October 2nd Mexican Riviera Cruise

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

I took a peek last night at the availability of everything - lots open!

Feels strange not to book anything though

Have a wonderful Father's Day! We are off to see Cars 2 this afternoon.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well, I had an early, but successful morning. As planned, I did not set the alarm, but I woke up at just after 6:00 AM my time, which is about an hour after my booking window opened. I was very excited when I logged in and noticed that tea, brunch and dinner were still available at Palo. I decided to book tea first and it was available for all three sea days. I decided to book this for the first sea day. My heart just about stopped when I got an error message that there was an error on the page and it would not let me save it. However, I went back to the beginning and tried again. This time it let me book this. Booking brunch and dinner was was no problem. I booked Brunch for 11:30 on the second sea day and dinner for 19:30 on October 6th as this is Graham’s birthday.

I had no problems booking our snorkelling and sea kayaking excursion in Puerto Vallarta and the Sea of Cortez Snorkelling Experience at Cabo san Lucas for Graham. This is only offered on the second day in Cabo, but that is fine. The last thing I had left to book was the Dolphin Trainer for a Day for me at Cabo. This is offered on both days in Cabo, but I ended up booking this for the second day. I did not have the heart to leave Graham to his own devices on his birthday. Booking this was an absolute nightmare. I kept getting the same error message that I had got when I tried to book tea. After 5 attempts, this was finally confirmed. Go figure that the two activities that are probably the most difficult to get are the only ones that caused problems. It did not let me do online check in this morning, but I completed this when I got back to work. This is now a lot more user-friendly.

Other things are coming together as well. My dress for Formal Night has now arrived. It was not quite what I expected. I got it from Ebay and on the listing is said that it was gold. So I thought that would be nice for Formal Night, because of the tie in with Golden Mickeys and Mickey and Minnie wear their gold outfits. On the photo in the listing, it looked like an antique gold. In real life, it is actually a rust brown. It is very beautiful and I will love wearing it, but it was not quite what I expected.

I also made more inroads with the supplies for one of the cabin gifts. Unfortunately I managed to forget one important part. Still, I will order this either later today or tomorrow and then I can get on with this later in the week. In the meantime I will put the finishing touches to the other gifts.

Corinna

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Happy Father's Day everyone! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Corinna, I'm glad things worked out for your excursions and reservations. Is the online reservations process always that difficult? I will be trying it out in a couple of weeks. Does the window open up at midnight Florida time?

Our oldest son is home from West Point his week! He just finished his first (plebe) year and Airborne school then flew in late Friday night. It' so nice to have everyone home and under one roof!

Have a great evening and week ahead!

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Do you know when we will have the final count for the FE? I know what I am doing but want to figure out how many I need.

Thanks!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Happy Father's Day everyone! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Corinna, I'm glad things worked out for your excursions and reservations. Is the online reservations process always that difficult? I will be trying it out in a couple of weeks. Does the window open up at midnight Florida time?

Our oldest son is home from West Point his week! He just finished his first (plebe) year and Airborne school then flew in late Friday night. It' so nice to have everyone home and under one roof!

Have a great evening and week ahead!

Actually, this was incredibly easy this time round. The DCL website is a bit of a nightmare and does not cope well with a lot of people trying to book or reserve something at the same time. 4 of my 6 cruises were special cruises and making reservations for them was interesting to say the least. For the Panama Canal cruise, we booked this quite late so we made our reservations at a different time from other people, but for the others we just got Mickey swimming around and the the website timing out before we actually managed to book something.

The window does open up at midnight Florida time. Suite guests, Platinum Castaway Club Members, MAW families and people having a wedding or vow renewal on board can make their reservations at 120 days out, Gold Castaway Club members at 105, Silver Castaway club members at 90 days out and first time cruisers at 75 days out.

Yay for having your son home. Will he be home now for the rest of the summer?

Do you know when we will have the final count for the FE? I know what I am doing but want to figure out how many I need.

Thanks!

The cut off date is August 2nd. After this we will have precise numbers. I know there are still people undecided and we may gain or lose some people around the final payment date. So two months ahead of the cruise seemed to be a perfect cut off point.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Something just hit me today. When I booked tea at Palo yesterday, it had not sunk in that this is the same day as Formal Night. This will work really well for me. I decided that I will wear the dress and the shoes that I have ordered for the Halloween costume for tea as well. It is referred to as a tea-length dress, so that seems to fit well. Once I got the dress and know the exact shade of pink, I will see if I can get a matching fascinator. With it being Formal night, there should be plenty of photo opportunities around. So I will try to make good use of them before early dinner in my tea dress. If a free cocktail will make its way into my hands in the process, then all the better. I then get changed into my formal night dress when people are going to early dinner and then I can have the same photos taken again. That way I should get plenty of nice photos. I am seriously considering getting another photo CD as long as I can get enough photos to justify this.


