October 26, 2013 HalloWonder Cruise

[Rozzy]

Happy 193 Days To Go Until Embarkation!

The ToT list is now updated with confirmed participants. If I'm missing someone please let me know and I'll get you added.

Nancy (nerick8), I didn't add your two girls because I wasn't sure if they wanted to ToT. DS Michael is borderline but like any kid is always up for candy! So let me know if you want me to add the girls.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1NUZuGCzj6dHFKd3NnVi1xcU56UlBhMzVKV2k5Nmc#gid=1

All of my info is correct...thanks for doing this! It will make things much much easier for us come cruise time

193 days? Wow, it sounds way less that way to me than 6 months!

 

[Mekamax]

We've never traveled with friends and I think that's probably why, to avoid the awkwardness. I'm an introvert which means I enjoy being around people but only for a certain amount of time, even friends. One of my friends was surprised to hear I was an introvert because I can come off very outgoing. However, in a management class I was in many years ago the way the instructor defined the difference between introverts and extroverts is that the extrovert gets their energy being around people while introverts feel their energy drained and need to go off somewhere quiet to recharge. On the cruise I expect the verandah to be my recharging station.......with a nice tropical cocktail in hand! [/QUOTE]

This is an interesting concept and I looked into it a bit more. As I love being around people I also need my family time away too and that is more important to me by far. I'm very outgoing and need time to renergize away especially if it is negative people. I've gotten to the point I just don't even want to be around them at all or when people just get on a negative kick and want to complain about everything... I used to dream about being on a cruise and being around lots of people and having such a great time and then getting off and looking back at the ship very upset that I didn't ever get to see the ocean as I was too busy socializing??? Looking at the ocean is so important - just being away and enjoying the view...

 

[Mekamax]

Our last cruise we met in the Promenade lounge at 3pm. Gives us time for a meet and greet before the muster drill. Also, If anyone has changed rooms or upgraded at check-in, a master list can be updated and all participants can make the change to their lists. It also is a great time for parents to introduce kids the same ages.

This is what we were going to do last cruise but the ship was delayed coming in by fog and people didn't even get to start boarding until 2:30pm... So no Meet and a lot of us really missed it as there were those we were looking forward to meeting... Still got to meet some we ran into and had arranged to meet but was disappointing... In Oct fog shouldn't be a problem but it would be nice to have a backup planned..

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Our last cruise we met in the Promenade lounge at 3pm. Gives us time for a meet and greet before the muster drill. Also, If anyone has changed rooms or upgraded at check-in, a master list can be updated and all participants can make the change to their lists. It also is a great time for parents to introduce kids the same ages.

Great idea.

What time does the ship actually pull away? We live about 4 hours from Galveston and we have always driven for every other cruise... But lets face it, when you are boarding Carnival do you really care if you board early? Noon or 3pm, it is all the same. This time I want to squeeze every last drop of fun I can from this ship (maybe because it costs 5xs as much???).... I floated the idea of diving down after work on Friday and staying in a hotel, but hubs gave me the sweaty eyeball.

 

[kjack89048]

Great idea.

What time does the ship actually pull away? We live about 4 hours from Galveston and we have always driven for every other cruise... But lets face it, when you are boarding Carnival do you really care if you board early? Noon or 3pm, it is all the same. This time I want to squeeze every last drop of fun I can from this ship (maybe because it costs 5xs as much???).... I floated the idea of diving down after work on Friday and staying in a hotel, but hubs gave me the sweaty eyeball.

I think everyone has to be on by 4:00 PM I believe we will arrive around 1:00 PM I can't wait to get on the ship!

 

[CatDenver]

This is what we were going to do last cruise but the ship was delayed coming in by fog and people didn't even get to start boarding until 2:30pm... So no Meet and a lot of us really missed it as there were those we were looking forward to meeting... Still got to meet some we ran into and had arranged to meet but was disappointing... In Oct fog shouldn't be a problem but it would be nice to have a backup planned..

Good point! I've read of delays due to weather/fog so the idea of a backup plan is a good idea. Since Sunday is a sea day maybe we can designate a time as our meet up in the event we're delayed Saturday. As we have more detailed info we can nail down the meet time, the back up plan, and also the trick or treat logistics.

