October 17, 2009 Western

[calmpets]

Has anyone on our sailing received a call for cheap upgrades yet? I'm in a cat 9, which is fine, but I'm hoping to get a call offering me a verandah for the right price.

 

[GOLDEN TINKERBELL]

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted here is a while because I had my inlaws over and we were getting ready for the wedding... well... It's official! WE ARE MARRIED! Last saturday actually! The weather was aweful! It rained, it was freezing, windy, etc. but we had a BEAUTIFUL day anyway! It was awesome.

So now that we are married, we just have to wait for our honeymoon... come on october 17th!!!


As for the next cruise, my brand new DH and I are considering the TA cruise in september... maybe we'll book on the ship, or wait and possibly book a dummy date for 2011... I am not sure what to do yet, since maybe by next year it won't be just the 2 of us, but with an extra little person!

CONGRATULATIONS!
DH and I have been married for 30 years. It was an April day and it had snowed that morning. Snow looked like diamonds. It turned out to be a georgous day. A successful marriage takes not only LOVE but a lot of COMPROMISING. Hope you get that little one, they sure make life fun and full of surprises. Best of Luck!

 

[lucky1]

Has anyone on our sailing received a call for cheap upgrades yet? I'm in a cat 9, which is fine, but I'm hoping to get a call offering me a verandah for the right price.

April - I keep hoping too. I keep checking our curise dates and it still seems like there is a lot of availability so hoping they start offering upgrades.
I am still GTY, but knew that when we book our rooms that we could still be in "Steerage",

I just checked and every catagory has plenty of availability, except CAT 6 which is in GTY status and CAT 7, which only offered 4 rooms vs the normal 7-8 rooms. So here is hoping for pixie dust.

Laura

 

[aan1701]

Just wanted to say Congrats. DW and I well be Celebrating aniversary number 9 on Grand Caymen day 10/20.

 

[momsully]

Has anyone on our sailing received a call for cheap upgrades yet? I'm in a cat 9, which is fine, but I'm hoping to get a call offering me a verandah for the right price.

I keep hoping as well. I had our travel agent quote me an upgrade to a 6 the other day but it was still $700. We would get $100 OBC but it is still more than I want to pay right now. I am still debating.

Did anyone flying SWA see the thing about early check in? I just paid $40 to do it for our return flight. Now I don't have to stress about checking in on our Castaway Cay day!

 

[aan1701]

Did anyone flying SWA see the thing about early check in? I just paid $40 to do it for our return flight. Now I don't have to stress about checking in on our Castaway Cay day!

You know as a SWA emp. I was wondering how people would react to this and if they will do it.

 

[kerickson]

Did anyone flying SWA see the thing about early check in? I just paid $40 to do it for our return flight. Now I don't have to stress about checking in on our Castaway Cay day!

No, what is this and where can I get more info? My husband is an A-lister, so not sure if this is better...

 

[momsully]

You know as a SWA emp. I was wondering how people would react to this and if they will do it.

I think it is a great idea but there are two different camps here on the DIS. Some are very pro and some very negative as you can imagine. Check out the transportation and the family board for the different perspectives.

No, what is this and where can I get more info? My husband is an A-lister, so not sure if this is better...

A lister is better. You can read about it on the SWA site.

 

[aan1701]

No, what is this and where can I get more info? My husband is an A-lister, so not sure if this is better...

AS a A-lister, if your husband has his Rapid Rewards number in his reservation 36 hours before departure then he is automaticly checked in for his flight for free. The 10 bucks will check you in, but you will be behind all the Business Select and A-Listers. I will be happy to answer any questions that I can for all you guys regarding this or any other aspect of SWA travel.

 

[beansf]

WE ARE MARRIED!

Congrats to you and your new spouse, AnkaG!

I just checked and every catagory has plenty of availability, except CAT 6 which is in GTY status and CAT 7, which only offered 4 rooms vs the normal 7-8 rooms. So here is hoping for pixie dust.

Laura

I am glad to see I am not the only one that has been checking. I was just looking out of curiosity, though. I can't afford any upgrades that aren't absolutely FREE.

I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing Labor Day Weekend!

 

[yazee1]

I wish you all the best those of you who are hoping for upgrade cheap or free. We had a visit from the pixie dust fairy on our first cruise. We booked adjacent category 9 rooms but at check-in found out we were moved to connecting category 6's. Very cool.

