May 2, 2013 Wonder Cruise Meet

[Brittwoman]

Hi I just got of the Magic and booked this cruise while on board Let the fun begin...this will be my 4th Disney cruise. Please let me know if we're doing an FE because I want to participate

 

[Robin"D"]

WE ARE BOOKED.
Decided to do the 2b2 on this Cruise & the WBPC

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[braysmommy]

WE ARE BOOKED.
Decided to do the 2b2 on this Cruise & the WBPC

Robin & Angel "D"

It looks like there will be a bunch of us doing this B2B

 

[sdlong329]

It looks like there will be a bunch of us doing this B2B

Is there any interest in keep tally of those doing B2B (5/2 + 5/6)?

I was thinking some might want to hop of the Wonder to do something in Miami, while the ship is getting turned over?

I tried to post a poll ... could not figure it out!

 

[Brittwoman]

UPDATE: I am in preliminary stages of organizing group rates for one or two hotels near the Miami port. I am likely going to look at a 3-star, and a 4-star hotel. It is my understanding, hotels generally require 8-10 rooms to be booked, in order to obtain a group discount. The rate will be negotiated based upon the number of rooms reserved.

To make it easier on everyone, you will be able to stay multiple nights (not just the night before the cruise), and you may reserve more than one room. My plans would be for you to make the reservation directly to a dedicated travel agent, with payment being made directly to the hotel via credit/debit.

At this point, I do not have names of any possible hotels. If you are interested in information (when available), please respond accordingly (indicate if you might be interested in more than one room). If I do not respond within 48-72 hours, please send me a PM (though I normally monitor this thread, there is a chance I might miss your online query).

Steven

Count me in for a room. I was planning on arriving 2 days prior to the cruise since I've never been to the Miami area and I want to check out the club scene

 

[sdlong329]

I've been able to whittle down the list to about one dozen hotels ... mostly 3 & 4 star hotels ... about half near the airport, and half near the port. The airport area hotels are cheaper than the port area hotels. The closer you are to the port, the higher the cost. The hotels would have a shuttle available (some may be free, others may impose a fee ... details would be provided when rates have been set).

When comparing hotels, I set an artificial ceiling at $210 per night (rack rate, for a 4-star hotel) ... 3-star hotels would be cheaper ... airport area hotels would also be cheaper). Of course, rates would be less, after applying a group discount.

So, my question is, for those *considering* a hotel in the Miami area ... would you likely prefer to stay near the port, or near the airport? Since the airport is not too far away from the port, my thinking is, most would likely opt for a port area hotel, to make access to the port easier, and faster.

Remember ... nothing has been established yet ... I am just wondering if it makes sense to negotiate with hotels near the airport ... or ... should I concentrate on hotels near the port? Your thoughts?

Steven

 

[JMTStone]

Hi I just got of the Magic and booked this cruise while on board Let the fun begin...this will be my 4th Disney cruise. Please let me know if we're doing an FE because I want to participate

I LOVE to FE!

 

[Brittwoman]

I LOVE to FE!

Me Too

 

[Brittwoman]

I've been able to whittle down the list to about one dozen hotels ... mostly 3 & 4 star hotels ... about half near the airport, and half near the port. The airport area hotels are cheaper than the port area hotels. The closer you are to the port, the higher the cost. The hotels would have a shuttle available (some may be free, others may impose a fee ... details would be provided when rates have been set).

When comparing hotels, I set an artificial ceiling at $210 per night (rack rate, for a 4-star hotel) ... 3-star hotels would be cheaper ... airport area hotels would also be cheaper). Of course, rates would be less, after applying a group discount.

So, my question is, for those *considering* a hotel in the Miami area ... would you likely prefer to stay near the port, or near the airport? Since the airport is not too far away from the port, my thinking is, most would likely opt for a port area hotel, to make access to the port easier, and faster.

Remember ... nothing has been established yet ... I am just wondering if it makes sense to negotiate with hotels near the airport ... or ... should I concentrate on hotels near the port? Your thoughts?

Steven

It really doesn't matter to me...the best deal you can get would benefit any of us and I would GREATLY appreciate all your hard work

 

[disdoat]

I too will be on the May 2nd cruise. I'll actually be traveling with a bunch of strangers because my friend is getting married on the cruise! I might be the only one there on her side though so I wouldn't mind knowing a few more strangers on the boat.

