May 13.2006 Eastern

[jodifla]

Hey there...just got a rate of $126 RT from Detroit to Orlando on Spirit Airlines for the cruise!

 

[bxirishrn]

Hi Everyone,

We just booked this afternoon!! It'll be me, DH, and DD (7 yo). The travel agent is looking for a cat 9, or if it's full she'll start looking at cat 8's.

It'll be 119 days tomorrow!! We are going to try to fly in the day before and head to the space coast and check into a hotel. I know the Radisson on the coast has a shuttle service that goes to the port. I know DH would like to go to the Space Center DH wants to keep it a secret from DD, but I can't wait to tell her!!!

 

[DrCavin]

Welcome bxirishrn, In no time we will be packing & invading Orlando.

 

[SQUIGGLE]

DeeCeeSW - sorry you won't be joining us. Hopefully you will get to go soon.

huey duey & luey - can't help you with the car rental - we drive up to the Port; but just booked Best Western Oceanfront in Coco Beach for $94.50 + tax about 1/2 hour ago. Have stayed at the Radisson and it is very nice; but this is a bit cheaper; and only about 5 minutes farther from the terminal.

little bunny - IMHO insurance is a must. you never know what can happen;and this is a big investment to lose. There was an article in our paper not too long ago where some folks had to cancel a cruise (not DCL) at the last minute and could not get a refund. They were upset; but guy at the paper agreed that is what insurance is for. As noted you don't have to buy from DCL you can get it from anyone.

Oh! welcome to our group bxirishrn.

Everyone have a great weekend!
fran

 

[DrCavin]

Hey there...just got a rate of $126 RT from Detroit to Orlando on Spirit Airlines for the cruise!

Must be flying weekdays or did you find a special for a weekend flight? I am still debating if we should fly or drive. Drive is about 15 hours, which isnt terrible but not nearly as short as a 2 hour flight...

Plan A is arrive Thursday & stay all All Star Movies Thursday/Friday. Go to MK on Friday & drive to port on Saturday morning...

 

[ragdoll]

Fifteen hour drive?!?!? Dr. Cavin, how fast do you drive? LOL

 

[jodifla]

Must be flying weekdays or did you find a special for a weekend flight? I am still debating if we should fly or drive. Drive is about 15 hours, which isnt terrible but not nearly as short as a 2 hour flight...

Plan A is arrive Thursday & stay all All Star Movies Thursday/Friday. Go to MK on Friday & drive to port on Saturday morning...

leaving Friday the 12th and coming back Monday the 22nd...they were having a big sale, apparently.

 

[bxirishrn]

Squiggle, does The Best Western you booked have a shuttle to the port?
Does anyone know how far away the Radisson is from the port?
Do alot of people stay at the Radisson, and are the shuttles hard to book?

Thanks
Kathleen

 

[DrCavin]

Squiggle, does The Best Western you booked have a shuttle to the port?
Does anyone know how far away the Radisson is from the port?
Do alot of people stay at the Radisson, and are the shuttles hard to book?

Thanks
Kathleen

Radisson is 2.6 miles from the port. Many people stay at the Radisson, generally biggest reason is the free parking/shuttle. Many other hotels are cheaper than the Radisson, check out www.dcltribute.com for some hotel options.

 

[DrCavin]

Fifteen hour drive?!?!? Dr. Cavin, how fast do you drive? LOL

Mapquest says 15 hrs 7 min, 978 miles. That comes out to 65 mph average, which is pretty aggresive..

 

[ragdoll]

Dr. Cavin, have you driven down before? When we drove to WDW 30 yrs. ago it took us longer than that to get to Atlanta. I vowed to never drive that far again. It was awful. I can't even imagine what it would be like to sit in a car for that long drive with bones that are 30 yrs. older. I would be worse than a kid yelling "are we there yet". If I remember correctly, I do think that the speed limit at that time was 55 mph but 15 hours still seems way off to me.

 

[DrCavin]

Dr. Cavin, have you driven down before? When we drove to WDW 30 yrs. ago it took us longer than that to get to Atlanta. I vowed to never drive that far again. It was awful. I can't even imagine what it would be like to sit in a car for that long drive with bones that are 30 yrs. older. I would be worse than a kid yelling "are we there yet". If I remember correctly, I do think that the speed limit at that time was 55 mph but 15 hours still seems way off to me.

