March 25, 2006- Anyone else?

[gimpeaux]

We are glad to say we'll be joining you good people for the March 25 Western Caribbean cruise! It's me, the DW, and our DD (a sixth grader who will be 12 years old then). We are incredibly excited. DD has never cruised, and it will have been more than 13 years since DW and I last did so. We're all big Disney fans - countless times at Disneyland (esp. since DW grew up in LA) as well as Disney World. We thought we'd booked early by reserving in July, but having seen how soon you guys all booked and noticing that the ship was mostly full, I guess it was late. We have an outside stateroom in the bow of deck 5 (great for DD with the lab right there). We have late seating for dinner, which we thought might be a problem, but from what we've read on here, sounds as though it will work out well. It's great to see we'll be sharing the ship with such great people (and at least one fellow Chicago-area family).

 

[skibum]

This ship seems to be primarily filled with midwesterners based on this thread.
Looking forward to a great trip!

 

[mickeyworld]

Welcome aboard gimpeaux! I am travellin with DD 11 and friend 12 who are vetern sailors so let' s try to hook they up when we get closer!

Havew had the fabulous offer to stay at a condo several days before the cruise soI am taking the kids out of school, early and driving so I can afford the tickets to the world. A few days of land based Magic before the real Magic begins!

Talked to Disneycruise.com last night, we can start making reservations as of midnight on CHristmas on line- a final thing to do as we finish the tree- a spa present for ME! If you haven't visited that site and checked your reservation, you should- fun just to see it show up on the screen! Ah, the simple pleasures1
Have a great weekend and magical thoughts!
Judy

 

[myboysmom]

Hi everyone!

Package from DCL? We haven't gotten anything from them yet. Of course, we haven't paid in full just yet- maybe you all have. Guess I will talk with hubby about paying the cruise off so we can start getting some of those mailings. I am hoping the piers and ports get back into shape by the end of March. So looking forward to those ports.

Welcome gimpeaux, we also have a 6th grader (12 as well). As you can see by my screen name however- a boy

We are still driving. We can drive all four of us for the price of one ticket from Madison, Milwaukee or Chicago. We are planning on driving part of the way down the long state of the Illini on Thursday, giving us all day on Friday to get pretty far with the remainder of the trip done on Saturday morning. The drive back we will do in just two days (Saturday and Sunday).

We are early seating, but I requested with my TA to try and get us at the 6:30 time. I think that would be just about right.

Have a great Friday!


Go Badgers Beat Penn State!

 

[geffric]

We have an outside stateroom in the bow of deck 5...... We have late seating for dinner.

Us too... We are in 5020 and late dinner.. and I have the teen boys... DS#1 turning 15 on the cruise and DS#2 12 in 7th grade.. are you in Chi area too? There are several of us on the cruise...LOL it is spring break..

 

[geffric]

Hi everyone!

Package from DCL? We haven't gotten anything from them yet. Of course, we haven't paid in full just yet- maybe you all have. Guess I will talk with hubby about paying the cruise off so we can start getting some of those mailings. I am hoping the piers and ports get back into shape by the end of March. So looking forward to those ports.
Go Badgers Beat Penn State!

We aren't paid in full. The letter is a reminder of all of the dates especially the final payment date... The package came direct from DCL.. maybe check with your TA about it..

 

[myboysmom]

Thanks, I will send her a note.

 

[gimpeaux]

We haven't yet received any package, but I think our TA said it wouldn't arrive until January.

I'm envious of those of you who can sign up earlier for excursions -- as first-time Disney cruisers, it looks to me as though we have to wait until 75 days before the cruise leaves to do so. Which is January 9, by my count, the day the balance of our payment (gulp) is due.

DW and I were in Key West back in '96 (sans DD, then just 2), but with DD along I think just wandering, maybe with the aid of the trolley, sounds about right.

We're flying into Orlando that Friday, got decent airfare last July and free hotel thanks to Hilton Honors program, but will seem odd to be in Orlando without seeing WDW. Then taking either Disney van or a private car from the Orlando airport to Port Canaveral that Saturday morning -- looks as though with 3 people the cost is about the same either way ($59 p.p. on Disney, though DW thinks she read or heard somewhere kids go at a lower rate). If any of you kind people know anything about this, I welcome your thoughts. And I'm sure the answers, as always, are somewhere on the boards.

 

[gimpeaux]

Us too... We are in 5020 and late dinner.. and I have the teen boys... DS#1 turning 15 on the cruise and DS#2 12 in 7th grade.. are you in Chi area too? There are several of us on the cruise...LOL it is spring break..

Yes, we are in Chi area too - up north in Highland Park. Spring break here that week as well. We'll be in 5002 in 138 days - pretty wild that Chicagoland folks will be so close. Cool that they added a new tween area when the Magic was in drydock recently. Although I may want to go myself and try out the docking simulator there...