This will be my first cruise ever. Planning on booking tomorrow. I'm so excited and am already thinking of booking one for 2014 while I'm on this one. I've decided to get a verandah and am thinking of getting the navigator's verandah unless somebody wants to change my mind before tomorrow.

I plan to stay in Miami the night before and probably the night after just so I won't have to stress. I may be interested in a group hotel rate as well. I'd be fine with either. I think my friend is planning on staying by the airport, but staying by the port seems like it might be more interesting? If not I'm guessing cheaper by the airport would be better.

Donna

 

[Brittwoman]

I too will be on the May 2nd cruise. I'll actually be traveling with a bunch of strangers because my friend is getting married on the cruise! I might be the only one there on her side though so I wouldn't mind knowing a few more strangers on the boat.

This will be my first cruise ever. Planning on booking tomorrow. I'm so excited and am already thinking of booking one for 2014 while I'm on this one. I've decided to get a verandah and am thinking of getting the navigator's verandah unless somebody wants to change my mind before tomorrow.

I plan to stay in Miami the night before and probably the night after just so I won't have to stress. I may be interested in a group hotel rate as well. I'd be fine with either. I think my friend is planning on staying by the airport, but staying by the port seems like it might be more interesting? If not I'm guessing cheaper by the airport would be better.

Donna

Welcome right now the thread is kind of slow...but...as the cruise gets closer the "chatter" in here will increase

 

[disdoat]

Well it is still 303 days away! I can't believe a week ago the idea of going on a cruise was the last thing I wanted to do, and now I've got one booked and already wanting to do more. I'm so jealous of everyone doing b2bs! My sister had been begging me to go on a Rock N Roll cruise and I really didn't want to go but told her I would. I compared a solo verandah room on that vs Disney for the same days and it was at least $1000 more than Disney, and didn't include as much. Luckily she had something else come up.

I think one thing I am most excited for is that I could tell them when booking that I am vegetarian and I know they have several options for all the meals. I just got back from a trip from New Orleans and spent months just planning on where I could eat.

I really need to forget about this for awhile because 303 days of obsessing over this is going to drive me crazy.

 

[braysmommy]

On our last cruise one of the people at our table was vegetarian and had delicious meals to choose from every night and a few nights I ordered the vegetarian meal.....yum!

Well it is still 303 days away! I can't believe a week ago the idea of going on a cruise was the last thing I wanted to do, and now I've got one booked and already wanting to do more. I'm so jealous of everyone doing b2bs! My sister had been begging me to go on a Rock N Roll cruise and I really didn't want to go but told her I would. I compared a solo verandah room on that vs Disney for the same days and it was at least $1000 more than Disney, and didn't include as much. Luckily she had something else come up.

I think one thing I am most excited for is that I could tell them when booking that I am vegetarian and I know they have several options for all the meals. I just got back from a trip from New Orleans and spent months just planning on where I could eat.

I really need to forget about this for awhile because 303 days of obsessing over this is going to drive me crazy.

 

[JMTStone]

I too will be on the May 2nd cruise. I'll actually be traveling with a bunch of strangers because my friend is getting married on the cruise! I might be the only one there on her side though so I wouldn't mind knowing a few more strangers on the boat.
Donna

Hey Donna,
I had my vow renewal on the Magic. Will they be doing their ceremony on the ship or on Castaway Cay. I know there's a thread on this board for Weddings/Vow Renewals on the ships.

 

[disdoat]

They are doing it on the boat. I have her hooked on the disboards too, she probably won't post on them though. We've been browsing the wedding area and are copying quite a few ideas from there. Today we finished up the magnetic save the date boarding pass. Which is funny because everyone has already booked their rooms, but they were so cute. And we have been working on passport invitations. We plan on putting pages in there for character autographs too, even though only a handful of guests are children. Can adults get signatures too!

She's planning on making all her guests fish extenders and putting random gifts in them every day as a wedding favor. And we are going to secretly make magnets for each room and decorate while they are inside unpacking. Each rooms FE and magnets will be themed on a character or movie.

We both cater weddings on the side and she really wanted something simple that required no work and on a budget. It's really very reasonable if you consider it's their wedding and honeymoon in one. Plus his family was planning on a Disney cruise anyways. But I think it's going to leave us with idle hands for a long time so who knows what other projects we will have.

I might go back and delete a chunk of this message later, just incase any of the guests end up getting on the boards. Don't want to ruin the surprises! So nobody quote the part about the wedding favors please!

