It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[jedijill]

I'm so sorry that Graham's mother passed away. So sad. Let him know that I'm thinking of him.

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm sorry Graham's mom passed away

Thanks.

I'm glad you weren't in France this time.

So was I, although Nice is a long way from Disneyland Paris.

I'm so sorry that Graham's mother passed away. So sad. Let him know that I'm thinking of him.

Thanks. I will do.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

There was also the complication that Graham's mum passed away on July 4th and there was a good

I'm sorry to hear about this. Please give him my condolences.

So was I, although Nice is a long way from Disneyland Paris

This was a very strange thing about American news media. Stations kept saying, "Paris" and I was incredibly confused since I was pretty sure that Nice was in the South of France on the Riviera. Questioning my own geographical knowledge I finally mapped it, and sure enough, it's almost a nine hour drive from Paris to Nice. Practically the equivalent of driving from Anaheim to Eureka, CA.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm sorry to hear about this. Please give him my condolences.

Thanks. The funeral was on Friday and it was a really nice and moving ceremony.

This was a very strange thing about American news media. Stations kept saying, "Paris" and I was incredibly confused since I was pretty sure that Nice was in the South of France on the Riviera. Questioning my own geographical knowledge I finally mapped it, and sure enough, it's almost a nine hour drive from Paris to Nice. Practically the equivalent of driving from Anaheim to Eureka, CA.

The ignorance of the media will never cease to amaze me. It is not just the US media. The media over here is every bit as bad.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Graham's mum passed away on July 4th

Condolences. I'm just catching up and am so sorry to read this. Hope everything went well with the funeral.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Condolences. I'm just catching up and am so sorry to read this. Hope everything went well with the funeral.

Thanks. Everything went smoothly and we had a very beautiful ceremony for the funeral.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I really need to do a bumper update on here as finally things have fallen in place for my birthday trip. I was hoping to post an update yesterday, but ran out of time and the pain with being on late shifts is that when I would have time to play on the DIS before work, it is down for an hour plus. So this will have to wait for another day.

I did however want to post a very quick update about the next trip. They have finally released the medals for the Inaugural Half Marathon Weekend at Disneyland Paris. I like all of them, but the 5K one is my favourite, which is just as well as this is the race I am going to do.



I have most of my outfits sorted for this trip. When I get some more time, I will take photos and post them here.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

That medal is cute and definitely worth running for!'



Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

That medal is cute and definitely worth running for!'



Jill in CO

I was so happy when I saw this. The other medals are nice, too, but this is my favourite.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

That medal is fantastic! They certainly do things nicely at Run Disney events.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am very sorry to hear about Grahams dear Mother. Thinking of you both.

That medal is lovely. You sure want something nice at the end of that run and Disney nailed it!

 

[dolphingirl47]

That medal is fantastic! They certainly do things nicely at Run Disney events.

I can't wait to finally experience a Run Disney event for myself. I was a spectator in 2009 when Graham did the 10K at the last ever Race for the Taste and even that was pretty neat.

I am very sorry to hear about Grahams dear Mother. Thinking of you both.

Thanks.

That medal is lovely. You sure want something nice at the end of that run and Disney nailed it!

It definitely makes me more determined to cross that finish line.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Things finally seem to settle down a little in my life and I only seem to work a maximum of 6 days in row at the moment rather than 7 or 8 days so it is time to update this pre-trip report as a lot has happened since the last proper update.

I am not sure when holiday planning became so stressful. When we booked the Transpacific cruise for next year, we had to give up on the idea of doing the Far East tour this year. Instead I was eyeing two Transatlantic cruises out of Southampton. Based on the itinerary, I would have preferred the October cruise, but the prices for that were higher to start off with and turned out to be very volatile. So I resigned myself to the fact that we would go with the cold weather version in November. The October Transatlantic calls at various Caribbean islands, but the November cruise stops a Boston, overnight in New York, Port Canaveral and then ends in Miami.

The November cruise does have a number of advantages. I get to cruise over my birthday. The cruise is on one of the sister ships of the ship that we will be on for the Transpacific but most importantly the prices were lower and were holding steady - until about 10 days ago. Suddenly the cheapest prize almost doubled. I was getting ready to give up on this. Then there was a huge prize drop for ocean view and balcony cabins. The ocean view cabins were suddenly only £20 per person more expensive than the original cost of the inside cabin. So we decided to jump in. The problem was that at the time we were in Southampton for my mother in law's funeral and I did not really want to send credit card details through an unsecured WiFi connection. So I decided this could wait until last Sunday.