 

[skibum]

Gimpeaux -

Have you considered renting a car? Far and away the least expensive way to get to the port. Rent it at the airport for a one day rental, drop everybody off at the port, return the car a few miles away (no drop charge), and take a free shuttle back to the ship. We have had good luck with Budget doing this. If we can find a decent airfare, we will be doing this, otherwise we will be driving.

 

[gimpeaux]

Have you considered renting a car? Far and away the least expensive way to get to the port. Rent it at the airport for a one day rental, drop everybody off at the port, return the car a few miles away (no drop charge), and take a free shuttle back to the ship. We have had good luck with Budget doing this. If we can find a decent airfare, we will be doing this, otherwise we will be driving.

skibum - great idea! Thanks! I just assumed there would be a drop charge. What time would you suggest leaving Budget in Orlando to get to the port with plenty of time to drop DW and DD, return the car, and then take a shuttle back to the port to meet up with them? Also, do you do the same thing upon return (take shuttle from port to Budget, rent, return to port to pick up family, drive to Orlando, and drop off the car)? Our flight on the Saturday we return (April 1) is at 1:55 p.m. Thanks again.

 

[skibum]

Due to the new boarding procedure mentioned upon these boards, I don't know what time (if any) is best to get to the port. Seems to me that DCL busses leave MCO between noon and 1:00, so anything you do will probably beat them.
It is about a one hour drive, add on a half-hour (extremely conservative) for dropping off, and determine your own schedule.
Upon return, Budget has a shuttle to bring you back to their office. In September, we had early seating for breakfast, were first in line for the shuttle, got our car and arrived at the airport by 9:30. We were able to go standby on an earlier flight through Charlotte (nonstop to ORD was pretty full), and got home earlier than expected.
These boards are great, but also check out the book Passporter Guide to DCL. You can purchase it, or many libraries have it. Lots of valuable info, plus you can bring it with.

 

[geffric]

We rented a car for this cruise too. I just reserved for $38 for the drive from the airport to the ship. Not too bad and the return is the same.

 

[mickeyworld]

Is there aything better than planning your trip? We spent the weekend deciding our dining rotation preferences. Once we decidedthat, I called DCL and within seconds, she cheerfully put in our request. Now we are ready for CHristmas eve to book Palo. I LOVE THE DISNEY FEELING!!!!!
We've decided to drive and park at theport. We like to get there as soon as the doors open and start the feeling- usually we are one of the first on the ship..... moms run tothe rooms and sprinkle a bit of surprise magic around the room while the kids and dad head to Topsiders and the pool.
Yipppeeee!

 

[myboysmom]

Yes, I too am getting excited. Perhaps the main reason is we finally will get to tell the kids! This has been a tough secret to keep

I hope the new boarding proceedures won't be too big of a deal as we are driving to the port as well.

 

[geffric]

good idea mickeyworld , I think I will email DU and request the dining time too. I had thought it was too early but.. why not.. I am looking for the 8 pm dining, I wonder if that will be very popular?

myboysmom

I am so glad we aren't driving from Chi.. we would have just arrived at the ship late and beat from driving all night.. So driving from Jacksonville won't be bad, in comparison.

 

[myboysmom]

geffric I would be right there with you if we were going to try and pull an all nighter! I am tooo old for that . By breaking it up over almost three days we shouldn't be as tired.

 

[geffric]

. By breaking it up over almost three days we shouldn't be as tired.

Yep! For normal vacation we drive to WDW and it isn't bad. We leave on one day and drive that whole day with a fun stop for a few hours plus food stops. Stay at a hotel along the way, ususally after Macon GA. Then arrive about 2 or 3 pm the next day..

 

[mickeyworld]

Am I missing something about boarding? Guess I missed that thread! Let me know what has changed, please! We are driving from WIlmington, North Carolina so it isn't that bad... trying to dave money for the boat!

 

[geffric]

this is from Sue Ellen:


Just back from the Magic and can tell you that you get your boarding number when you arrive on the upper floor of the terminal. They hand out one boarding number per family/group and I was told there are about 25 numbers per group. We arrived at about 10:45 a.m. and got a number 5, and we were on the ship very quickly once they opened boarding. I believe they started boarding around 11:45 a.m. or so.

I really prefer the new number system because you do not have a line wrapping around the terminal and you can actually sit down and enjoy your time in the terminal (with the characters, have a snack, etc.) We even saw a couple of Manatees in the water next to the ship over by the luggage loading (that was cool.)

The only difference in boarding the ship is that you no longer have to wait in line forever, and instead can board a bit more leisurely.

Sue Ellen