 

[MommyTo5]

You know as a SWA emp. I was wondering how people would react to this and if they will do it.

As with the other changes during the past 3 years or so, I'm not liking this one.

We are long time and dedicated flyers of SWA. One of the things that we originally loved about the airline was the fact that they were so family friendly and they really seemed to treat their passengers equally. As time goes on, they're moving more and more away from that.

I remember when we started making our trips to FL, we really appreciated the family pre-boarding and the assurance that we would not only be able to get the car seats situated on the plane before the rush of passengers, but we'd be guaranteed seating with our children. During our first WDW trip in 2001, our kids were 10, 4, 3, 3, and 7 months. Although at times, I'm sure I would have loved to scatter my children around the plane so random passengers could dish out the snacks, refill the sippy cups, pick up the crayons that would constantly fall on the floor, etc... we obviously HAD to sit with them because they needed us during the flight. If we were flying with this same age scenario in 2009, it seems we'd now almost be forced to pay an additional $140 to guarantee that we'd be allowed to board with a semi-full plane. I'd be too scared to wait until after Business Select, A-List, EarlyBird, and others who may have obtained Boarding Group A boarded. I'm guessing that more often than not, there would not be 7 seats together at that point. (For those of you that don't know, SWA currently allows "an adult traveling with a child four years old or younger will board between the "A" and "B" boarding groups.")

As I'm currently a parent with mostly older children, I definitely won't be paying for the EarlyBird 'privilege' as I'm cheap/frugal/thrifty and I don't feel it would be necessary for us. During this trip, my older kids will be 13, 11, 11 & 9 and are perfectly capable of sitting together in twos even if they are many rows away from me. I'm proud to say that they are all very well behaved, good mannered kids and very good fliers! It won't bother DH to sit alone because he sleeps the entire flight anyway. I, of course, can sit alone with the (almost) 4 year old. We'd love to sit as a family if it works out, but it definitely wouldn't ruin our trip if we are apart during a 2.5 hour flight.

Sorry for the novel. Just saying that I think we all would have been fine without the addition of EarlyBird Check-In.

 

[CastMember 02]

Hi there, what a busy few weeks, clearance summer sales,work, getting ready for D23 weekend and Birthday Weekend and all that jazz, has anyone else recieved their luggage tags and what not, ours arrived today We are ready to bust from excitement

 

[aan1701]

As with the other changes during the past 3 years or so, I'm not liking this one.

We are long time and dedicated flyers of SWA. One of the things that we originally loved about the airline was the fact that they were so family friendly and they really seemed to treat their passengers equally. As time goes on, they're moving more and more away from that.

I remember when we started making our trips to FL, we really appreciated the family pre-boarding and the assurance that we would not only be able to get the car seats situated on the plane before the rush of passengers, but we'd be guaranteed seating with our children. During our first WDW trip in 2001, our kids were 10, 4, 3, 3, and 7 months. Although at times, I'm sure I would have loved to scatter my children around the plane so random passengers could dish out the snacks, refill the sippy cups, pick up the crayons that would constantly fall on the floor, etc... we obviously HAD to sit with them because they needed us during the flight. If we were flying with this same age scenario in 2009, it seems we'd now almost be forced to pay an additional $140 to guarantee that we'd be allowed to board with a semi-full plane. I'd be too scared to wait until after Business Select, A-List, EarlyBird, and others who may have obtained Boarding Group A boarded. I'm guessing that more often than not, there would not be 7 seats together at that point. (For those of you that don't know, SWA currently allows "an adult traveling with a child four years old or younger will board between the "A" and "B" boarding groups.")

As I'm currently a parent with mostly older children, I definitely won't be paying for the EarlyBird 'privilege' as I'm cheap/frugal/thrifty and I don't feel it would be necessary for us. During this trip, my older kids will be 13, 11, 11 & 9 and are perfectly capable of sitting together in twos even if they are many rows away from me. I'm proud to say that they are all very well behaved, good mannered kids and very good fliers! It won't bother DH to sit alone because he sleeps the entire flight anyway. I, of course, can sit alone with the (almost) 4 year old. We'd love to sit as a family if it works out, but it definitely wouldn't ruin our trip if we are apart during a 2.5 hour flight.

Sorry for the novel. Just saying that I think we all would have been fine without the addition of EarlyBird Check-In.

