November 5th 2011 Eastern on the Magic

[NC2WDW]

Also someone please tell me what the best night to reserve Palo would be, also considering we still want to visit each regular restaurant and enjoy those with our children.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Also someone please tell me what the best night to reserve Palo would be, also considering we still want to visit each regular restaurant and enjoy those with our children.

Thats a hard question to answer.
It use to be you did a different restaurant the first 3 mights then repeated it the next nights. The first rotation is when Animators Palate does the complete light show through out the evening, so you dont want to miss it.
But the last time we cruised we actually repeated a restaurant before getting through the complete rotation. May have been a fluke.

But your best bet would be towards the end of the cruise. I would say next to the last night.
The last night in the restaurants is kind of special so you dont want to miss that either.
Your waiters stop towards the end of the night and they all parade around and then most give them a standing ovation to thank them for their service and they thank you for being their guest. This is when people hand them the tip envelopes. Its a nice way to end the trip with them.

Not sure if that helps any, but I would try for the next ot the last night.

Also I know people who do Palos really late, then they actually go to dinner with their kids, but they tell their waiters they have Palos that night and are not eating just staying with their kids through dinner. That way they experience the restaurant but still do Palos right after dinner time. Of course if you have late dining that may not work. I dont know how late you can reserve Palos.
Good luck!!

Hope you get something that works great for you.

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Good question, can we start reserving at midnight?

Hi All,

Been super busy here, but our company just left, so now things should be calm... finally, but had a great time with our company!!

Just wanted to chime in about making reservations when your window opens... just keep in mind that it opens up at midnight Eastern Time (on the date your window opens), so for example, if your window is tomorrow (August 17), then at midnight tonight Eastern Time right when it turns Aug 17 on the East Coast, you can start reserving. This means, if you are not on Eastern Time, but on Central or West Coast, you can actually start reserving a little earlier. I do this all the time!

So, for me, since I'm in Seattle and I'm 3 hours earlier than the east coast, I start reserving at 9 PM the day before my date/window time because 9 PM here in Seattle is 12:00 AM on the east coast. I didn't figure this trick out until our 2nd cruise, and I love that I know this... so that way it is equal for everyone (so the east coasters don't get a 3 hour head start on us west coasters), but they don't make this clear on the DCL website, so a lot of people who are not on East Coast time do not realize they can start booking AT East Coast time even if it's not midnight where they live.

So, for us for this November cruise, we were able to start booking at midnight on Aug 7, but I booked everything at 9 PM on Aug 6 and it worked great!

So, just a tip for those of you who are not on East Coast time who still are waiting to book....

-Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

From what I've been told, Pirate Party is the night that we are in St. Maarten, Tues, Nov 8. I am pretty bummed about that. It's going to be one LONG day and I don't know how late we'll be able to stay up.

Danielle

I am finally going through posts from the last 5 days because I haven't had hardly any time to read these boards with us being out of town, and then coming home to immediate company!

But, just wanted to comment on this post about pirate night. Maybe it has changed, but we were on this exact itinerary last year in February (2010), and they had pirate night on Wednesday evening, the St. Thomas day, and we left St. Thomas around 3:30 PM or so... so it worked great because people weren't worn out and had time to relax after being on St. Thomas before the Pirate Party started.

So, unless they've changed it, I would guess that it's still the same... that Pirate Night will be on Wednesday, and it makes the most sense because we leave St. Thomas early, and the next day is a sea day, so people can stay up late and not feel pressure to get up early becuase of a port.

I just went and double checked our pictures to MAKE sure my memory was correct, and for sure it was Wednesday night, and I know because it was Wednesday morning of our cruise (the St. Thomas day) that I totally injured my ankle sad2, and our picutres from pirate night on that cruise, my ankle is all bandaged up, so it was definitely on a Wednesday last year.

I am hoping it's the same in November, because I agree... Tuesday night after St. Maarten and not having to get back on the ship until 6:30 and then getting up early the next day for St. Thomas would not work well. I would be really surprised if it's not on Wednesday night for this cruise.

But, maybe they have changed it to Tuesday night????

Kathy

 

[Daniellenbella]

I am finally going through posts from the last 5 days because I haven't had hardly any time to read these boards with us being out of town, and then coming home to immediate company!