Corinna

 

[OtherEvans]

That way I should get plenty of nice photos. I am seriously considering getting another photo CD as long as I can get enough photos to justify this.

I know I will be so weak in ordering the pictures! I read in another thread that Shutter's is Disney's version of a casino. lol! No doubt I will just keep pouring money into it. I'd sure love to get the cd too.

Meredith

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Actually, this was incredibly easy this time round. The DCL website is a bit of a nightmare and does not cope well with a lot of people trying to book or reserve something at the same time. 4 of my 6 cruises were special cruises and making reservations for them was interesting to say the least. For the Panama Canal cruise, we booked this quite late so we made our reservations at a different time from other people, but for the others we just got Mickey swimming around and the the website timing out before we actually managed to book something.

The window does open up at midnight Florida time. Suite guests, Platinum Castaway Club Members, MAW families and people having a wedding or vow renewal on board can make their reservations at 120 days out, Gold Castaway Club members at 105, Silver Castaway club members at 90 days out and first time cruisers at 75 days out.

Yay for having your son home. Will he be home now for the rest of the summer?



The cut off date is August 2nd. After this we will have precise numbers. I know there are still people undecided and we may gain or lose some people around the final payment date. So two months ahead of the cruise seemed to be a perfect cut off point.

Corinna

We've cruised with Disney before but we have never used the online reservations. We get the July 4th window which opens up at on the 3rd at 9pm here in the west coast time zone. Hopefully it will be working smoothly. I like to see Mickey swimming, but only for a few seconds!

It's been so great having our son home this week! He only gets to come home 5 times during the year. He is at school across the country from us as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He'll head back there on Friday for another round of training and then come home for short visit at the end of July before he starts his second year. He is really bummed that he isn't joining us on our cruise!

It's going to be 97 degrees today! Too hot! I hope everyone has a great day!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I know I will be so weak in ordering the pictures! I read in another thread that Shutter's is Disney's version of a casino. lol! No doubt I will just keep pouring money into it. I'd sure love to get the cd too.

Meredith

I suppose they have a point. Shutters is not operated by Disney, but by another company. So I don't think that Disney will see any profits from this.

I have decided the point of no return for me is 100 photos. If I can get at least 100 photos, then $299 is good value for me. If you but the CD, then any prints or photo packages that you buy are 50% off. The first time I did the CD, I got a bunch of prints as well, but I found that I really don't care about the borders. So on the Panama Canal cruise, I bought the photo with a captain as a print so that I had something with the cruise date and other than that I was fine with the photos on the CD.

Another cash cow are normally the excursions. Disney usually has a fairly hefty mark up compared to booking the excursion direct. This does not seem the case with the excursions on the Mexican Riviera cruises. For the excursion that we are doing in Puerto Vallarta there is a $10 difference between booking it through the tour operator or through DCL, which is not bad for a 7.5 hour excursion.

The Dolphin Trainer for a Day excursion that I have booked in Cabo is $400 when booking with the facility direct, but only $345 when booked through DCL.

We've cruised with Disney before but we have never used the online reservations. We get the July 4th window which opens up at on the 3rd at 9pm here in the west coast time zone. Hopefully it will be working smoothly. I like to see Mickey swimming, but only for a few seconds!

It's been so great having our son home this week! He only gets to come home 5 times during the year. He is at school across the country from us as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He'll head back there on Friday for another round of training and then come home for short visit at the end of July before he starts his second year. He is really bummed that he isn't joining us on our cruise!

It's going to be 97 degrees today! Too hot! I hope everyone has a great day!!

I am so jealous. This is shaping up to be the third year in the row where we have no summer. Last year I had to wear a lightweight jacket all through the summer.

What are you hoping to book on July 4th?

Corinna

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

I am so jealous. This is shaping up to be the third year in the row where we have no summer. Last year I had to wear a lightweight jacket all through the summer.

What are you hoping to book on July 4th?

Corinna

We had a very long winter this year with a record snowpack and there is still snow on all of our surrounding mountains! When my students graduated on May 26th we were snowed on! It had been a very grey and wet June and then all of a sudden it's 97! Too hot! I'm hoping it cools off again next week when I have to move from my big Kindergarten room into a little 1st grade room.

As far as booking, I'm hoping to book the zip lining in Puerto Vallarta and the resort/pool visit on one of the days in Cabo. But, the possibility of the change in Austin's companion has me wondering. I set a final date for him (July 1st) to finalize his pick and then once we know which friend he is for sure bringing, we'll sit down with Aus and his friend to make our list of what we all want to do. Teenage boys.

I'm still debating whether I should request a dining rotation or just take what we get. If anyone has an opinion for me, please share!

I hope everyone is having a great day!

 

[dolphingirl47]

The excursions that you have planned sound great. I keep my fingers crossed for you that you manage to get everything that you are wanting to book.

