Looking for Nov 9th ~ 7 Day Western Magic Cruisers!

[Bob Noble]

Hello to All...
Thanks for the answers to the questions that botherd me so .
I'll be sure to add the shoe rack to the list of things to buy and pack.

As this is our first family cruise I think we would hold off on the Palo brunch until Thursday so we don't ditch the kids the first day. It's OK if they ditch us. Wednesday is the late night in port and I think it could easily be a liquid dinner at Carlos and Charlies holding off until a Mexican feast on board later that night. So that makes Tuesday look good as we leave relatively early from GC.

Shercara, to say I am a bit confused on the meal rotation is an understatement. I think I get the rotation assignment thing which depends somewhat on the ages of your group, but have seen conflicting info on what menu nights are when. So if you can provide any clarity on this I'd greatly appreciate it.

Patty, If you haven't been following the Western cruise trip report by Ryan ( it is a hoot) he gives a thumbs up on getting off the ship with the first tenders as long as you are there early. So we are counting on that for our full day with the fish and Capt'n Marvin.

Thanks again for the help,
Bob

 

[peagreenid]

Sher- Do they offer Palo's on Sunday? I didn't think they would since it isn't technically an at sea day? I could go for Sunday though-
Stuff my face and then drink all night. DH says the pub crawl sounds good!
By the way Bob- DH lived for the ESPN mug. $10 I think and the beer refills were @ $3 each. Not bad for a 20 ounce mug.

too much food and drink to think about. Ah... my kids will get over it.

I don't know if you should be so worried about your kids on Sunday Bob! It is amazing how quickly they ditch you. And it is even more amazing that they never get lost.

I know we can hardly wait
smiles Patty

 

[peagreenid]

Since this is your first time... Did you get the 1st time $50 credit applied to your stateroom in the form of a stateroom credit? You will need to call your Travel Agent and tell them that a past cruiser gave you a referral card.... code REF..
Thats all there is to it.....except sometimes you get unknowledgeable cm's that don't know about it...and you have to call back.
smiles patty

 

[Bob Noble]

Does this work with AAA ? we are getting the free soda mug deal through them as well as 10% off rentals on Castaway Cay and certain purchases in the on board gift shop. I am also a Dis Club card member and I think there may be a credit there as well. Most times though it is a one or the other deal.
Thanks

 

[Shercara]

Patty – Yes I do believe that Brunch is offered on Sun morning – I’ll try to do a search to confirm when I get a chance. The dessert pizza is unbelievable!

Bob – I’ll try to e-mail you my excel spread sheet with the 3 possible dinning rotations, and my notes for what is going on each day. The rotations are assigned – but you can put a request on your reservation – as long as you understand that there are no guarantees. We did request PLA for our Eastern Cruise – and were lucky enough to get it. I used the sheet to plan out all possibilities, and also had it handy while standing in line to board, this way I was prepared to do the “ressie rush” to Palo’s to book Brunch and Dinner, and the Spa to book the Surial Bath, since I pre-planned the “what if’s” before hand. (Talk about a compulsive planner!) Also – if you would e-mail or PM me with your son’s e-mail address – if it is not AOL – I’ll have to add it to my DS’s “accept e-mail from” list.

Linda – I agree with the great restaurants in NJ – but I’d still like to have dinner one night at Palo’s – the atmosphere and view are amazing – although dinner there is not a MUST do like Brunch!

Have a great day all!

 

[peagreenid]

16 of us did brunch together at Palo's in my last group. We had the little room in the back. We had the most awesome server (salvatore') who brought EVERY pizza imaginable to our table. No one ever ordered one... so we were stuffed to the gills.

I think that Palo's is only as good as your service. We went for Dinner...in celebration of our anniversary...which I politely reminded them of when I made our reservations. And again the day of our reservation. We also requested Salvatore' for our waiter since he was so awesome. Well someone really dropped the ball, we didn't get Salvatore' which I can understand can happen, but they also did nothing at all for our anniversary. I was really upset, as I guess I was counting on the service I had heard about and had seen during our brunch. Our waittress never even offered a suggestion as to what to order, brought nothing extra to try and well was pretty much non-existent except to bring the entree's. I was not impressed to say the least. I gave Salvatore' $20 extra for our wonderful brunch service.... I paid nothing more than the $5 each for the dinner.
My husband didn't really understand why we had even come there for dinner that night and didn't spend it with our friends we ate with nightly at our normal rotation. I'm not sure if we will book dinner there again. We may just try for the Brunch and I'd like to get High Tea if i is still offered.
By the way......Santa Clause 2 is being released on 11/1/02. Maybe we'll have the opportunity to see it on board.
Shercara-
If you want to set your sons email up to accept emails from mutt and jeff I'll tell jeff to try and send it again. They are hit and miss on the instant messenger.
well i'm off to bed late......ugh! Only 2 more weeks of nights...... Woohoo!

smiles patty

 

[ChiTwnFam]

We will be on the 11/9/02 Westrn Cruise with dd-6 & dd-4! Can't wait but still a little unsure of what to do at the different ports with 6 & 4 year old girls!

