May 30, 2009 - Western Cruise Magic

[homespun]

Hi guys! Checking back in. We had horrible storms/flooding last Friday which terminated our internet and phone both at home and at work. Talk about withdrawal!

Thanks Bruce! The lists are great!

Doing the happy dance! Docs arrived today.

Life is good again! Internet works, phones work, the countdown is getting lower.

Glad to hear you're safe and things are back to normal.

No, mine doesn't have cruise contract, authorization form- none of that.

Mine either - just a card/page printed with the word Cruise and Airline Contract in the middle of the page and nothing follows. I'm going to call TA today and find out what's up since on the very front of the booklet it says it contains my Cruise Contract in the contract section (and it doesn't), so how am I supposed to review it --- very odd.

 

[liliagm]

I was going over this post on the main forum:

Disney Magic Western Caribbean (No Cozumel)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2169013

and on the 2nd page there is someone who says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by slowly
For those of you going on the 30th, I know pretty much for a fact that the Magic WILL be going to Cozumel. Wasn't really going to do anything before this Pandemic so for us there is not much change.

Sooo, hopefully we will go to Cozumel and all of our worries will be over!!!
I posted our meet info for him/her to come over and give us more info....

 

[loveysbydesign]

I'm glad I didn't cancel or reschedule our Dolphin Encounter then!

 

[kcashner]

I was going over this post on the main forum:

Disney Magic Western Caribbean (No Cozumel)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2169013

and on the 2nd page there is someone who says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by slowly
For those of you going on the 30th, I know pretty much for a fact that the Magic WILL be going to Cozumel. Wasn't really going to do anything before this Pandemic so for us there is not much change.

Sooo, hopefully we will go to Cozumel and all of our worries will be over!!!
I posted our meet info for him/her to come over and give us more info....

Yeah, I'd love to know how he/she has this information!

My docs were TOO WEIRD this time. We have 5 18+ year olds and one 17. We each have the minor authorization in our package....docs sent in 4 separate packages...doesn't matter as we have everything we need and will all be "in the same boat" so to speak.

OH...DD did a parody of one of the Pub Night songs for their final "morning meeting" at school. The pub night song focuses on beer....it is, after all, pub night. Well, her school motto is "The school of thought," which the kids have altered to "the school of pot." Use your imaginations for the song. She really is a sweet kid with NO experience in such things....but she has a wicked imagination! It's really sad; she says she can count on her fingers the kids in her class who haven't tried drugs...but I digress.....

 

[homespun]

Lines for dining--on a full cruise, there are 420 people assigned to each dining room each seating. The doors to the dining room open right on time...maybe 1 minute early. What we've found is that if we show up exactly on time or 5 minutes early, there is always a line, but it moves very quickly. If you show up 5 minutes late, there is no line. Our favorite server always asked us to be right on time so that he could get the food out quickly--he'd jump right on it and have orders in really fast. We'd be finished when some other tables were still getting entrees! Alas, he's home now.

The issue is that 420 people...including wheelchairs, strollers, princesses, etc...can't get thru a door in an instant, but they can do it in 5 minutes. If you don't want to wait in a line to enter the dining room, show up a very few minutes after opening.

Thanks for the info. That will be helpful. I remember our server meeting us at the door when we arrived early and he took us right to our table every evening. Dinner seems to take so long, so maybe for us getting in and out would be a good thing so arriving early would be good as long as our tablemates do too and we're traveling with them so hopefully they'll think the same way.

I was going over this post on the main forum:

Disney Magic Western Caribbean (No Cozumel)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2169013

and on the 2nd page there is someone who says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by slowly
For those of you going on the 30th, I know pretty much for a fact that the Magic WILL be going to Cozumel. Wasn't really going to do anything before this Pandemic so for us there is not much change.

Sooo, hopefully we will go to Cozumel and all of our worries will be over!!!
I posted our meet info for him/her to come over and give us more info....