As for requesting a rotation, this will be our 7th Disney cruise and it is only the second time that I requested a rotation. Other than that, we took what we were given and we were happy with this. Both times I did request rotations coincided with DH's birthday.

Corinna

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

We had a very long winter this year with a record snowpack and there is still snow on all of our surrounding mountains! When my students graduated on May 26th we were snowed on! It had been a very grey and wet June and then all of a sudden it's 97! Too hot! I'm hoping it cools off again next week when I have to move from my big Kindergarten room into a little 1st grade room.

As far as booking, I'm hoping to book the zip lining in Puerto Vallarta and the resort/pool visit on one of the days in Cabo. But, the possibility of the change in Austin's companion has me wondering. I set a final date for him (July 1st) to finalize his pick and then once we know which friend he is for sure bringing, we'll sit down with Aus and his friend to make our list of what we all want to do. Teenage boys.

I'm still debating whether I should request a dining rotation or just take what we get. If anyone has an opinion for me, please share!

I hope everyone is having a great day!

I hope you get your booking!

I have only requested a rotation once. I have a server that I am requesting so I am taking what I can get on the rotation.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[OtherEvans]

I haven't been able to find a lot of info about it--but does anyone know if you are able to get a deal on Disneyland tickets in conjunction with the cruise? (And if you are not staying at a Disneyland Resort?) Thinking about taking the kids out a day early before we get on the ship....

Meredith

 

[dolphingirl47]

I haven't been able to find a lot of info about it--but does anyone know if you are able to get a deal on Disneyland tickets in conjunction with the cruise? (And if you are not staying at a Disneyland Resort?) Thinking about taking the kids out a day early before we get on the ship....

Meredith

Unfortunately there is no deal on park tickets in conjuction with a cruise. When are you hoping to get to DL? On September 30th is the first of Mickey's Halloween Party. Party tickets are cheaper than normal park tickets and you can get into Disneyland at 4:00 PM. The party finishes at midnight.

Corinna

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Hi Corinna,

Since you are our resident expert, do you know if there is a specific date I need to change who is cruising with us by? Our 90 day booking window is this weekend and I was wondering if that was a cut off period for changing the names of the people on the reservation as well.

I'm excited for Sunday!

Thanks!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am not so sure about the resident expert tag.

You have up to 75 days prior to sailing to make changes or cancel the booking without penalty provided you are not in a suite. Suite guests lose their deposit at any point of the booking process.

Corinna

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

I haven't been able to find a lot of info about it--but does anyone know if you are able to get a deal on Disneyland tickets in conjunction with the cruise? (And if you are not staying at a Disneyland Resort?) Thinking about taking the kids out a day early before we get on the ship....

Meredith

Unfortunately there is no deal on park tickets in conjuction with a cruise. When are you hoping to get to DL? On September 30th is the first of Mickey's Halloween Party. Party tickets are cheaper than normal park tickets and you can get into Disneyland at 4:00 PM. The party finishes at midnight.

Corinna

I do not know of any discounted tickets unfortunately. Sometimes at certain hotels if you stay - they offer some but usually it is a 2 day ticket. The Halloween party is a lot of fun - you get to trick or treat and go on the rides.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Hope everyone is enjoying thier summer!

Time is just zooming by here - I can't believe my DD has been out a month already! We start back up August 1st to allow for our travels .

I am busy working on some certifications for my business - when DD is out of school is when I have time to take care of me

Today we get another litter of puppies to foster. Our last little guy was adopted about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I heard from his family on Monday that he is loving life! We miss him but know that he has a wonderful home.

Have a great day!

 

[OtherEvans]

On September 30th is the first of Mickey's Halloween Party. Party tickets are cheaper than normal park tickets and you can get into Disneyland at 4:00 PM. The party finishes at midnight.

Corinna

[/QUOTE]

What a great suggestion! And perfect timing as well. Thank you so much for the info! I had no idea! Corinna, you are definitely our resident expert! We're so grateful for you!

Meredith

 

[Luliemouse]

Just intrducing my self.... I will be sailing on this cruise and thought I should say Hello!

Long time stalker 1st time poster on these threds... I've been putting this off on the intro for a while now...

I am traveling with 12! 9 adults and 3 kids all family of course...

List of Travelers

Me and DH

His Parents

His Brother and SIL and twins (DD & DS)

His other Brother and SIL and their DD

and Last but not least Grandpa!

Since DH and I are the Expert cruiser (only by default cause we've been on two other Disney Cruises)... I've been the one planning everything... So I've been a bit busy "stalking" the boards...

Were only a few months away... 95 days to be exact. 91 days till I go on vacation from work. I don't know what's better 2 weeks off from work or a Disney Cruise!!! BOTH! HAHA!

I can't wait!!!