May 13, 2007 EARLY Roll Call 5/13/2007 4-Night Wonder

[Fairy_Tale_Bride]

Oh boy, I hate to even think about having to get 5 passports!! I think we will apply in late Oct or November. What is the going price for passport photos?

I am waiting patiently for a good airfare to show up for us. We always fly Delta out of Columbus, but may flip to SouthWest if we can secure a cheap fare when they release the May dates. Still debating if we are going to fly in late Friday or early Saturday.

leanne11- Did you need some assistance locating Navigators online so you can get and idea of the great activities and times for the kids stuff? Usually a couple of weeks before we cruise I print off current navigators and go over them with the kids...helps them to get excited and plan a bit of what they may like to do.

Wow...5 passports! That's going to be pricey! We're lucky because my DH already has his passport, so we just had to get one. I was lucky that the day I went to the post office that it was a slow day because there wasn't anyone else there to get a passport, but as soon as I went into the room to get my photo...a family of 4 showed up and then another couple. So, I was lucky I didn't have to wait. It was over $100 for the passport and photo. I think it came somewhere close to $130. I can't remember the exact price now. It wasn't too long ago and I've already forgotten! I was lucky though...my passport photo is good...haha!

I would fly in Friday. That's just my opinion and how I am. I would be nervous about being delayed, being rushed, or missing the ship. I'm always really early and ahead of time, so I wouldn't want to risk it. Plus, you have a good size group, so you want to make sure everyone is together and not feel stressed.

 

[scottie]

We do tend to fly on a late flight a day or two before we start a cruise or Walt Disney trip. But with work and a little one, we may opt for the 7AM flight instead on Saturday. We gave it a try in June and it worked out pretty well. Oh heck, whatever has the lower price will win my vote!!

 

[leanne11]

we just got our passports on Wed..we have aaa card and booked thru them but they didn't care and charged us $23 for 6 photo's(double of us 3) and then they gave me a list, to register and i couldn't believe our local post office wanted me to take my son out of school between 9 and 10am for this..so i had to drive about 20 min, on my ds day off from school and we found a po that takes appointments so we didn't have to wait, i printed out the applications and filled them out and didn't sign them un til we were there, cost about $65. for the state dept. and then $30 per person for the po.
ds,was $55 and $30, so about $300 very pricey
scottie i wouldn't wait to long, disney needs the passport number 90 days before and they told me there is a 2/3 month delay at the state dept. since it is now necessary.
yes, i looked at the nav. boy that's alot of stuff to do.....can't wait...

 

[scottie]

I will have to check around at a few post offices here to see what they have to say about appointments or just stopping in, especially with the kids!
Was there an additional fee for mailing the docs or receiving them back?

I just read last night that it looks like the House may pass the bill to delay the passport requirements to around 2009. I am going to keep my eye on this development over the next couple of weeks. If I can get away with not forking out the $500 or so I will be happy!

 

[leanne11]

ihope i heard right for you, me on the other hand out $300

 

[scottie]

I think the president just needs to sign the law so we will see what goes on when everyone gets back to congress after the elections. Until it is finalized I am just going to go with the assumption we will need to get them. There is also talk about a new ID card about the size of a drivers license that would cost about 60 instead of 100 for the passport.

 

[scottie]

Did anyone see the pics on the main board that show the Wonder in dry dock? Some pretty neat photos and informative info from one of the posters about how/what goes on. I am excited to read of the changes that will be done while in dry dock...just for our May sailing

 

[leanne11]

i had a note earlier this yr about the poolside/big screen tv, and the other changes, sounds great...

 

[scottie]

Not sure if anyone else saw the post yet about the Family of the Day... How exciting! Hopefully one of us from this thread can earn such an honor top be selected. I love the Year of a Million Dreams!

 

[leanne11]

very exciting......

 

[scottie]

That was a quick turn around for the passports!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Howdy everyone,
I am not coming along with you, I am going on the wonder on 4/5, but I am trying to get the word out to all Wonder cruisers to check out a thread on the main forum called,
BAD CHANGES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT ON THE WONDER

This will affect all of us, unless we do something about it.

In that thread around the 10th post there are 2 letters from DCL confirming that starting tomarrow there will be NO live band on the Wonder.
Basically this means:

NO live music at the sail away party
NO live music at Wave bands club during the week.

It will all be DJ and recorded music all the time.
Personally that upsets me, if I wanted to sit around and listen to CD's and a DJ I could do that at home. We love the live bands, they add so much to the cruise experience for everyone.

If you agree, please write to DCL and tell them how you feel.

dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com

If this makes no difference to you that is fine too, I just wanted to pass the word to everyone I can before they cruise.
DCL does listen to their guests, so if we all write and let them know how we feel, we can get this changed!!!

Thanks for reading my letter, please check out the forum post!

again I am sorry to be a thread crasher,

I wish all of you a magical cruise,
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[scottie]

Well I may not have to invest in passports this time around after all. The govt passport site now advises Jan 2008 as the earliest date they expect to meet the guidelines. That is about a year earlier then the DCL site currently advises but still good for us none the less.

This cold weather we are having in Ohio right now sure has me looking forward to May!!

 

[leanne11]

you will need it to fly, from bahamas in case of an emergency, the website says, you don't need it for sea but for land i think they are still recommending itIMPORTANT: For U.S. Citizens, if you are cruising to the Bahamas and/or Mexico, you are required to have a passport from 6/1/09 and beyond. However, if you are flying to/from these destinations, you are required to have a passport from 1/8/07 and beyond. Please consider that should you have an emergency while in a foreign port which requires you to fly back to the States, a passport will be invaluable.

 

[scottie]

Good point on the emergency! If we dont end up getting them I guess we better take up advanced swimming lessons or pack a raft to avoid the air!

 

[GuardMusic]

Hey all. Sorry to say I'm leaving your group. A conflict has come up at work and I've had to push my date back to May 20. Bummer that it's no longer Mother's Day; plus it cost me an extra $80

Gayle

 

[leanne11]

if it was up to me i'd have saved $300, but we have them now so, now i'm trying to get my new updated aaa doc's, they said they changed the new dates and i havn't received anything yet, also i want to have my trip ins doc's in my hand in case something happens.
i checked on the dis web site and they said they changed the date, so i feel ok but almost 2 months is crazy wait...

sorry we lost ya guardmusic..we don't have too many to spare..

 

[scottie]

Hopefully AAA will come thru for you soon! We may end up getting passports for us adults and hold off on the kids.

 

[leanne11]

because the kids only last 5 yrs anyway, i have a question for you, i got my new doc's and there is a difference in my ds8 yr old's price, isn't the child's price always the same nomatter what departure date? so exactly how much are you paying for your 9 yr old?

 

[scottie]

I will be honest, I dont have a clue what we are paying per kid. I am checking with Dreams to see what we were charged and I will let you know.