Sunday the Royal Caribbean website was down for a long time. By the time it was up and running again, the cheap ocean view cabins were gone and the price had doubled again. At this stage we started to discuss plan B, which was a trip to California. I have to admit that I miss my friends in California and I am not too keen on the idea that I won’t see them again until October 2017. However, I was still disappointed that I would not get to cruise.

On Monday morning I got an alert that the interior guarantee rate was back and I decided to book this. I kind of had my heart set on an ocean view at that stage, but ultimately all I wanted was to be on the ship. Twice during the day I tried to book this and both times the availability changed before I could make the deposit. I started to get quite irritated.

On Tuesday morning I decided to quickly check availability as soon as I got up. The ocean view guarantee was back and at the same price. I booked this and made the deposit. I got the booking reference and was able to add this to my profile. However, rather than showing as booked, it showed up as on hold. The balance was showing up correctly taking into account the deposit paid. On my way to work, I spotted that they had already assigned us a cabin, but I still had no confirmation email and the status still showed as on hold. So I had no idea if we are going or not. Adding to this that I had a pretty stressful day anyway that day and I really did not need this. Anyway, all is well that ends well. When I had my first break at work, I checked my emails and received a confirmation email. The website also was updated shortly afterwards.

I am pretty happy with what I have ended up with. It will be nice to spend my birthday on a ship. I also like the location of the cabin we have been assigned. We are on deck 2 all the way forward right by the theatre. Although I do prefer being a little higher as a rule, I love being forward. I also knew before I booked this that most likely we would end up on deck 2 or 3 as this is where the bulk of the ocean view cabins are. The layout of the ocean view cabins is a little strange though as the window is right behind the bed.



We will see how this develops. I have the feeling that the balcony cabins could come down in price and if they come down to the price we are paying, then I will try to upgrade. I see no way that we would use a balcony on this cruise, but I like the layout of the balcony cabins better and they are on higher decks. However, if we end up staying in the cabin we currently have been assigned, I will be happy, too.

I have gone out of my comfort zone as far as our dining arrangements are concerned. On most of their ships including the one we will be on for this cruise, Royal Caribbean has two options: assigned seating with early or late seating or My Time Dining. I have to say I prefer the assigned seating where you have the same table mates and serving team throughout the cruise, but Graham is starting to find assigned seating too restrictive. So we are trying My Time Dining this time. If this works out for us, then I will change to My Time Dining for our April cruise as well. We had to have this arrangement on our back to back cruise on NCL in 2009 and we hated it as the lines for the complimentary venues were huge every night. There was no facility to make reservations unless you were in a suite. With Royal Caribbean, it is different. You can make reservations from about 90 days before the cruise. We also have the option to eat at the buffet. So this should be OK. We ate at the buffet a couple of evenings on the Ovation and really enjoyed it so we may do this a few times anyway. For my birthday I quite would like eating in a one of their speciality restaurants for this. The question is if I want to have Mexican, Italian food or steak. They also do a murder mystery dinner at either Chops Grill (the steakhouse) or Giovanni’s Table (the Italian restaurant) and I am seriously tempted by this.

We have not really cast our mind on what to do in each port. Stopping at Port Canaveral will be weird. In Boston we will most likely do a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean. As this is our first port of entry to the USA, we have to clear immigration there. I have read a few reports that this is an absolute nightmare, especially for non-US citizens and can take hours. However, I also know that people who have booked shore excursions through Royal Caribbean get priority. So this is worth a little extra money.

We arrive in Miami on the day before Thanksgiving and I had booked 3 nights at Vero Beach a while ago. I am hoping that I can convince Graham to take a little detour to visit the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall on the way. I have no clear idea what Vero Beach is like, but I will do some research on this in due course. On the Saturday we will then head up to Orlando. I ended up booking 5 nights at Saratoga Springs. I was really hoping for Jambo House, but the waitlist showed no sign of coming through and we ended up needing an extra 2 nights so the one bedroom was not an option. We have never stayed at Saratoga Springs before. I cannot justify park tickets this time with the Pound being so weak against the Dollar, but I am intending to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at least once and possibly twice and we will also have a closer look at Disney Springs. We then will fly back home on the 1st December.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Your plans sound great! What a nightmare trying to book the cruise. Could you not contact them by phone? I recall when we booked our Royal Caribbean cruise we called and booked it and they were very helpful.