This is excellent news!!! I guess if there isn't a notice for the May 16th cruise that will confirm it, that is unless something changes and things escalate again.

Yeah, I'd love to know how he/she has this information!

My docs were TOO WEIRD this time. We have 5 18+ year olds and one 17. We each have the minor authorization in our package....docs sent in 4 separate packages...doesn't matter as we have everything we need and will all be "in the same boat" so to speak.

OH...DD did a parody of one of the Pub Night songs for their final "morning meeting" at school. The pub night song focuses on beer....it is, after all, pub night. Well, her school motto is "The school of thought," which the kids have altered to "the school of pot." Use your imaginations for the song. She really is a sweet kid with NO experience in such things....but she has a wicked imagination! It's really sad; she says she can count on her fingers the kids in her class who haven't tried drugs...but I digress.....

I called TA this morning and they said if we preregistered online, we wouldn't receive much in the way of Cruise documents--Just luggage tags and transfers coupons (which we didn't get because we aren't paying for them).

So breathing a sigh of relief and anxiously awaiting the end of the month--it can't come too soon.

karen

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

People have tried to relate dining room lines to character lines--I don't think that affects it at all. There will always be people waiting in the character lines, but not enough to influence the 400+ needing to enter the dining room. There are always people who show up early and people who show up late...if you're delayed in a character line, you might be right on time to a little late. With the single dining times, they end the character appearance when people should be entering the dining room....and they usually put a "stop" on the line well before that (no more in line, Mickey will be back at X time). Thus, the character appearance will end--that's not a reason to be late to dinner. With staggered dining times, the characters would still be out as someone didn't have to be at dinner...and people who should have been at dinner would be in character lines.

Anyhow...staggered vs. one time hasn't seemed to influence lines to enter the dining room on my cruises. It was really that if you're early, you'll hit a line. If you're right on time, the line will be moving quickly. If you're 3-5 minutes late, the line will be essentially gone.

I'm tired of cold, rain, yuk. 2 more days of school, but who's counting?

I'm tired of rainy weather too! Keeps messing up our pool and have to shock it to get rid of rain water algae build up and making it where the kids haven't been able to swim yet (especially when it's either raining or sprinkling! ugh!)

Also staggered vs. one time (our 2nd cruise vs our first) made a difference for us. I really couldn't figure out why- so I was trying to come up with reasons. But we did notice a difference. you said come 5 minutes late which is probably great advice but you said your favorite server asked you to come right on time? I'm confused. did he not like you coming 5 minutes late? LMK!

I was going over this post on the main forum:

Disney Magic Western Caribbean (No Cozumel)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2169013

and on the 2nd page there is someone who says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by slowly
For those of you going on the 30th, I know pretty much for a fact that the Magic WILL be going to Cozumel. Wasn't really going to do anything before this Pandemic so for us there is not much change.

Sooo, hopefully we will go to Cozumel and all of our worries will be over!!!
I posted our meet info for him/her to come over and give us more info....

Well that's interesting- I wonder how they know for a FACT? Have any other cruiselines gone back to going to the Mexico ports? DCL was like last (*right?) to change to NOT going.. so they'll probably be last to changing back to going to Mexico ports. LOL Good news if they are going to cozumel though!

Thanks for the info. That will be helpful. I remember our server meeting us at the door when we arrived early and he took us right to our table every evening. Dinner seems to take so long, so maybe for us getting in and out would be a good thing so arriving early would be good as long as our tablemates do too and we're traveling with them so hopefully they'll think the same way.





I called TA this morning and they said if we preregistered online, we wouldn't receive much in the way of Cruise documents--Just luggage tags and transfers coupons (which we didn't get because we aren't paying for them).

So breathing a sigh of relief and anxiously awaiting the end of the month--it can't come too soon.

karen

We did pre-reigster online so I guess that's why. but the last cruise we registered online and DID get all that stuff- so i guess they decided to save on paper but still not saving on postage sending everything seperate to the same household. LOL

 

[Tinkmom]

Lines??