Good feedback. I, belive it or not, agree with you. Oh not the part about the the fact that we now require you to borad in between A and B if you do not have a A pass, but with the early bird thing. I encouge you to write in with the complaint. Only thing I can say to suport this thing, would you as a consumer rather have the option of paying for a better boarding pass, or not being able to check bags for free? I do not think enough people will pay for the early bird to make a huge differance. Just my opinion, because I hink it is too expencive. Also the family boarding will not change. Also I can tell you that as a boarding agent I have the power to do what is right. What I mean by that is this example. On Wed. I worked a flight with 53 thru passengers. I notecied some familes had checked in and were not intheback a group and it was going to be a full flight. I took it upon myself to put them on first since in my eyes that is the right thing to do. Again I comletely respect you comments and I think you should forward them to our HQ.

 

[aan1701]

Hi there, what a busy few weeks, clearance summer sales,work, getting ready for D23 weekend and Birthday Weekend and all that jazz, has anyone else recieved their luggage tags and what not, ours arrived today We are ready to bust from excitement

Hey Steve. Just wondering what your pre cruise plans are? You sent me a message that you might like to hang out at WDW. That would be cool. I have a couple of Dining reservations you can get it on if you like.

 

[calmpets]

I think SWA does a great job of taking care of everybody anyway. I often fly solo, and don't care very much where I sit. Once there was a parent and young child who were later in the boarding process. The flight attendant asked if anyone would change their seat so they could be seated together, and several people including myself offered. It was very easily done, and the person who changed got a complimentary cocktail during the flight. Everyone was happy. I don't have a problem with their early bird option, mainly because it's an optional fee. I'd much rather that than having to pay for things like bringing luggage onboard.

 

[MommyTo5]

I think SWA does a great job of taking care of everybody anyway. I often fly solo, and don't care very much where I sit. Once there was a parent and young child who were later in the boarding process. The flight attendant asked if anyone would change their seat so they could be seated together, and several people including myself offered. It was very easily done, and the person who changed got a complimentary cocktail during the flight. Everyone was happy. I don't have a problem with their early bird option, mainly because it's an optional fee. I'd much rather that than having to pay for things like bringing luggage onboard.

As a whole, I'm still very happy with the airline too. I'm just saying that I was happier before they started grouping people... treating some as if they are more important than others. I think that the new addition of EarlyBird could change things for the worse. Once people feel that they paid for the privilege of selecting a good seat, they are going to be less likely to offer to move so that the families that need to sit together can be accomodated.

I obviously know these are all corporate decisions, so I'm not holding this against anyone but the corporate decision maker who decided it would be any easy way for the airline to make some extra $$. We've absolutely loved all the crew members we've encountered through the years. We love the nonstop flights. There was actually a time when I felt SWA did EVERYTHING right though. It's sad to see times are changing!

 

[MommyTo5]

Hi there, what a busy few weeks, clearance summer sales,work, getting ready for D23 weekend and Birthday Weekend and all that jazz, has anyone else recieved their luggage tags and what not, ours arrived today We are ready to bust from excitement

Oops! I just realized that I never called Member Services to add ME onto our DVC reservation! I guess I'll need to do that today!!! Thanks for the reminder, Steve!

 

[lucky1]

Hi there, what a busy few weeks, clearance summer sales,work, getting ready for D23 weekend and Birthday Weekend and all that jazz, has anyone else recieved their luggage tags and what not, ours arrived today We are ready to bust from excitement

Steve - Are you a DL CM?
Luggage tags already. Wow how exciting. Nothing on our part. I keep checking if we have a stateroom assignment, but nothing yet. I guess I would expect at 30 days out. I still don't have our luggage tags yet for ME on our WDW side of things.

Maybe this long weekend I will get things together for the cruise and all in one place

Laura

 

[MommyTo5]

Steve - Are you a DL CM?
Luggage tags already. Wow how exciting. Nothing on our part. I keep checking if we have a stateroom assignment, but nothing yet. I guess I would expect at 30 days out. I still don't have our luggage tags yet for ME on our WDW side of things.

Maybe this long weekend I will get things together for the cruise and all in one place

Laura

I can't wait to see what you get with your Cat 12 GTY, Laura! We booked 2 for our February Wonder cruise... I thought the savings ($400!) was worth taking a gamble!