruises (and i'm thinking the same shows 2x a week:?) and for sea days there'll be matinee and evening shows, and obviously some new shows. the cast seems great. i dont know about special entertainment - on my last 7 day they brought magicians and street comedians and all kinds of people on board that i really liked in addition to loving the shows. i'm really lookng forward to the entertainment!

 

[LindaBabe]

Good Morning, Happy Cruisers!

Been thinking about this for awhile and thought I would just put it out there for thought. Having done the 05 & 08 Panama cruise (eastbound) (not to mention the huge difference in costs), anyone that has done a special cruise will get my drift. Wondering what the level of entertainment will be, in 05 it was really pretty good, in 08 it was ok. With the excitement of a new ship, will we get short changed?

I don't think so. 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.

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!)

Happy Day, all!

 

[JenKatt]

I totally agree with you... I wish they would have had the port adventures out a month or two ago. But, that is what it says on the website... maybe that is not accurate info? Who knows... I guess time will tell.

I'll admit Monday mornings I'm not the sharpest knife in the block, but where do you see on the DCL site that they will release the shore excursions 120 days out?


ETA: Nevermind I found it. I told you Mondays were bad for me

 

[LovesToRun]

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

 

[Tinkerbel129]

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.

 

[JenKatt]

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

Kathy:

We have brought bottles of wine into the dining room that we have brought on board. We have never (not sure how) been charged a corking fee. That does seem to be a bit of a mystery why some people don't get charged it.

You can get a cork screw from your steward, but we usually bring our own. You can also get glasses from them. We usually wind up with quite a few glasses in our room.

You can buy bottles of wine on propery. Most of the gift shops sell them. The selection is poor. You can walk to Goodings (or take a cab) which is across the street from Downtown Disney. It's not a short walk, it's at the very end of the hotel plaza road there. However, they do have a great selection. BUT they are expensive. You can also take a cab to any of the Publixes in the area. I find the one on 27 in Davenport to be far enough away to not have the prices jacked up as much as the ones in Kissimmee. However, it's a bit of a drive/ cab ride. You might do better bringing from home if you don't have a car.
It's up to you what you want to do. You could try buddying up with someone who is driving to get wine and split the cost. We are doing that with friends who are flying in.
HTH!

 

[LimoFam5]

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/