I've cruised five times with Disney and I agree with KCashner that the only time there was any line to speak of at all was if we arrived prior to the doors opening. Once the doors were open it was only a matter of a couple of minutes before we were seated.

 

[kcashner]

Bippidy....our favorite server liked his people to be there right at the beginning of dinner--he was into getting on with things, and knew that if his orders went in quickly, they'd be out quickly. He's home with his family now, so it's a non-issue for us.

For most other servers, it really hasn't made a difference whether we are there at 8:15 or 8:19. At 8:10, you'll stand in line for 5 minutes. At 8:15, you might stand for 2 minutes in a moving line. At 8:19, you'll walk right in and sit down.

Some servers are really fast--we never felt rushed, but some have a menu in your hand 15 seconds after you sit down. Others wait till your whole table or most of "their' people have arrived. Usually, they only wait for your table. You can get around this by asking them to get the kid stuff moving quickly. Ditto, if DH is missing in action, you can explain that he'll be along, but DW can order for him...or whatever. If you don't do or say anything, they will wait!

 

[sebamt]

Our favorite server always asked us to be right on time so that he could get the food out quickly--he'd jump right on it and have orders in really fast. We'd be finished when some other tables were still getting entrees!

kcashner, I would love to hear how you approached your servers to get the dining times shorter. Last time I thought the dining took too long and I would like to speak to our servers this time so that it doesn't take more than about 1 1/2 hours. Any tips? Thanks!

 

[CarolinaBlue]

Well that's interesting- I wonder how they know for a FACT? Have any other cruiselines gone back to going to the Mexico ports? DCL was like last (*right?) to change to NOT going.. so they'll probably be last to changing back to going to Mexico ports. LOL Good news if they are going to cozumel though!

I wondered the same thing.

 

[Suzepoo]

only Cats 4 and 5 are showing now for our sailing.....WOO HOO....but all cats are still showing for May 16....wish I could do BOTH, HA!

 

[Suzepoo]

I am just checking to see if there is anyone else in our group of friends here that might still want to book an AWESOME snorkel excursion with my family and friends while we are on Cozumel? My dear friends there own the dive op we will be snorkeling with, and we will get a discount if we have 10, plus be assured of a SMALL group (probably just US). I'm negotiating now for the 2-reef snorkel trip for first thing that morning (hopefully by 10:00 a.m. since we are due to dock at 9:30 a.m. and Cozumel is on CDT) to be back around 1:00 p.m. so that we can all have plenty of time for lunch/shopping/sight seeing in town. Approximate cost will be $50 per adult and $25 for kids under 12 and for anyone who just wants to ride along. They provide beer and soft drinks and the most amazing snorkeling you can imagine!!! GREAT personal service, too....I can PERSONALLY guarantee you will remember it FOREVER!

 

[kcashner]

kcashner, I would love to hear how you approached your servers to get the dining times shorter. Last time I thought the dining took too long and I would like to speak to our servers this time so that it doesn't take more than about 1 1/2 hours. Any tips? Thanks!

We lucked out with Micho...he became a really good friend, and we had him on maybe 5-6 cruises (we always requested him).

On our back to back Wonder, dining services called us at the end of our 4 day and asked if we had any requests for the 3 day--we said that we liked our head server and would like to remain in his group, but would like more efficient servers if possible--we got a GREAT group. We did make the point that we liked our server/asst, but the long dinners were too much.

SO...step one--if you have kids, ask them to bring the kids' appetizer and entree when they bring your appetizer. Since they now have "Dine and Play," this is almost a set thing. If you don't know...the Lab and Club CMs come to the dining rooms and check the kids in there...and take them to the programming--about 45 minutes into dinner. The only difference between this and what many of us have done for years is that they now collect the kids so the parent doesn't have to leave the dining room!