Great idea.

What time does the ship actually pull away? We live about 4 hours from Galveston and we have always driven for every other cruise... But lets face it, when you are boarding Carnival do you really care if you board early? Noon or 3pm, it is all the same. This time I want to squeeze every last drop of fun I can from this ship (maybe because it costs 5xs as much???).... I floated the idea of diving down after work on Friday and staying in a hotel, but hubs gave me the sweaty eyeball.

Our itinerary on DCL says onboard time is 3:30 pm which I think means everyone has to be onboard at that time. I'm assuming the ship would actually leave by 4 or 4:30.

I think everyone has to be on by 4:00 PM I believe we will arrive around 1:00 PM I can't wait to get on the ship!

Since you're the more experienced cruiser I'll defer to you, Kristen. Maybe they post the itinerary as 3:30 pm and give those who typically run late buffer time. I'm in agreement with Heather. The earlier we can get on board, the better. If we could get on the ship at 6am I'd be there with coffee in hand. The sooner, the better!!!!

 

[CatDenver]

For those of you in the group who, like me are first timers on DCL, there's a place where the Navigators from previous sailings are being posted. Here's the link:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Last night I read some of them to see what type of activities are available on the ship. The phrase, "So much to do, so little time" came to mind as I was reading through some of them. Can't wait for this trip!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

For those of you in the group who, like me are first timers on DCL, there's a place where the Navigators from previous sailings are being posted. Here's the link:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Last night I read some of them to see what type of activities are available on the ship. The phrase, "So much to do, so little time" came to mind as I was reading through some of them. Can't wait for this trip!

I can already see I am going to need all my organizational talents to leep track of where everyone is and to make sure we don't miss anything. of course, missing something just means we have to do another cruise!

I know the Magic and Wonder are sister ships.... Does anyone know when the Wonder itself will begin sailing "our" itinerary out of G'ton?

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

From reading other posts on the boards, it seems that many peeps are unaware of the "WON" code available on cruises out of Galveston... Just wanted to be sure that all of you took advantage of it and got your on-board credit! If not, you can still call and apply it to your ressie... I forgot when I made my parent's reservation and I called back and asked if I could still apply it and they said, sure!

 

[Mekamax]

For those of you in the group who, like me are first timers on DCL, there's a place where the Navigators from previous sailings are being posted. Here's the link:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Last night I read some of them to see what type of activities are available on the ship. The phrase, "So much to do, so little time" came to mind as I was reading through some of them. Can't wait for this trip!

In Feb on our first Disney cruise we did a 4 nighter because we were concerned if it might be Disney overload (mainly on hubby ) LOL and the amount of kids on board but we had such an awesome time and we slept maybe 5 hours a night as when we got back to the cabin around 11pm to midnight (late dinner lasted 2 hours till 10:30pm most nights) there were great movies playing I hadn't seen and stayed up and watched them and then up by 7 or 8am as so much to do!! And with kids there would be so much more like Meet the Princesses and all kinds of stuff. Couldn't imagine as we couldn't do everything without kids! Had to go back on this cruise so I can do all we missed and enjoy the ship more.

 

[Mekamax]

From reading other posts on the boards, it seems that many peeps are unaware of the "WON" code available on cruises out of Galveston... Just wanted to be sure that all of you took advantage of it and got your on-board credit! If not, you can still call and apply it to your ressie... I forgot when I made my parent's reservation and I called back and asked if I could still apply it and they said, sure!

This is the $150 outside and $100 inside with 1/2 price deposit right??

 

[Mekamax]

Great idea.

What time does the ship actually pull away? We live about 4 hours from Galveston and we have always driven for every other cruise... But lets face it, when you are boarding Carnival do you really care if you board early? Noon or 3pm, it is all the same. This time I want to squeeze every last drop of fun I can from this ship (maybe because it costs 5xs as much???).... I floated the idea of diving down after work on Friday and staying in a hotel, but hubs gave me the sweaty eyeball.