Forgot to mention....she's planning on having the ceremony in the Cadillac Lounge. I need to ask her why she didn't want to have it on the deck. But I'm guessing since we always think people who plan outdoor weddings are idiots for hoping the weather will actually be good on their day. I have worked outdoor weddings in the pouring rain, it is not fun. But probably not as bad as when the wind rips up your tent while your guests are in it. At the very least your centerpieces are constantly being blown over and broken. Or when a tornado is coming and you are working outside in the middle of nowhere. And all the mosquito bites! And forest fires while in the middle of the woods in a barn! Or just the miserable heat that makes you wish you were working in the rain. I would hope the weather would be better out there on the cruise than in Oklahoma.

 

[Brittwoman]

So the DH and myself were talking about the private cabanas We would love to get one...but...it's the just the 2 of us 50 something y/o's cruising and can't justify spending that much money for 2 people Is anyone interested in sharing a cabana with us on CC? If you are...lets chat

 

[sdlong329]

After checking into about 10-12 airport & port area hotels, I whittled the list down to 4-5 port areas hotels. Of those, I whittled it down to three … Marriott Biscayne Bay, Doubletree Grand, and Courtyard.

Both Marriott Biscayne Bay and Doubletree Grand would enable guests to call the hotel directly (provide a group name), to receive the group rate, for either the 5/2 Bahamian Cruise, or the 5/6 Panama Canal Cruise. Courtyard would require guests to call the group Travel Agent for billing purposes. With that in mind, I would think it easier to choose either Marriott Biscayne Bay or Doubletree Grand.

The Marriott Biscayne Bay and Doubletree Grand are located on the 1600 – 1700 block of North Bayshore Drive, and are connected on the first floor. Some rooms overlook the water, and provide views of the ships in port. There seems to be more to offer (restaurants, shops, bars) at the Marriott Biscayne Bay (versus the Doubletree Grand). Then again … you’d be able to walk between the facilities, if you so desire.

PRICING:
Marriott Biscayne Bay (3.5 stars), May 1 = $169 plus tax (rack rate $199 and up)
Marriott Biscayne Bay (3.5 stars), May 5 = $159 plus tax (rack rate $199 and up)
Doubletree Grand = $139 plus tax (rack rate $179 and up)

Marriott Biscayne Bay link:
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/miabb-miami-marriott-biscayne-bay/?ttr=2.18bE

Doubletree Grand link:
http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/ho...n-grand-hotel-biscayne-bay-MIABSDT/index.html


Either hotel would require a guarantee of 10 rooms to achieve these rates. My preference would be to get input and consensus to select a primary hotel. Once we get to 10 confirmed room stays, we could add the second hotel as an option. I will reconfirm pricing is available for multiple dates, so guests may opt to stay a single night, or multiple nights, as preferred.

Please let me know what you think of either hotel …
a) I prefer “X” or “Y”
b) I would NOT want to stay at “X”
c) It does not matter to me … I will go with the flow for the discount, but would prefer “X”

=====

SHUTTLE: Most of the port-area hotels seem to offer a 3rd part shuttle service for about $5-$10 per person (from hotel to the port). I might be able to organize a private 3rd party shuttle (perhaps with better pricing), if there is enough interest in departing at the same time … otherwise, the shuttle would be on your own. I am not sure if the 3rd party shuttle is exclusive to either hotel, or whether the shuttle would normally make stops along the way.

Steven

 

[Brittwoman]

Steven...both places look really nice and you can count me in which ever place you choose is fine with me

 

[disdoat]

My plans have been rapidly changing over the last few days. I have another friend who wanted to come on the cruise and was either going to share my room or get her own room with her family. I also wanted to go spend a little time in Disney World, I haven't been in 16 years. I was going to go regardless of if anyone wanted to come with me. But then we realized the date of the cruise was probably one of the worst times of year for my friend to get off work. But she really wanted to go on a Disney cruise and/or Disney World so don't be surprised if I end up booking another cruise that will sail a month after this one! So since I might be going right back a month later, I better not spend the money to go to DW this time around.

So I am for sure going to fly out on the 1st. Steven, count me in for either of the two places you found. I don't really have a preference but the photos for the Marriott did catch my eye a bit more!

 

[Robin"D"]

Hello & Happy August....[ ok, just a bump!]

kinda quite...

Hope all are ok...

Robin & Angel "D"...