I have never done the drive. My neighbor has done it a few times & he says he plans on 16 considering traffic & kid stops We have pretty much given up the driving option. Will probably be flying out of Pittsburgh on Southwest for $177 pp. Cheapest I can find out of Cleveland or Canton/Akron is $275ish

 

[littlebunny]

We did it! The cruise is paid off, the rental car is booked through Budget, the plane tickets are purchased through Southwest 197/pp, the insurance is bought through travelex, the Radisson is booked for two nights(one before and one after), I'm pretty much set I think!

My TA said we can make reservations for Palo and stuff online at Disney starting February 27. Does that date seem right to everyone? Just want to make sure. Also it opens at like Midnight right? Still haven't decided on Excursions, so I guess that's next. I'm getting so excited!

 

[DrCavin]

We did it! The cruise is paid off, the rental car is booked through Budget, the plane tickets are purchased through Southwest 197/pp, the insurance is bought through travelex, the Radisson is booked for two nights(one before and one after), I'm pretty much set I think!

My TA said we can make reservations for Palo and stuff online at Disney starting February 27. Does that date seem right to everyone? Just want to make sure. Also it opens at like Midnight right? Still haven't decided on Excursions, so I guess that's next. I'm getting so excited!

You are alot farther along than we are... we just started this painful process...

You can make reservations at the following intervals:

* Concierge Guests may book 105 days prior to their cruise departure date
1/28/06 IF you use May 13, 2006 as day of departure
* Castaway Club Members may book 90 days prior to departure
2/12/06
* All other Guests may book 75 days prior to departure.
2/27/06
I thought it was like at 3:00 am, but you may want to do a search or post to be certain.

 

[DrCavin]

Flight is booked - Flying out of Pittsburgh via Southwest on Friday the 12th, returning Monday May 22 $173 pp Could not find anything cheaper out of CAK/CLE, cheapest was ~$265 pp

Considered driving to Detroit & flyout on Spirit Air, but waited too long & the sale ended Pittsburgh is only about a 1 1/2 hr drive from here vs 3 hours to Detroit.

Rental car is booked to/from through Budget. $55 from MCO to Port. Then we will have an SUV for 2 days when we return for $110.

Staying at Motel 6 $74 for the night, not the greatest hotel but does have good reviews from www.dcltribute.com

Have not made our reservations at All-Star Movies yet, waiting for TA to get back to me. We will be going to MK on Sunday, first time for everyone except me & that was 25 years ago..

Next is the big payoff, uggghhh...

 

[ragdoll]

Don't know what got into me, but I decided to upgrade to a Cat. 9 gty. from a Cat. 11. While I was at it I went ahead and made the final payment. Since we booked Disney air we are all set. All I need to do is throw things in a suitcase and we are on our way. Can't wait!

 

[DrCavin]

Don't know what got into me, but I decided to upgrade to a Cat. 9 gty. from a Cat. 11. While I was at it I went ahead and made the final payment. Since we booked Disney air we are all set. All I need to do is throw things in a suitcase and we are on our way. Can't wait!

Do you know if your flying out of CLE? I will be interested to hear what flight arrangements they give you.

Do you have your room number yet?

 

[littlebunny]

Wow Dr. Cavin! You get a lot done in one day, just like me! I guess the fever is kicking in. Sounds like a good deal from Southwest.

Thanks for the info on the reservation timeline, I always wondered how that worked.

So what excursions does everyone have planned yet?

 

[ragdoll]

Dr. Cavin, just checked my reservation online and see that we were assigned room 2060. Was really surprised that DCL already assigned a gty. Other times we had to wait until a few weeks before our cruise for a room assignment. Glad to be on deck 2. It's my favorite!

This is our 9th DCL cruise and we have always booked Disney air. We have always had the same Continental flight out of Hopkins which leaves around 9am, so I am assuming this time will be the same. I know that most people prefer to book their own flights, but this really works well for us...stress free and hassle free which is what we need at this point in our lives.

The only time we had a problem was due to hurricane Jeanne in Sept. of 2004. Our flight crew was stuck in NYC due to bad weather. DCL said not to worry, that they would get us there. Didn't leave Hopkins until 11:30. Missed the embarkation buffet but got onboard. That was all that mattered. No, we didn't learn our lesson. We are cruising the double dip Western this Sept. and are using Disney air.

Littlebunny, we are not planning any excursions. We like to wing it on our own. Only reservation I want to get is Palo Brunch.

Donna

 

[DrCavin]

I like Continental, don't like the 4 mile corridor to get to there terminal at Hopkins and I always seem to be at the last two gates

We will probably just do excursions on our own, unless something really seems interesting & cant be done on our own. Brunch is a must for us as well, dinner is a "nice to have", but that brunch is to die for