Step 2, talk to the server--basically tell him/her that you have something to do and would like dinner to move along...and if that doesn't work, talk to the head server. I really think it is more an individual thing with each server. Some are fast, some are not. Some clusters work so that when you server/asst. is finished with their work, they are free to go...other head servers make them do other stuff till everyone is finished or till a certain time on the clock. Which do you think is more efficient????

A slow server isn't going to move no matter what....and a fast one lets YOU control the pace! 90 minutes for a normal dinner is too long for me.....and totally not necessary if that's not what you want. They are taking the kids after about 45 minutes, so mom and dad can enjoy dessert in peace.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

OMG, I loved Micho. A good friend of mine had the Walt Suite a few years ago and we combined reservations and sat together at dinner and he was our server. One afternoon, he brought up some cake and desserts up to the suite and played the piano and sang for us. It was one a great memory that will never be forgotten.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Bippidy....our favorite server liked his people to be there right at the beginning of dinner--he was into getting on with things, and knew that if his orders went in quickly, they'd be out quickly. He's home with his family now, so it's a non-issue for us.

For most other servers, it really hasn't made a difference whether we are there at 8:15 or 8:19. At 8:10, you'll stand in line for 5 minutes. At 8:15, you might stand for 2 minutes in a moving line. At 8:19, you'll walk right in and sit down.

Some servers are really fast--we never felt rushed, but some have a menu in your hand 15 seconds after you sit down. Others wait till your whole table or most of "their' people have arrived. Usually, they only wait for your table. You can get around this by asking them to get the kid stuff moving quickly. Ditto, if DH is missing in action, you can explain that he'll be along, but DW can order for him...or whatever. If you don't do or say anything, they will wait!

on our first cruise (non staggered dining) it seemed we had a line no matter what we did! We had late dining- I'm not sure if early dining was different though? We came on time- long line. And it wasn't no 5 minutes. Well into the cruise I realized we'd be standing there a long time and DH stayed in line with the kids while I went back to our room (clear across the ship and on another floor too- we had SPH rooms) and when I got back STILL a line (and I didn't run) then I took Rita to the bathroom- came back still a line although shorter.
ugh
I'm not sure what the deal was. ... we started coming later and the line was shorter but still not just walking in. We had a lot of DIS'ers on that cruise though (It was the first double dip cruise) and a lot of them were on late dining linked up- just the late dining ones filled up about half the dining rooms at each meal. But our 2nd cruise we also had a lot of DIS'ers (PC repo) but with staggered times- and never a line. If we came early or on time- never a line. Weird huh?
I hope it's like you said though. I wasn't really fond of standing in line before dinner...... I don't like standing in line anyway but I certainly didn't like them before dinner. LOL

(we won't have the problem of holding anyone else up. As a family of 5 so far we have been at a table by ourselves EVEN when linked with others! So I am 99.99999% positive we'll end up at a table for 6 again LOL)

only Cats 4 and 5 are showing now for our sailing.....WOO HOO....but all cats are still showing for May 16....wish I could do BOTH, HA!

woohoo? That's not good news that's all that's left! We were hoping for still having openings so more people would get the free upgrades! LOL

I am just checking to see if there is anyone else in our group of friends here that might still want to book an AWESOME snorkel excursion with my family and friends while we are on Cozumel? My dear friends there own the dive op we will be snorkeling with, and we will get a discount if we have 10, plus be assured of a SMALL group (probably just US). I'm negotiating now for the 2-reef snorkel trip for first thing that morning (hopefully by 10:00 a.m. since we are due to dock at 9:30 a.m. and Cozumel is on CDT) to be back around 1:00 p.m. so that we can all have plenty of time for lunch/shopping/sight seeing in town. Approximate cost will be $50 per adult and $25 for kids under 12 and for anyone who just wants to ride along. They provide beer and soft drinks and the most amazing snorkeling you can imagine!!! GREAT personal service, too....I can PERSONALLY guarantee you will remember it FOREVER!