But, just wanted to comment on this post about pirate night. Maybe it has changed, but we were on this exact itinerary last year in February (2010), and they had pirate night on Wednesday evening, the St. Thomas day, and we left St. Thomas around 3:30 PM or so... so it worked great because people weren't worn out and had time to relax after being on St. Thomas before the Pirate Party started.

So, unless they've changed it, I would guess that it's still the same... that Pirate Night will be on Wednesday, and it makes the most sense because we leave St. Thomas early, and the next day is a sea day, so people can stay up late and not feel pressure to get up early becuase of a port.

I just went and double checked our pictures to MAKE sure my memory was correct, and for sure it was Wednesday night, and I know because it was Wednesday morning of our cruise (the St. Thomas day) that I totally injured my ankle sad2, and our picutres from pirate night on that cruise, my ankle is all bandaged up, so it was definitely on a Wednesday last year.

I am hoping it's the same in November, because I agree... Tuesday night after St. Maarten and not having to get back on the ship until 6:30 and then getting up early the next day for St. Thomas would not work well. I would be really surprised if it's not on Wednesday night for this cruise.

But, maybe they have changed it to Tuesday night????

Kathy

I asked on the main board and one person responded
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2761638

In this person TR from March, their Pirate Night was St. Maarten day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=40758248&highlight=pirate+night#post40758248

And then on this Navigator which is from the same cruise as the TR above
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigators/3-26-11/Magic-26March2011-4.pdf

So maybe it was just for that trip? Or do they try to stick to the same schedule?


Thanks for the info on when the reservation window opens. I'm east coast so I'll be ready at midnight. However, I was full prepared to stay up....a full 24 hrs later and would have been really disappointed to have missed it!

 

[LovesToRun]

Also someone please tell me what the best night to reserve Palo would be, also considering we still want to visit each regular restaurant and enjoy those with our children.

This is a hard one to answer, because you don't know your dining rotation or theme nights until you get on the ship. Based off of our last cruise with this itinerary, as for theme nights, semi-formal night was Monday, which was a sea day, and Formal Night was Thursday, then Pirate Night was Wednesday. So, Saturday night (first night), Sunday night, Tuesday Night and Friday Night were cruise casual (so like Khaki pants and short sleeve button up shirt for guys, and like a casual skirt and top, or casual pants and blouse for a girl). we always like to choose our Palo Night for a cruise casual night so we get another excuse to dress up fancy. But, we like to dress up because we never get to do that here in Seattle (Seattle is a very casual city, so unless it's a holiday party or a wedding, women just don't dress up in formal dresses, or cocktail dresses, etc, and men just don't wear suit out to dinner).

I think that the Captain Gala was on Thursday night (formal night), and they usually serve Lobster in the dining room that night (all dining rooms), but from what I heard, I think on the night they serve lobster in the dining rooms, you can get it in Palo, too... but not sure about that. So, if you LOVE lobster, then try to eat dinner in the dining room on the night of the Captain's Gala. The Captain's Gala is basically where the Captain is around for people to greet him, get pictures with him, as well as all the officers, etc., and like I said, the meal is a bit more special.

But, as for dining room rotations, I agree if you haven't seen Animator's Palate, it's so worth not missing it!! It's very cool. But, you won't find out when you eat there until you get on the ship.

So, what I would do is decide if you want to go to Palo on a semi formal or formal night, so you don't have to dress up more than twice (if you aren't big into dressing up formal), and then book it on either Monday or Thursday evenings. Or, if you are like us, and like to dress up fancy more than twice on the ship, try to book Palo on a cruise casual night, because you have to dress up at Palo... there is a dress code. So, that gives you a 3rd night to dress up really nice. Of course, this is based off of the assumption that the theme itinerary is the same as our Eastern 7-day cruise last Feb (2010). I would imagine it's still the same... but they can very easily change things, too.

But, if you care the MOST about the dining room rotation and don't want miss certain dining rooms, then what I suggest is booking Palo on a night that sounds good to you, or when there is an opening when you book online, and then as soon as you get on the ship and find your dining room rotation (which will be in your room when you get into your stateroom), then if you find out you booked palo on a night when you'd rather be in the dining room, then you can always try to change your reservations to another day. There almost always are openings (from either cancellations, or people moving reservations to a different day), but also I found out from Palo that they actually keep a few spots open that are not even available online for people who didn't book online but want to just book once they get on the ship...

