October 13th, 2007~"Cruise-A-Palooza"

[kawa]

The commercials are the best part!!

 

[Tinker326]

APOOHFAN, we got insurance for our cruise through Travelex. I had found they were rated the highest (rating of A-, I believe) with very decent prices. For 4 of us, 2 adults, 2 children...I believe our total was around $120? That included everything- medical, emergency, helicopter evac, plane reimbursement, trip cancelation, lost luggage..... I never really understood the whole pre-existing condition thing either. All I knew was that if I got the insurance before 30 days after I booked the cruise, I didn't have to worry about it. So that's what I did!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. It was cold & depressing here (BEARS LOST!).

Nicole

 

[bevtoy]

Its sunny and gonna be 70 degrees here in San Jose, CA!

I ordered the latest Passporters book from Amazon and they FINALLY just shipped it - can't wait to get it!

For those of you who got insurance, who did you use (ie Travelex, Travelguard, etc)? I started a new thread but only 1 person posted. I was confused about the whole pre-existing conditions. DH, DS & I have none and neither do any of our family members. Should I not worry about getting insurance in the next few days so that is waived? I currently had Dreams Unlimited include insurance in my rezzie but realized I could get it much cheaper on my own. I have emailed them to requote w/out insurance.

Sooooo...in a nutshell, what kind of insurance did you guys/gals get? The bare minimum? I'm frugal LOL

I got what ever came with the Disney site, live and learn. I am sure we overpaid, its been so long since we cruised that I forgot about pricing insurance.

 

[dobelover]

Travel Ins


I buy whatever my TA suggests. I will check my docs for the March cruise and see if it has the name of the ins co.

 

[APOOHFN]

Thanks all, for answering my insurance ???. Still haven't heard back from DU but will definitely get insurance on my own. The approx. $150 difference, I can apply towards my hotel stay the night before!

 

[bigben]

Apooh - no more talk about the weather in CA. OK Its just not right.

 

[bevtoy]

Thanks all, for answering my insurance ???. Still haven't heard back from DU but will definitely get insurance on my own. The approx. $150 difference, I can apply towards my hotel stay the night before!

Speaking of hotles the night before, whats everyones favorite hotel at Port Canaveral? We were considering The Holiday Inn at Cocoa Beach or Ron Jons. We haven't been to either one before.

 

[APOOHFN]

Sorry, bigben, for talking about the weather - I won't mention it was 70 degrees again today

Bevtoy - I haven't heard much about the Holiday Inn but read many folks like Ron Jon hotel. We're staying at the Residence Inn. The Radisson also seems to get a lot of thumbs up.

I took DS to the Disney Store today and we got some cute Mickey tshirts and various other attires - must get clothes 8 months early LOL

 

[bigben]

Yarrrrr not nice

 

[d'Isigny]

Happy Monday (it's almost ended - so, that makes this a happy monday),

Sorry to those that rooted for Da-Bears...congrats to the Colt's fans (not sure if we currently have any on this thread). Me...I'll just say - GO COWBOYS!!! Hope all enjoyed the excitement of the game. Was it me...or...were the commericals a let down? I saw 1 or 2 I liked...but nothing really freash and entertaining like in previous years. I thought they had way too many ads to sell their own shows. This was a big let down for me...anyone else see the same thing?

Speaking of weather (80+ degrees today - in Phx), the rain really changed the game. I wonder if dry weather would have given us a different outcome? I'm not a big Prince fan...but felt the half time show was pretty good. Since they do - do this live...I thought they might cancel. The thought of all that electronics getting wet and shorting out...what a possible disaster. The big buzz here is that next years Super Bowl is going to be held in Glendale, AZ. The stadium is ~10 miles from where we live. It's going to get crazy next dec/jan. We have; 3 college bowl games, a huge antique car auciton, a major PGA tournament --- ending with the Super Bowl....all in 6-7 weeks. OK...don't hate me cuz our winter is finally getting nice...you'll get your cracks at me during our summer.

Thanks for sharing your examples of cruise insurance. Our good friends moms have asked me to check into pricing for them. Just got a quote from DU today - it appears their total will be just under $200 combined - cruise only. This will make me 'shop around' a little bit. If any has an e-mail contact for travel insurance...I'd be grateful if you would pass this my way.

Well...that's it for now - wishing all a good night and a great Tuesday...Kevin

 

[cindrla]

We purchased insurance through Travel Insured, costing $300 for six people. Web address is travelinsured.com. Hope this is helpful Kevin. I am not sure if that is a good price or not, but it was cheaper than the Disney insurance.

