Illuminations Cruise Central--DECEMBER

[twotoohappy]

I wish you all luck! I was fortunate enough to get on an Illuminations cruise through a friend who also referred me to disboards. I love the people on these boards and I hope you all have a magical trip!

 

[c4241]

We are going on the Illuminations Cruise December 8th...have reservations confirmed. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I believe the early December cruises have been booked by people in charge of the web site gathering that will be going on early December. I'm sure there will be openings on the 90 day point as of today. Good Luck. If for some reason we can't make our Dec. 8th trip, I could let someone know. <p>
<MARQUEE><font size=+2 color=red ºoº...We are going to DisneyWorld...ºoº</MARQUEE>

 

[arctic_angel]

I would say "keep trying". I called earlier this month and on my 3rd try in the same day connected to a live person and made Illumination Cruise reservations. I began dialing at 6:57am EST. By 7:03 my reservation was complete. I am not part of a web site or large group. After reading all of these posts, I guess I was very lucky. DON'T GIVE UP!! IT CAN BE DONE!!

 

[Magic8540]

We will be at WL during New Years after our Western Christmas cruise. We are planning a late dinner at Artist Point on NYE and then maybe doing the Specialty Cruise from Wilderness.

Will there be a schedule for a Specialty Cruise from Wilderness on NYE? Would the times be available after dinner? I need to make plans for dinner by 9/30 and the cruise by 10/3.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Milt and Ann Laughlin

 

[J&J]

Have a MK one for Sunday Dec. 7
please email.

 

[SCOTTNJ]

I have been getting up and calling starting at 6:55. For six consecutive days I was unsuccessful. We were trying for 12/6 thru 12/12.

We had always booked an illuminations cruise for every trip and this is the first year that I didn't get thru on my first try.

On Tuesday, I got thru without being on hold and according to the atomic clock from the internet, I was told at 6:59 that all of the boats were booked.

I now accept the fact that we didn't get the cruise. There were going to be 10 of us this year so it would have been perfect.

I just wish I knew what the trick was to getting this thing booked this past week......

 

[princess crazy]

We are a family of 5. Me DH, my parents and our DD 6.

Would love to do an Illuminations Cruise--We'll be there December 7-14---

Would really like to know if anyone has a cruise for the night of Friday Dec. 12th? We have a ps at a restaurant at Epcot and this would be the perfect thing to do after our meal because we've never seen Illuminations before and we're planning on staying to watch it.

But, if anyone has availability for any other nights but the 9th we would be interested in those too!!

Can anyone tell me what time the Cruises start?? Thanks!

 

[dhintx]

Early am calls unsuccessful for our 12/9 through 12/13 stay. 6 adults and a service dog would love to share your pontoon - we'll bring the pizza! Anyone want to make our Disney stay a little more magical? Contact on this site or directly at dharwood@austin.rr.com. Thanks!

 

[arctic_angel]

Are you able to bring "carry-ons" (pizza, beverages) on the boat?

 

[dhintx]

I'll confess that I cannot find the info on a website that said the boat was yours for the evening and you could bring your own food onboard, or pay the extra cost and have them cater a meal for you. If I'm in error, I hope a more knowledgeable Disney friend will correct me or point us all to the confirming location. Thanks. dh

 

[SamR]

I have been getting up and calling starting at 6:55. For six consecutive days I was unsuccessful. We were trying for 12/6 thru 12/12.

My experience was similar to yours. I tried for five consecutive days (trying for the nights of 12/9-12/13). Despite there probably only being about five seconds between consecutive redial attempts, each time I finally got past the "closed" message, I found myself banished to the "abandon hope all ye who enter here" queue. I would get pulled off the queue shortly after 7:00, but by then...well, you know the rest.

One strange exception was when I called Friday morning (trying for 12/11). Instead of telling me that the boats were all booked, on that call the reservationist said they would not be running the cruises that evening and so they were not taking any reservations. I found that a bit surprising...

Oh well, we did an Illuminations Cruise on our trip last March (got through on my very first attempt that time), so I can't complain too much. I'll hope for better luck on my next trip...