 

[Shercara]

Welcome aboard ChiTwmFam! Sorry but I can't help you with te girl thing -- my DS's are 13 & 8 -- I'm sure you'll find lots of info on the boards though.

Patty, My search revealed that brunch is offered on Sun/Mon/Thurs 10:30 - 12:30.

I have that dining schedule available in Excel if anyone would like me to e-mail it to them just give me your address and I will.

Hope you all had a good weekend,
Sher

 

[dis4me]

wow you guys have been busy while I was away LOL

ChiTwnFam -Welcome I have 2dds ages 6 and 7. Not sure what we are doing for the ports yet as we also have a ds infant.This is our 3rd cruise and on the last ones we went snorkeling which the girls enjoyed.Do your girls like the ocean?

 

[peagreenid]

I actually scanned the Cruise Critic board last night and saw that you posted over there for fellow cruisers. But, you'd already found your way here. This is much more FRIENDLY!!!

Well I think that we are on for Brunch for Sunday morning. (although Pigging out at palo's and walking all over Key West doesn't sound appealing right now )
Anyone care to join us. If we can get a group together we can try for the little room again. It was WONDERFUL there and since it doesn't take away from the rest of the restaurant, it is pretty easy to get reservations unless they have another group booked. In which case I will be running to Palo's for Brunch Ressies.

Let me know if you are interested. It was a lot of fun meeting everyone there and dining together....childless.........

and Sher- I'm PMing you with my email address, I'd like your spread sheet.
smiles Patty

 

[peagreenid]

bump-bump-bump

 

[Bob Noble]

Shercara,
Thanks for the spreadsheet on the dining rotation. On sheet two you noted that the LAPLAPL seemed like a calmer environment. Was this an early or late seating?
Bob

 

[Bob Noble]

Hey check out the 8/3 western Navigators on ealrier thread. Seating times are 5:30 and 7:45 PM. Glad We are on the late seating. 5:30 seems way too early. I realize these are trial and may switch back but you never know.

 

[peagreenid]

Last year...and we loved it because Lumiere's fell on Formal night
which is nice when you don't want to have to wear the suggested jacket to Lumiere's plus dress up.... I hope we get APLAPLA this time.... just for the same reason.

Bob- The earlier times you read on those navigators is an experiment that Disney is trying. It is supposed to end by the end of September, Unless they decide to keep it.
We love the late dining times. Especially since mutt and jeff don't roll out of bed until late every morning. They were talking the other day that they only made breakfast 1 time the entire trip.

smiles Patty

 

[DuncanLL]

Well, we made our final payment this morning. We wanted to make sure all that was taken care of so we can start to focus on what to do in port. I talked to someone at the DCL Excursion Reservation # to confirm that we can pre-book on Sept. 10th. Still thinking we'll take the kids on the Conch Train on our own and then look around Key West. We're trying to figure out which DCL Stingray City excursion to do in Grand Cayman. In Cozumel, we'll try to book the Dolphin Encounter, but also have our names on a waiting list for the Dolphin Swim directly with Dolphin Discovery. We're hoping for the swim. Our DD* loves dolphins and would be a big surprise.

If any of your kids want to "meet" our DD8 and DS6, just PM me and we'll exchange email info.

Linda

 

[peagreenid]

Made my final payment this evening too..........WOOHOO!

smiles Patty

 

[peagreenid]

Excursion information from DCL yet? I haven't heard anything.

Just curious

smiles Patty

 

[DuncanLL]

Patty,

We booked through Dreams Unlimited. They emailed the excursion info after we made final payment.

Linda

 

[peagreenid]

From my understanding DCL was supposed to be sending out hard copies of excursion information. It sounds like Dreams handles it a little differently.

Smiles Patty

 

[peagreenid]

Before SEPT 11th so I can read thru everything and decide.

Not sure which night we will be doing Palo's. I will be celebrating my birthday on the Cruise and although I would like to
spend that night at Palo's, I don't think my kids would appreciate it much.
smiles Patty