Once we do final payment and if you are a first time cruiser you get online and sign up for "port arrival" times. They start at 11am and then go from there. Different than Carnival when you just get there whenever... If you have cruised before with Disney you can sign up a few days earlier as long as you are paid in full... Not sure when you can board after as our cruise was fogged out and came in late so no one boarded till 2:30pm and we were in the first group boarding... I wanted my boiled shrimp on the lunch buffet!

 

[nerick8]

I can already see I am going to need all my organizational talents to leep track of where everyone is and to make sure we don't miss anything. of course, missing something just means we have to do another cruise!

I know the Magic and Wonder are sister ships.... Does anyone know when the Wonder itself will begin sailing "our" itinerary out of G'ton?

On Sept 14th, the Wonder will reposition from Los Angeles to Galveston.

http://pixiedustvacations.com/cruise-vacations/premium-cruises/disney-cruise-line.html

On my website, click on the "Disney Cruise Itineraries" and you can see a PDF of all of the DCL ships.

 

[nerick8]

Once we do final payment and if you are a first time cruiser you get online and sign up for "port arrival" times. They start at 11am and then go from there. Different than Carnival when you just get there whenever... If you have cruised before with Disney you can sign up a few days earlier as long as you are paid in full... Not sure when you can board after as our cruise was fogged out and came in late so no one boarded till 2:30pm and we were in the first group boarding... I wanted my boiled shrimp on the lunch buffet!

Even though you can check in at 11am, they usually don't start boarding til closer to noon. We just sailed on the Magic out of Galveston on March 29th. At check-in you are given a boarding "group number". When they start the boarding process, group numbers are called out.

We had a check in time of 12pm, but then had to wait til 1:15 or so to board.

You cannot access your staterooms until 1:30 or 2pm, so when we board we go have lunch. 2 choices (both buffet) Parrot Cay on Deck 3 aft, or go up to Topsiders on deck 9 aft. We prefer Parrot Cay, as they will seat you at a table, you can drop your carryon bags and get your lunch (waiter will serve drinks). At Topsiders you have to find your own table. (not easy with carryon's and lunch tray). Hope this helps!

 

[CatDenver]

Since a few of us have tweens I thought I'd share this thread I'm following to get a feel for what's going on in the Edge.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3097597

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

This is the $150 outside and $100 inside with 1/2 price deposit right??

Yep!! And $200 for some of the higher categories.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

I got inspired this morning and just had to share... Our photo matte for character autographs is all ready to go....

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[Rozzy]

I got inspired this morning and just had to share... Our photo matte for character autographs is all ready to go....

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Wow! What a great way to preserve your memories! The autographs will add some extra fun to your home

We just purchased our Fish Extenders at Ikea, and they are ready for us to modify and add our own flair! I keep coming up with ideas for the actual FE gifts...but I need to keep a list somewhere to keep track of them, and to edit once I have time to think about each idea a bit more in depth. I suppose it all depends on how many participating cabins we end up having, b/c I am sure that some of my ideas are much more involved than the some of the others on my list!

 

[CatDenver]

I got inspired this morning and just had to share... Our photo matte for character autographs is all ready to go....

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Heather, these are so cute! I wish we had a better picture of us at Disneyland last summer that we could do the same thing.

Wow! What a great way to preserve your memories! The autographs will add some extra fun to your home

We just purchased our Fish Extenders at Ikea, and they are ready for us to modify and add our own flair! I keep coming up with ideas for the actual FE gifts...but I need to keep a list somewhere to keep track of them, and to edit once I have time to think about each idea a bit more in depth. I suppose it all depends on how many participating cabins we end up having, b/c I am sure that some of my ideas are much more involved than the some of the others on my list!

Rozzy, I was thinking the same thing about the list becasue I've started making things and I also get ideas whenever I see something Disney related. I really need to plan out who is getting what. I've had a few nutty ideas on FE gifts where I had to reel myself in! It's just so exciting that it's easy to go overboard!

 

[CatDenver]

We've added another column to the FE and ToT lists to get ideas for gifts and Halloween goodies. If you haven't already, please post the favorite Disney character of everyone in your stateroom, children and adults, if the adult has one. We'll add it to the list. Thanks!