So, this would be your solution to the dining room rotation.... just change your resrevation with Palo once you get on the ship if you want to be in the dining room the night you booked it online.

But, the suggestion of booking Palo at the opposite time of your seating (so if you have late dining, booking it early like 6 PM), or if you have early dining, booking late like 8:30 PM) works great, too. Then, you can go to Palo, but also go to the dining room, and just not eat, but just go there to enjoy the restaurant and atmosphere of the restaurant.

But, just an FYI if you do that last option.... Palo typically takes a full 2 hours, so if you have a late seating at 8:30, and you want to book Palo before hand in order to still make it to the restaurant to just enjoy the restaurant, book it between 6:00 - 6:30 PM so you can make it to the restaurant by 8:30 PM.

So, these are just my tips....

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

I asked on the main board and one person responded
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2761638

In this person TR from March, their Pirate Night was St. Maarten day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=40758248&highlight=pirate+night#post40758248

And then on this Navigator which is from the same cruise as the TR above
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigators/3-26-11/Magic-26March2011-4.pdf

So maybe it was just for that trip? Or do they try to stick to the same schedule?


Thanks for the info on when the reservation window opens. I'm east coast so I'll be ready at midnight. However, I was full prepared to stay up....a full 24 hrs later and would have been really disappointed to have missed it!

Interesting! Yes, it definitely looks like Pirate Night was on the St. Maarten day for that person who wrote the trip report... well, maybe they change it around with different cruises... maybe it had to do with the wind, too. I have heard of that happening, where they make pirate night on a different day than originally planned because the original day planned, it was forecasted to be windy, and if it's windy, they won't shoot off the fireworks. Who knows, though...

So, I guess i would plan for it to be on St. Maarten day (prepare for the less desirable day of the two days), and then if it's on Wednesday (St. Thomas day), then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I wonder if you could call DCL and see if they know this far in advanced?

Kathy

 

[GreensboroKG]

OK, back after 3-4 days. We went to Charlotte to visit Carowinds (kind of like 6 flags). Boy, is it a step down from Disney! You'd expect some of that (after all, Disney is Disney for a reason) but some of the things were really surprising. Like food and drinks were about twice the price as Disney! $4.00 for a water; $6.00 for a corndog! Obscene! Then, most of the rides required 48-54". Our son is 43" so could not go on most the rides. At Magic Kingdom, the only ride he couldn't take was Space Mountain. So that was a bummer. Add to that the general dirtiness and dinginess of the place and I wish we lived closer to Orlando.

But it's good to be back and I think we are up to 8 posts now.

Scott

 

[NC2WDW]

Thanks for all the good info about Palo ressies. I am finding that there are nicer people who are strangers, here on disboards, than people I know personally!

 

[NC2WDW]

OK, back after 3-4 days. We went to Charlotte to visit Carowinds (kind of like 6 flags). Boy, is it a step down from Disney! You'd expect some of that (after all, Disney is Disney for a reason) but some of the things were really surprising. Like food and drinks were about twice the price as Disney! $4.00 for a water; $6.00 for a corndog! Obscene! Then, most of the rides required 48-54". Our son is 43" so could not go on most the rides. At Magic Kingdom, the only ride he couldn't take was Space Mountain. So that was a bummer. Add to that the general dirtiness and dinginess of the place and I wish we lived closer to Orlando.

But it's good to be back and I think we are up to 8 posts now.

Scott

I couldn't agree with you more. DH likes going to Carowinds each year and I feel like I'm cheating on Disney World! We ran into exact same situation, our DS is about the same height. You just can't beat what Disney has to offer.

 

[flygrl]

Hi All, just finally sitting down to read the post today. Sean was still sick today hopefully I will get back to work tomorrow.

Just talking about reservations.... How much so one person tip?

Good night
Tanya

 

[GreensboroKG]

NC2WDW:

How old is your son? Are you also from NC? Anyways, it is off to bed . . .

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi All, just finally sitting down to read the post today. Sean was still sick today hopefully I will get back to work tomorrow.

Just talking about reservations.... How much so one person tip?

Good night
Tanya

Here are the suggested tips from the DCL website. It is per person.

