January 14, 2012 Eastern Carribbean Cruise

[SullyMonster]

We booked our airfare too. I was soooooo disappointed with Southwest's schedule. The non-stop flights were all at bad times for us, and the prices were just so-so. We booked anyway because our son will drop us off at MHT on the way back to school (college in ME), and our middle son, who's a HS senior, will be picking us up. MHT was the only option because I didn't want to ask anyone to drive us to Logan in Boston (and we prefer MHT anyway).
We fly out of MHT at 11AM on Wednesday, transfer in Baltimore, and supposedly land at MCO around 4:00. I just checked the flight reliability and it says our connecting flight is often 90minutes late-I hope they get that ironed out before we fly. Coming home, our flight is at 1:25, with a stop and home landing at 5:20. (I guess we'll be enjoying MCO for a few hours)
All in all could have been better, but I suppose it could have been worse. At least it's done. Now I just have to hope for decent flying weather.
All I have left to book (besides cruise stuff) is trip insurance, which I will do today or tomorrow.

We're flying in on Friday the 13th They had 4 non-stops, so I took the middle one...... and then out Sat afternoon @ like 2PM, so we'll also have a wait @ MCO before heading home......I still can't believe SW is the only airline that flies non-stop from St Louie to Orlando........

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

We're flying in on Friday the 13th They had 4 non-stops, so I took the middle one...... and then out Sat afternoon @ like 2PM, so we'll also have a wait @ MCO before heading home......I still can't believe SW is the only airline that flies non-stop from St Louie to Orlando........

We were really hoping for non-stop on the way down. I know I'll stress about the weather because of our flight change in Baltimore. We almost missed our last DCL vacation because of an ice storm. All the flights that were connecting to any airport on the east coast were cancelled. Our direct flight was cancelled, then re-instated, then delayed while we waited for the crew to come back, then delayed because the computers went down, then delayed so they could de-ice the plane. After we took off, the flight attendant told us they had just shut down the airport. That was when we learned DCL insurance would not cover our flights/missed cruise because we hadn't booked flights through them...and all flights were booked solid because it was Feb vaca week. We would have missed the whole vacation. It was such as stressful few days leading up to the trip.
We are hoping for clear skies this time!! At least it's not a busy vacation week and we would hopefully have more of a chance to get rescheduled.

 

[shwarren70]

Hello,
I stumbled upon this discussion board while I was doing some research on DCL. We officially booked this cruise and EXTREMELY excited!

This is our girls first cruise and our first Disney cruise. My older daughter is turning 7 in Jan and we are celebrating her bday on the boat. My younger daughter is 5 and she said she can't wait to meet all the princesses.

Nice to meet all of you here.

Welcome aboard!! My daughter will be turning 9 on the 7th of January. We will celebrate her birthday on the cruise too!

 

[shwarren70]

We're flying in on Friday the 13th They had 4 non-stops, so I took the middle one...... and then out Sat afternoon @ like 2PM, so we'll also have a wait @ MCO before heading home......I still can't believe SW is the only airline that flies non-stop from St Louie to Orlando........

We only have 2 direct options... SW and Delta. Honestly not a fan of either, but like Delta better. Delta has better time options for us, and it was $50 cheaper per ticket. Got roundtrip for $220 each. That's about as good as I can get airfare. The closest price on SW was $270 each. We leave on the 13th at 5:00 p.m., so will have to get DD out of school around 2:30 to do the 1 1/2 airport drive. But, we get there at 7:00. Leave on the 21st around 1:30. There's an 11:30 option, but was concerned about that time.

 

[StarGazer99]

We're flying in on Friday the 13th They had 4 non-stops, so I took the middle one...... and then out Sat afternoon @ like 2PM, so we'll also have a wait @ MCO before heading home......I still can't believe SW is the only airline that flies non-stop from St Louie to Orlando........

That would have been cool if we were on the same plane but Important hoping we can head out on the 10th or 11th.

 

[Tolson70]

Havent booked our air yet either. My only real choice out of MSP is Delta. Right now tix are around $285 each. I travel a ton for work so I have enough points for three free seats. Just trying to decide whether to come in Thursday night or Friday AM. We are going to rent a car and go Kennedy Space Center Friday regardless and Downtown Disney for dinner. Staying at the Hampton Inn near the airport the day before the cruise.

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Havent booked our air yet either. My only real choice out of MSP is Delta. Right now tix are around $285 each. I travel a ton for work so I have enough points for three free seats. Just trying to decide whether to come in Thursday night or Friday AM. We are going to rent a car and go Kennedy Space Center Friday regardless and Downtown Disney for dinner. Staying at the Hampton Inn near the airport the day before the cruise.

I'd fly in Thursday night if possible. That way you'll have all day Friday to go to Kennedy and DTD. (I always err on the side of an extension to vacation)

 

[SullyMonster]

Anybody here get a Passporter Guide?

Was thinking about it but didn't know if it's worth it or not.

 

[JenGC]

Anybody here get a Passporter Guide?

Was thinking about it but didn't know if it's worth it or not.

I bought the passporter for both WDW and the cruise last year. I found it extremely helpful for referring to things I wanted to know quickly, but I found very few tips that I didnt already know from the boards. So basically it boils down to the fact that it was easier to go to the shelf and find the information that I needed than to either search this forum or open another thread about it. I do still use my WDW passporter now. These were both 2010 editions so you might use it for more than one year if you take into consideration that the information is a bit outdated.
Jen

 

[beckybowler]

My family has booked our very first cruise for the Magic Jan 14 2012!!!

So nervous and excited...

Should I be booking my airfare already???!! It is rountrip $822 for the 4 of us if we fly in on the 13th and fly home on the 23rd....

