October 22, 2005 Roll call

[Cavecats]

Weather Update


As of 9:00 a.m. EST - Thursday, October 20, 2005

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Wilma very closely as it moves through the western Caribbean. According to the latest projections from the National Weather Service, there is still considerable uncertainty surrounding the specific timing and path of the storm.

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes in the October 22, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic or the October 23, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder.

The October 15, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic is currently completing an eastern Caribbean sailing, and the October 20, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder will set sail from Port Canaveral as scheduled.

The safety and security of our guests is always our top priority. If necessary, our Captains are always prepared to alter the ships' courses or itinerary to navigate away from inclement weather.

 

[MelissaE1]

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes in the October 22, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic or the October 23, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder.

Read: "We anticipate them all right. In fact, we are pulling our hair out trying to figure out what the weather will be like where before God even knows. But we're not telling YOU that. You'll just call us more."

 

[ThreeSmiths]

I was wondering about the refunds as well. When we pay for the events at Grand Caymen and Cozumel, are we charged even if we don't make it there?

Last year we had our own excursions booked at GC and Cozumel (not through Disney). We never got charged for our Capt. Marvin's Stingray City excursion in GC and we did get refunded in full for our Dolphin/Sealion Swim in Cozumel.

I think most tour operators will refund any deposits or money you have already paid if your ship is diverted.

Of course, DCL will not charge your shipboard account for any shore excursions booked through them.

Well, back to packing and cleaning, packing and cleaning....oh! I weighed one of my suitcases and it was just over the 50 lb weight limit imposed by US Air.....have to rearrange!

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Read: "We anticipate them all right. In fact, we are pulling our hair out trying to figure out what the weather will be like where before God even knows. But we're not telling YOU that. You'll just call us more."

LOL

Isn't that the truth????

 

[JeffKiel]

I was just talking with DW and are are both puzzled about the Key West thing. It is obvious to EVERYONE that KW is out, but they are still saying no changes. Come on, let's be real here, folks!

 

[Eric95403]

I was just talking with DW and are are both puzzled about the Key West thing. It is obvious to EVERYONE that KW is out, but they are still saying no changes. Come on, let's be real here, folks!

Would it be possible to hit KW later in the week? I have no clue... Yes, for Sunday...KW is out, we can all safely assume that.

 

[JeffKiel]

I am sure they could reorder things, sure...just depends on how it looks.

 

[Skaught]

The Navigator will read, "Visit the ruins of the mythical Key West, a once vibrant tourist attraction that was mysteriously abandoned seemingly overnight."

Of course, there will still be gift shops.

Scott

 

[jillian1027]

Hi all...I am new to DCL but not to cruising. Have never been involved in a hurricane before. We just move to FL from NJ this past summer so all of our previous trips were out of NYC. We thought we would enjoy the ride out to Port Canaveral from our new home but now that looks like a rainy trek. We live about 2.5 hours away from PCanav. We live inland from the gulf so my mom and brother, who live on the gulf coast want to stay at my house, which is fine but it is all quite nerve wracking while trying to pack, etc. There is no place for them to sit if they come here before we leave because I have clothes all over! Obviously life could be worse. What week to pick for this cruise! My son's 10 birthday will be celebrated on this cruise and he has been looking forward to this for over a year! I am really trying to stay happy but I am so sad!

 

[Eric95403]

Here's a question maybe someone can answer...I saw it posted elsewhere, I just feel like looking for it now as we're almost, finally, done packing and we're getting on the road here shortly. I guess the Western is more expensive than the Eastern to book. I have no idea, I just remember reading it somewhere. I also thought I read that if a Western gets bumped to an Eastern, DCL will give a few minor perks to those sailing to lesson the inconvenience. Any truth to that?? I'm not looking for freebies, I don't care...I just know I read something about that....anyone know?

 

[MelissaE1]

What week to pick for this cruise! My son's 10 birthday will be celebrated on this cruise and he has been looking forward to this for over a year! I am really trying to stay happy but I am so sad!

Hi there!

It's stressful packing, worrying about your house or your relatives' houses, and wondering what the heck Disney is going to do. But, once you get on the ship you'll be surprised how much fun we are going to have. Cruising in general is wonderful as you know, but DCL usually goes above and beyond. There truly is Disney "magic" and I am sure it will come into play for us. Hang in there and we'll see you 3:00 at the Mickey pool if you want to meet us all there! And Happy Birthday to your DS!