It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, we suggest the following:

Per Guest per cruise 3-Night 4-Night 7-Night
Dining Room Server $12.00 $16.00 $28.00
Dining Room Asst. Server $9.00 $12.00 $21.00
Dining Room Head Server $3.00 $4.00 $7.00
Stateroom Host/
Hostess $12.00 $16.00 $28.00
Dining Manager Your Discretion
Room Service Your Discretion
Palo Gratuity included
Vista Spa & Salon Your Discretion
Babysitting Gratuity not expected
Shore Excursions Optional;
not included in shore
excursion price.

For your convenience, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine and deck service tabs. All gratuities can be charged to your room charge.



Kathy

 

[PKK/MJK]

Check in several days early, when I went to do the online check in, our login said 91 days until the cruise.

BUT, the scheduling for Palo and other events said it was 89 days until the cruise. We got our reses earlier than we expected, I don't know if this glich is still in the system, but try it.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Good morning fellow cruisers,

Hope everyone is off to a good start today.

Pretty quiet here today.

If there is anyone out there who hasnt given me their e-mail yet, please do so I can send you out a CM and FE list and information for our meet the first day.

I can't PM it, it's too large.
If your not interested in this information being sent to you thats ok, but please let me know so I wont keep your name on the mailing list.

I think the people i dont have are Carolyn, Rob - Jen, Phil,and Karen.

If you havnt received a list from me then I dont have your address.


Off to look at TR's to see if there are any new ones,
Back later,

Kathy

 

[Mulanrocks]

I envy everyone who will be waiting up to start booking everything. No internet at my house means i have to wait tell lunch on monday. Oh well hopefully most things i want will still be available. DH is supposed to be taking care of his passport today, but i won't know for sure until he calls me after work, we shall see. Also on tipping I'm pretty sure you can just prepay if you don't want to worry about it.
Ah will busy week at work but up to 8 posts, 2 more and i can do pictures.
alyssa

 

[flygrl]

I wish we could book now but we can't I have a late game in baseball Sunday night so I think I will stay up to book. My sister is six hours ahead so she is going to have to get up at 6a to join Eastern time. Hope we too can get what we want but if not we will make do I am sure

Alyssa: hope your DH gets his passport done, and only two more post....
Kathy(mom4): thank you for the tips guidelines I sent it to Darcie too.

Hope all is having a great day, Meghan is sick now, thought Sean was better sent him to daycare to call me at 10a to get him as he has a fever and is now not allowed to go to daycare tomorrow. So I had to take all this week off work to sit with the kids. Bonus is I am off Friday.
Tanya

 

[NC2WDW]

NC2WDW:

How old is your son? Are you also from NC? Anyways, it is off to bed . . .

He is 5 as well. I finally got up to 10 posts so I sent you a PM.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

I wish we could book now but we can't I have a late game in baseball Sunday night so I think I will stay up to book. My sister is six hours ahead so she is going to have to get up at 6a to join Eastern time. Hope we too can get what we want but if not we will make do I am sure

Alyssa: hope your DH gets his passport done, and only two more post....
Kathy(mom4): thank you for the tips guidelines I sent it to Darcie too.

Hope all is having a great day, Meghan is sick now, thought Sean was better sent him to daycare to call me at 10a to get him as he has a fever and is now not allowed to go to daycare tomorrow. So I had to take all this week off work to sit with the kids. Bonus is I am off Friday.
Tanya

BUMMER!!
Sure hope BOTH kids are well soon. I know how hard it is caring for sick kids. Now dont you had DH get it too
I guess if someone has to get ill, now is the time, not 2 months from now.

Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

I envy everyone who will be waiting up to start booking everything. No internet at my house means i have to wait tell lunch on monday. Oh well hopefully most things i want will still be available. DH is supposed to be taking care of his passport today, but i won't know for sure until he calls me after work, we shall see. Also on tipping I'm pretty sure you can just prepay if you don't want to worry about it.
Ah will busy week at work but up to 8 posts, 2 more and i can do pictures.
alyssa

If something is filled up remember if its an excursion you can continue to check at the excursions desk on board in case someone cancels, although it's best to have a 2nd choice when booking and go ahead and book it.. Then if the 1st choice opens up you can change it on board.

Greg booked Palos today and he had several choices still and YES they do save a few for those who wait to book until after they board the ship, plus people do cancel and also want to change the day they booked too, so there are lots of chances to get Palos once you board too. It probably wont be your first choice of time.
I think everyone i know who has wanted to do Palos has got worked in during the cruise . I dont remember anyone I know not getting to eat there.

Kathy