Thanks!

 

[SullyMonster]

My family has booked our very first cruise for the Magic Jan 14 2012!!!

So nervous and excited...

Should I be booking my airfare already???!! It is rountrip $822 for the 4 of us if we fly in on the 13th and fly home on the 23rd....

Thanks!

Welcome! It's our 1st cruise as well and I can't WAIT!

Book it! I got roundtrip for 4 for $900.

 

[shwarren70]

My family has booked our very first cruise for the Magic Jan 14 2012!!!

So nervous and excited...

Should I be booking my airfare already???!! It is rountrip $822 for the 4 of us if we fly in on the 13th and fly home on the 23rd....

Thanks!

Welcome aboard! You are going to have a blast! I'd say book your airfare... It's not going to get much cheaper than that. That's about the cheapest i've seen it.

 

[Tolson70]

I'd fly in Thursday night if possible. That way you'll have all day Friday to go to Kennedy and DTD. (I always err on the side of an extension to vacation)

Yep, I have gone on DCL 2 other times, and always come in a day early. I am thinking Thursday so we do have a full day since we would be off that day anyway if we had traveled in on Friday.

We like the Hampton near the airport, nice quiet hotel, has a shuttle if needed. Since I am using some Hertz points we won't need it but the location is great.

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

My family has booked our very first cruise for the Magic Jan 14 2012!!!

So nervous and excited...

Should I be booking my airfare already???!! It is rountrip $822 for the 4 of us if we fly in on the 13th and fly home on the 23rd....

Thanks!

Welcome!!
and yes, book it! (For 2 of us from Manchester, NH to MCO is costing $544.)

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Yep, I have gone on DCL 2 other times, and always come in a day early. I am thinking Thursday so we do have a full day since we would be off that day anyway if we had traveled in on Friday.

We like the Hampton near the airport, nice quiet hotel, has a shuttle if needed. Since I am using some Hertz points we won't need it but the location is great.

We usually arrive early too. Typically we fly in on a Wednesday and spend a few days doing something fun. Also, flying in on Wednesday gives us a good cushion in the event of snow.

 

[GoofTroop]

Hi all! Looks like we are 99% sure we're booking this cruise in a couple weeks. We booked for the New Year's cruise, however, this one is a little over $10,000 cheaper (there are 11 of us).

We will have three rooms:
Room 1 will be me, dh, DS11, and DS6
Room 2 will be my dad, DS17, and DD14
Room 3 will be my sister, BIL, nephew6, and niece2

Hoping Rooms 1&2 will be connecting.

Looks like main dining is already full, so we'll be second seating. I hope that works out ok for our kids! Ugh! But we'll deal with it.

I was going to wait till we're 100% booked, but dealing with too much anticipation, so I thought I'd post even thought we're only 99% sure....LOL Make sense?

Also, none of the kids know. I want to surprise them at Christmas, my husband just wants to drive up to the port and shock the heck out of 'em!

Elizabeth

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Hi all! Looks like we are 99% sure we're booking this cruise in a couple weeks. We booked for the New Year's cruise, however, this one is a little over $10,000 cheaper (there are 11 of us).

We will have three rooms:
Room 1 will be me, dh, DS11, and DS6
Room 2 will be my dad, DS17, and DD14
Room 3 will be my sister, BIL, nephew6, and niece2

Hoping Rooms 1&2 will be connecting.

Looks like main dining is already full, so we'll be second seating. I hope that works out ok for our kids! Ugh! But we'll deal with it.

I was going to wait till we're 100% booked, but dealing with too much anticipation, so I thought I'd post even thought we're only 99% sure....LOL Make sense?

Also, none of the kids know. I want to surprise them at Christmas, my husband just wants to drive up to the port and shock the heck out of 'em!

Elizabeth

Welcome!!

Our group is steadily growing

 

[dmarie5]

Welcome to the new families in the last few days!

I am so excited and can't wait. We booked our tickets today and I think it was a good deal. We are flying down on Delta and coming home on Jet Blue roundtrip per person is $228.

My TA has recommended Residence Inn Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach for $198 or Contry Inn Suites at $148. Does anyone know anything about these 2 hotels? I would accept any advice that you can give me.

THanks-
Diane

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Welcome to the new families in the last few days!

I am so excited and can't wait. We booked our tickets today and I think it was a good deal. We are flying down on Delta and coming home on Jet Blue roundtrip per person is $228.

My TA has recommended Residence Inn Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach for $198 or Contry Inn Suites at $148. Does anyone know anything about these 2 hotels? I would accept any advice that you can give me.

THanks-
Diane

We have stayed at Residence Inn and LOVED it. $198 seems really high. Check the site and see if anything is cheaper. We had booked there and got a rate of $154 (incl tax). We ended up cancelling it because we decided to do a mini WDW trip before the cruise and are staying at POFQ. Maybe it's higher because they are starting to fill up.
The R Inn is really nice though-extremely clean, well laid out, and the breakfast was wonderful. If we ever need a hotel in PC again we'll definitely stay there.

 

[StarGazer99]

We have stayed at Residence Inn and LOVED it. $198 seems really high. Check the site and see if anything is cheaper. We had booked there and got a rate of $154 (incl tax). We ended up cancelling it because we decided to do a mini WDW trip before the cruise and are staying at POFQ. Maybe it's higher because they are starting to fill up.
The R Inn is really nice though-extremely clean, well laid out, and the breakfast was wonderful. If we ever need a hotel in PC again we'll definitely stay there.

THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT DOING!!! I'm not sure if I can pull it off or not but we may be at POFQ with you You do know to wait to book... they should be offering free dining plan in the future.