 

[SamR]

Are you able to bring "carry-ons" (pizza, beverages) on the boat?

Before our cruise last March, I had read conflicting things about whether or not you could bring your own food onboard, including several posts from folks that had been told that you could bring food but that you had to bring a receipt showing that the food was purchased from a Disney establishment. When we "checked in" for our cruise, our captain told us that we would be departing in about 30 minutes, and that we were welcome to go grab some food and beverages and bring on board if we wished. (He made no mention of any requirement for a receipt.)

So, our experience is that you can bring food aboard, but I suppose it is possible that it varies from captain to captain?

 

[Mimi Q]

bump

 

[ajmckee]

Sounds like no one is having any luck. I have been up the past two mornings @ 6:45 tring and am not getting through to talk to a CM until 7:02 and they are already sold out.
I am looking to share with someone for 8-9 people the week fo December 13th for 7 nights. Let me know if anyone has any room. I have been wanting to do this for a long time.

 

[mickeysaver]

We booked the MK Fireworks Cruise today for 12/20/03. This is the first Saturday of Peak/Holiday season and Wishes is scheduled for 9:00pm!!!

Now, I would like to extend an invitation to other adult parties that are willing to split the cost with us for the cruise. The cruise is going to run $120 + tax and gratuity. I figure that means about $155 total.

We are only two adults and the boat holds about 10 safely, so if there are any adults out there looking to share a cruise, let me know. The more folks we have join in, the lower the cost to all of us.

One more thing. This will be our last night at Disney. I don't want to have any stress during this event. It's our last big trip event and we leave the next morning. So, no offense, but no children allowed. We would prefer that the folks joining us be no younger than 21. If you are a gay or lesbian, that would be a huge bonus. We are "family" too. Of course we still enjoy the company of the "straight but not narrow" folks too. Mickey

To respond, please email me using the button below with the subject Fireworks Cruise. Thanks.

UPDATE So far, we have 6 on the boat! We have a couple of solo travelers along for the ride now. Do you want to join us too?

 

[Bete]

Okay, now don't hate me but I finally got two Illumination cruises. I have my reasons for booking two cruises. Anyway, my dates are Dec. 17 and Dec. 18. I am more then willing to share for those nights on a first come, first serve basis.

You can reply by posting here or by doing a PM to me if you are interested in sharing with us. Make sure you give me a way to contact you back. We are two adults; so, I have plenty of extra spots.

We limit our boat to no more then 8 to 9 people including us in this count; so, we have room for 6 to 7 more people. We do not like stuffing the boat to it's maximum.

We've been gone for a week and I couldn't post sooner.

 

[princess crazy]

If anyone has a cruise booked for Dec 7-14 excluding the 9th the only night we could'nt go and has room I would love to hear from you! This would be a great relaxing surprise for my 76yr old parents who will be with us. We really have to take it kind of slow with them and this would be the perfect surprise for them and a very relaxing way to see Illuminations for the first time!

Please if anyone has room for 4 adults and one very quiet 6yr old girl we would be forever grateful!

 

[ead79]

I was fortunate enough to get an Illuminations cruise on the evening of December 20th, a Saturday night. I have several extra spots, and I'm more than willing to share them. There appears to be some confusion over how many people the boats will hold--I called and one person told me a max of 10 adults, another told me a max of 11 adults, and I thought it was a max of 12 adults. I'm going to try calling back later to see if I can talk to someone who knows for sure. Assuming the lowest number of people scenario, we have 8 spots open (we may have more, I'll let you know). I figure it would be about $150.00 total including tax and tip, which would be $15 per person. If anyone is interested, please PM me. If I find that the boat can hold extra people, the cost would go down a little bit.

***Update*** 2 seats left***

 

[goldilocks_63]

Would like to share with anyone having a reservation (Pay 1/2)

Staying at the BCV....

If anyone interested, please email me at:

goldilocks_63@yahoo.com

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Has anyone ever done the Magic Kingdom cruise when there are no scheduled fireworks? If so, can you explain what they do then?