Oh I'm sorry. I wish we could do this but if we go to cozumel we have snuba already planned and we sorta have to do it. WE're doing 2 snorkel stop in Grand Cayman and Cozumel is the only place left for us to do the snuba- which we've promised DS since he can't scuba dive (with dad) this trip.. since he's not quite 12 yet. Sounds great though! Wish we could do it........ I hope you get enough people!

Oh yeah I forgot to say- our first cruise we had the kids and although our servers were nice/etc.- they didn't seem pleased with us attempting to hurry them up on the kids meals so we could get them in the lab/club (because the kids were whining that the "fun" things were going on in there while we had late dining time!) We had to take them and individually since they didn't realy hurry with the food and our kids also didn't eat at the same rate of time- didn't seem fair to make one wait for the other when the youngest was a slow eater. LOL (even though she also wanted to hurry to the club)
2nd cruse we basically didn't make them eat with us (again late dining) except for 2 nights (out of 15nts) And our oldest was old enough to take them once they were all done.
This cruise we're on early dining so darn- won't get to take advantage of the servers hurrying up on the kids food (assuming they will do this since I assume the counselors will want to take the kids all at once- not as each finally gets their food and has time to eat it) and the counselors taking them. But hopefully it won't be an issue since early dining means not missing all the "fun" stuff and I'll use the advice on this thread to ask (like we did the first time) if we can have the kids meals sooner and hopefully we'll get servers that can do this. Just for an example- our eldest on our FIRST night of our first cruise- STILL had not received her entree when we were ALL completely done eating (except for ordering dessert)- so we had to leave to go get her pizza. It was ridiculous and yes we told the head server. (we still don't understand how that happened but something was up - we also never received one drink refill and they never came back to us- we kept waiting so we could ask where in the world was our daughter's meal! It was like they dropped the food off and left and forgot us- and forgot they hadn't brought Ruby's meal yet) We were moved to another table with different servers. I think we were probably "added" to those servers adding an extra load on them or something? I dunno but they were much better than the first servers- except they kinda made it obvious that they weren't really pleased with hurrying up the kids meals so we could get them off to the clubs/lab. I don't know why.

 

[stlkeeler]

SO...step one--if you have kids, ask them to bring the kids' appetizer and entree when they bring your appetizer. Since they now have "Dine and Play," this is almost a set thing. If you don't know...the Lab and Club CMs come to the dining rooms and check the kids in there...and take them to the programming--about 45 minutes into dinner. The only difference between this and what many of us have done for years is that they now collect the kids so the parent doesn't have to leave the dining room!

I thought this was only at the late seating. Did they add it to early dining? That would be awesome!

 

[loveysbydesign]

I thought this was only at the late seating. Did they add it to early dining? That would be awesome!

Even if it wasn't added for early dining we plan to ask for our kids food early and then one of us will drop them off at the kids clubs. I have Flounders reserved for the little guy on sea days from 6:00-7:00 so I hope they don't change our itinerary!

 

[kcashner]

Even if it wasn't added for early dining we plan to ask for our kids food early and then one of us will drop them off at the kids clubs. I have Flounders reserved for the little guy on sea days from 6:00-7:00 so I hope they don't change our itinerary!

If the itinerary changes, you'll learn about it at boarding at the latest. You'll be able to go to Flounders and make changes then.

We're still showing only 4s and 5s left....

 

[Suzepoo]

WEIRD how they keep adding categories back??? I just feel TEASED, haha! I think it depends on what time of day you check....EARLY this morning there were even Cat 10s again, now POOF....HA....guess we will all find out when we board about any "surprise" upgrades at this point, but I still like checking!

 

[CarolinaBlue]

Cat's 4,5,6, & 8 available for a family of 4. 8 and 6 gty., 4 and 5 have at least 8 cabin choices each.