The November transatlantic sounds great. If you do get the chance to upgrade I would jump at it. We had the port hole window behind the bed and I really did not care for it at all. You might be different we all are but I would never opt for that again.

Vero Beach is absolutely delightful Corianna. Jo and I had the pleasure of going we thought it was a great resort. I would not stay there longer than 3 nights myself but that duration is just perfect.

SSR is one of our home resorts and we love that also. So nice to be close to Disney Springs and we enjoy the pools there.

Again sorry to hear about Graham's Mum. I hope you are both doing ok.

 

[Flossbolna]

Your plans sound great! We were really surprised by how much we enjoyed Saratoga Springs and I think it will be lovely for a non-park stay.

Vero Beach is quite wonderful as well. We only had that one night there, but I did fall in love with it. Currently they are redoing all the restaurants there, but by November that should be done with. And the newly refurbished rooms look wonderful!

 

[jedijill]

Your plans sound awesome. Vero Beach is on my future trip list. I really want to see the baby turtles during hatching season.

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a nightmare trying to book the cruise. Could you not contact them by phone?

I have to admit this did not really occur to me. When I tried to book on the Sunday and the website was down, I was at work so could not have rang and on the Monday, I did not really think about this option. I also have to admit that the two occasions I had to call them before the last cruise, this experience was less than magical. Maybe there are bit brighter and more proactive when it comes to selling a cruise.

We had the port hole window behind the bed and I really did not care for it at all. You might be different we all are but I would never opt for that again.

I am not too keen on that layout either. This is a really strange way of doing things. However, the way I see it is that this is a sneaky bonus trip and originally we were supposed to be in an inside cabin. Natural light trumps artificial light any day of the week even if it is behind the bed. We don't tend to spend much time in our cabin anyway so that should be fine.

Vero Beach is absolutely delightful Corianna. Jo and I had the pleasure of going we thought it was a great resort. I would not stay there longer than 3 nights myself but that duration is just perfect.

I will have to pick your brain nearer the time. I no absolutely nothing about this resort, but it sounded good for Thanksgiving as Walt Disney World will be very busy and it is on the way. I also still hope to stay at each DVC resort at least once. After this trip, we will have Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge and Hilton Head to go. Of course they will probably throw another resort or two at us before we have done those.

SSR is one of our home resorts and we love that also. So nice to be close to Disney Springs and we enjoy the pools there.

We have had a meal there once and did visit it when we were there during the holiday season as well. Other than that I am not very familiar with the resort. I loved the look of the pools. Having Disney Springs so close is a bonus and I may even treat myself to a spa treatment. I love the look of the hot tile loungers they have in the spa.

Again sorry to hear about Graham's Mum. I hope you are both doing ok.

Thanks. We are fine.

Your plans sound great!

Thanks.

We were really surprised by how much we enjoyed Saratoga Springs and I think it will be lovely for a non-park stay.

I had visions of being able to watch animals from my balcony, but this was not meant to be. I am sure we will enjoy Saratoga Springs.

Vero Beach is quite wonderful as well. We only had that one night there, but I did fall in love with it.

I will have to pick your brains as well nearer the time.

Currently they are redoing all the restaurants there, but by November that should be done with.

That is good to hear. I know they are not offering any character meals at the moment due to the refurbishment. Hopefully they will be up and running again by November.

And the newly refurbished rooms look wonderful!

I will have to check them out.

Your plans sound awesome.

Thanks.

Vero Beach is on my future trip list. I really want to see the baby turtles during hatching season.

Unfortunately we will be too late for this.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

It sounds lime booking was a pain, but I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

We really liked staying at SSR as well. For really easy access, you might consider requesting Congress Park. We were really close to Disney Springs and that made it super easy to check out the various resorts. We would just hop on over to the Marketplace and we could catch a bus to any resort. Plus there's a lot of new restaurants there and we enjoyed trying them.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It sounds lime booking was a pain, but I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

It was, but I suppose all is well that ends well.

For really easy access, you might consider requesting Congress Park. We were really close to Disney Springs and that made it super easy to check out the various resorts.

Thanks for the tip. That sounds ideal.

plus there's a lot of new restaurants there and we enjoyed trying them.

That was a big draw in the end.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Goodness gracious, what stress to book the cruise! I'm glad you managed to get it, and to celebrate your birthday while cruising will be lovely!

We fell in love with Vero Beach. It is very quiet and relaxing. We could stay for weeks, but we are beach people.