P.S. Got my 2007 Passporters book on Friday and have not been able to put it down! I was a little disappointed in the Birnbaum's book.

 

[dobelover]

Speaking of hotles the night before, whats everyones favorite hotel at Port Canaveral? We were considering The Holiday Inn at Cocoa Beach or Ron Jons. We haven't been to either one before.

Bev - We have stayed at the Ron Jon several times, pre-cruise. Loved it! Very nice and well maintained. Friendly staff and several child friendly activities.
Sadly our pre-cruise stay in Oct will be WDW !!!!!

 

[jenmack]

Good morning everyone! First, I want to say that we will miss you Nancy and have a wonderful repo cruise next summer!

Also, I am with bigben. It's currently -3 with a big -18 with the windchill factored in. Better than yesterday which was -16 and windchill of -29. Lets just say i've seen warmer days. But ist's all good, and I'm sending "WARM" thougths your way... You people know who you are.

 

[bevtoy]

Its 17.4 here! and thats a heat wave after the last 2 days of 7 to 10 degrees F.

DOBELOVER:
Thanks for the news about Ron Jons, thats the one that gets the kids votes their lazy river/pool system looks good. Do you have to tolerate a sales pitch for their time shares or vacation club ?
I haven't called them yet .........I heard you had to sit through a 2 hour production trying to sell you shares? Do you have a website or a phone number for them that you use?

 

[dobelover]

Bev - I have always used the website. Fill out the form for rates and the resort sends you an email back with a phone #. Call the rep, pay in advance, all is good. We have never been to a sales pitch. It has been offered and we decline, no hassle. Not sure what rate break we would have gotten (if any) if we had listened.

http://ronjonresort.com/

 

[bevtoy]

Bev - I have always used the website. Fill out the form for rates and the resort sends you an email back with a phone #. Call the rep, pay in advance, all is good. We have never been to a sales pitch. It has been offered and we decline, no hassle. Not sure what rate break we would have gotten (if any) if we had listened.

http://ronjonresort.com/

Thats good news! I can cave to the wishes of my spoiled offspring and not have to listen to a sales pitch. <secretly I want to go Ron Jon's too>
Thanks for the website!

 

[APOOHFN]

We just changed our room from a cat 8 to a cat 5 (we wanted to stay on deck 7). It's a $688 price difference I was so wishy-washy trying to decide (and doing a search and reading a ton re: verandahs vs. non-verandahs).

Do you fellow Cruisa-Paloozas like verandahs?? I love the idea of having breakfast/coffee there in the morning and reading and having a place to hang out if you get up early or if DS is napping.

I haven't seen my new friends, homew3 & goofy12 in awhile but they have a cat 5 and I invited myself to their room for coffee in the morning on their verandah - now I can drink it in our own balcony

 

[d'Isigny]

We just changed our room from a cat 8 to a cat 5 (we wanted to stay on deck 7). It's a $688 price difference I was so wishy-washy trying to decide (and doing a search and reading a ton re: verandahs vs. non-verandahs).

Do you fellow Cruisa-Paloozas like verandahs?? I love the idea of having breakfast/coffee there in the morning and reading and having a place to hang out if you get up early or if DS is napping.

Hey APOOHFN - congrats on your upgrade - hope you enjoy every minute on it. On our 6 previous cruises...we've only sailed with a verandah once. We loved it!!!!! For this cruise, we discussed and wanted to go with a family suite...but, less cost, 2 bathrooms and the extra space made the 2 room discussion - for us. If it was just Nan and I...or...our DD's still took a nap - we'd spring for one. You will love the quiet time hearing only the movement of the ship - sounds of the sea...sipping coffee at sunrise...'adult beverages' at sunset. Kevin

 

[APOOHFN]

Kevin - thank you for making me feel better and less nuts LOL! Lots of people say they don't spend much time in the rooms so its not worth the verandah but DH & I will probably put that verandah to good use - wanna get my $$$$ worth
I especially like the idea of hanging out there and having breakfast first thing in the morning. I don't have to "look" decent and "put on my face!"

We're going to be on the starboard side - does anyone know if we'll be able to see the sunset from our room?

::crossing fingers neighbors aren't smokers::

 

[goofy12]

Hi everybody, Congrats on going Cat5 Apoohfn, you are still welcome to our varandah. Hey, we can go Varandah hopping on deck 7???? A different drink on each??? Anybody else???
Homew3 says "HI" to all.