 

[MelissaE1]

Eric 95403, I don't know the answer to your question, although I know several people on this cruise have seen this before. I would guess it's at the whim of the captain. I know they stress that they are free to change the itinerary if they feel it necessary, but I have heard of them giving people free drinks or the like.

Anyone noticed the 5:00 "weather update" on the DCL site? It still says the exact same thing... no changes anticipated. Apparently they either mean no changes in the time we leave the port, or they don't have a very high opinion of the intelligence of their "guests", lol.

 

[ReneeQ]

I know a lot of people have already left for the cruise. Is anyone else still here? We head to Port Canaveral in the morning, around 11 am. It's a 5-6 hour drive for us. I feel like things are looking up and the weather report isn't as dismal as it looked earlier in the week. See you all soon!

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

ReneeQ, I am barely still here. We are watching our Va Tech Hokies play football, then a nap before leaving for the airport at 5am!

Everyone still left to travel, have a safe trip, we will see you on deck Sat at 3pm!

Dawn

 

[Mrs.Abuboo]

We're still here. We live in Orlando. So we're going to board the puppies Saturday morning and then my mommy-in-law is driving my husband and I to the Port. I'm a teacher and also taking my masters right now. I had a partner assignment due tomorrow that I just got finished and a group project due the Saturday night we return. Apparently since I won't be there for the group discussion next week, I got nominated to type it up. Hope I'm up for it after our week at sea. My husband has finished packing and I'm almost done. He's taking off tomorrow from work to get the place cleaned and I'll come home for school tomorrow night and finish up. I'm still hoping for going around Cuba the other way and going to GC, Cozumel, and then the keys. But at this point, I'll settle for the Bahamas. I'm just hoping that we're not going to go out to the Atlantic, hang for 7 days and then return.

 

[hyandui]

I know a lot of people have already left for the cruise. Is anyone else still here? We head to Port Canaveral in the morning, around 11 am. It's a 5-6 hour drive for us. I feel like things are looking up and the weather report isn't as dismal as it looked earlier in the week. See you all soon!

We are still here in northeast Pa, heading out to Phila at 3pm tomorrow, Saturday morning we fly out at 7am, that will put us in the hands of Mickey about 9am, I was watching tv and they said the govener is ordering eveyone out of Southern Florida, are they going to let the people heading for the port to travel south? Disney's bus's might not be stopped, but how about the people traveling in their own cars, it was reported that some of the stations are allready out of fuel. Boy do we need all the Pixie dust Disney can spare.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

I would be sure to fill up in southern Georgia if fuel is a concern. PC is not "southern" Florida, in my opinion, so hopefully it will not be an evacuation area. But I don't think the governor of Florida will be taking my opinion into consideration.

We're heading to the airport at 6 am and then off to MGM Studios and MNSSHP tomorrow! We'll see you all Saturday at 3 pm!

Safe travels to all!

Stacy

 

[ReneeQ]

Glad to see a few of us are still around! Our tank is full now and we will top it off before we hit the Florida line, which is only about 100 miles from here, just to be safe. We travel I-95, and I'm pretty sure it won't be four lanes out of Florida (as opposed to two in each direction) from "up here" in Savannah down to Port Canaveral. I'm really starting to feel excited and feel like it will all be alright.

As much as my husband and I (and probably most of you!) needed this vacation, just due to the daily stresses of life, we all REALLY need it now after all the stress of Wilma! I'm not much of a drinker, but am looking forward to my first drink onboard! Wouldn't it be nice if Disney had free drinks the first day?!? (I know they can't control the weather!).

 

[MelissaE1]

I'm still here... we will leave about 7:30 or so tomorrow morning and should get to Orlando around 3:00 or 4:00. Then it's off to MNSSHP!

There are no "forced" evacuations as far as I can tell, except the Keys for visitors. I would be surprised to see much of a mandatory evacuation anywhere else at this point. So we should all have no problem getting to the port. It's really central Florida as opposed to south, plus on the opposite side of the peninsula from any impact. It's truly a dangerous storm for the Yucatan, but the media does tend to hype this stuff up and make it look like the whole state of Florida will be blown away shortly, lol. They are forecasting it to be severely downgraded by the time it gets here (if it does) and once it starts heading over the peninsula it should break up most of what's left. All that was to say, don't worry.

IMHO, Cozumel is out of the question.

And ReneeQ, I'm not much of a drinker either, but I'll be right there if they start handing out free Bahama Mamas!

 

[Skaught]

Just saw on the local news that traffic in the Tampa Bay area is picking up due to people evacuating from down south. So people should give themselves extra time just to be safe.

Scott