One Is Not Enough! Back-2-Back on the Magic-12/1 & 12/8 (Updated 1/4: Transition Day)

[CraftyMouse]

Thanks, Michele. We never really figured out how Shutters worked on our cruise, so never got any photos. I saw one photo - that looked like a stock photo - ie no passengers in it - of the ship at CC. Are there many of those available for purchase? I saw it and then I wanted to show it to DH but I couldn't find it when we went back.

Do you purchase a package and pick up your pictures as you go - I have know idea how many photos we'd like at this point?

Shutters displays the photos taken by their photographers (Embarkation photos, photos with the characters or backdrops, etc.). Guests go through the racks and find their shots. If you want a photo you hang onto it. If you don't you put it in one of the discard boxes.

When you purchase a package they will give you a card. For example, my card looked something like this:

8x10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

6x8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

As you choose and take your photos they will cross off the numbers on your card. Once all of the numbers are crossed off your package is complete, however you can still swap out photos if you find one you like more than one you have. If you do not fill your package they can downgrade you to one that works better for you, or you can fill out your package with the stock photos like the one you mentioned (you can also puchase the stock photos separately). The stock photos are in one section of Shutters and cost the same amount as the other photos.

Some people prefer to pile all of their photos together but I've always been afraid that I'd lose some. Instead I buy as I go and swap out as needed/wanted.

Hopefully this clears up the whole Shuttters "thing" but, if not, we can have a Shutters Tutorial on the Eastbound in August!

And don't stop posting! I've had a few double posts lately too.

 

[tksbaskets]

Transition Day Observations...

I had meant to put these tidbits into my trip report but completely forgot!

1. The staterooms are turned over very quickly. The hosts/hostesses begin working on them as soon as guests leave and continue until 1:30. Plastic garbage bags are hung along the hallway handrails every 3-4 feet for all of the trash. All stateroom doors are propped open during this time and remain that way until just before 1:30. This made it very easy for the crew members to get in and out of rooms to deliver gift items, dining tickets, cribs and other items. As we walked around the ship we could see into each stateroom, which was interesting.

2. The pianos were all tuned on Saturday, in between Disembarkation and Embarkation.

3. They play upbeat music in the staterooms (over the PA system) during transition time but, contrary to what I had read, they do not blast it. It was played at a comfortable level.

4. The drink station on Deck 9 is still open and functioning during transition time. All other ship services were suspended.

5. Just before 1:30 CMs walk up and down the stateroom hallways with bottles of air freshener, spraying it liberally as they go.

I thought these things were interesting and definitely something the regular DCL cruiser doesn't get to see!

I feel like I'm a part of 'inside edition' Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all!

 

[tksbaskets]

whoops. I was so happy with the report I posted twice.

 

[tksbaskets]

Okay, I'm going to quit posting for awhile, this is the second double post I've had today. Geesh

It's contagious. I did the same thing.

 

[CruisinEars]

Thanks for a wonderful tr Craftymouse! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it last night after my kids went to bed. Your pictures are awesome and it sounds like you had a fabulous time. Thanks for letting us live vicariously.

 

[Jackie Psarianos]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....

 

[Jackie Psarianos]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....

 

[pamouselover]

Thank you!

 

[smeecanada]

Shutters displays the photos taken by their photographers (Embarkation photos, photos with the characters or backdrops, etc.). Guests go through the racks and find their shots. If you want a photo you hang onto it. If you don't you put it in one of the discard boxes.

Thanks, Michele. It's a little bit more clear now. It still seems that it would be very easy for people to just walk out with the photos. I'm definitely going to get some photos this time around. Everything was just so new to us - being first time cruisers - that it was a bit overwhelming at times and Shutters was just one of the things that I decided didn't really matter.

A CM took our photo with Goofy in the terminal while the official photographer snapped one as well. With being digital you can see how well the photo turned out - so didn't see the need to purchase the official one. We never did find the photos they took on formal night.

 

[purplepeg]

I can't believe Luis phoned you guys. That must have been a great conversation. You guys obviously bonded over those two weeks When you sent the cookies did you just send them to the port? It's nice to know he appreciated it. thanks for the info on prices for the pictures at shutters. I'll be like you and buying quite a few 3 wks today and we'll be in key west

 

[CraftyMouse]

I can't believe Luis phoned you guys. That must have been a great conversation. You guys obviously bonded over those two weeks When you sent the cookies did you just send them to the port? It's nice to know he appreciated it. thanks for the info on prices for the pictures at shutters. I'll be like you and buying quite a few 3 wks today and we'll be in key west

We did bond with Luis, DD in particular. The director of her dance studio is also named Luis -spelled the same way - and when she looked at the caller ID she only focused on the Luis, not the last name, so she thought it was him. She answered the phone and this look came over her...sort of a mix of shock, surprise and happiness...and whispered to me "It's CRUISE Luis!" It was so nice of him to call to let us know he got the package. DD asked him if he would be able to put up with us for another two weeks and he said that he was sure he could find a way. It was really good to hear his voice.

As for the package, when I got home I managed to find a pirate joke book for Graham and so the kids wanted to find something for Luis too. He had given them some brain teasers at dinner so we found a page-a-day brainteaser calendar and packaged that up with the cookies. We did the same with Graham and sent both packages to the address listed in the DIS DCL FAQ page (a sticky at the top of the main page). I haven't heard from Graham, but if Luis got his package Graham should have gotten his as well.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....

Thanks for posting this! It's interesting to read about a Wonder back-to-back. I'm sorry you had issues with your server and your DS's life vest but I'm glad it didn't keep you from going back!

Thanks again!

Michele

 

[MemereMouse]

Looking forward to sailing on the Wonder with you and hope you will write a trip report half as good as this one.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Totally enjoying your report - and your pics! Especially love that your daughter spells her name the same way I do - not many of us spell it that way!!

Looking forward to more...

I totally missed this post! Yes, the Katharine spelling is uinque. The ironic thing is that I have an unusually spelled first name (Michele, instead of Michelle) and I vowed I would never do that to my kids! Oh well. There are a lot of things I said I'd never do as a parent that I have done. I'll learn to live with it. She loves the way her name is spelled so it's all good. We actually named her after Katharine Hepburn. I wrote to her after DD was born and DD has a lovely letter from her, framed and hanging in her room.

 

[gardengirlco]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 4

For Cozumel I secretly (okay...does anybody still reading know where this is going?) reserved the Royal Dolphin Swim through Dolphin Discoveries.

OK, I'm not even through your Western TR but I cheated and went to the Cozumel part because that's the port we'll hit when we do the special CC Double Dip cruise later this year. Anyway, I have a question about the Royal Dolphin Swim. That's only available booking directly through Dolphin Discoveries, right? I think my DS, who will be 10 when we go, and DH would love doing that and it looks like it's not much more than doing the Dolphin Discovery encounter through DCL, although I realize it wouldn't include transportation.

Also, is there a place nearby to watch the swim? I am not big on interacting with sea life and I'll have to stay with my 3 yo DS anyway but I definitely would want to watch if I could.

You mentioned the photos were very expensive as I'm sure was the DVD. Do you mind telling me what the prices are? You can never start working on your budget too early, right?

I've enjoyed reading your TR so far and can't wait to get more time to read more.

 

[CraftyMouse]

OK, I'm not even through your Western TR but I cheated and went to the Cozumel part because that's the port we'll hit when we do the special CC Double Dip cruise later this year. Anyway, I have a question about the Royal Dolphin Swim. That's only available booking directly through Dolphin Discoveries, right? I think my DS, who will be 10 when we go, and DH would love doing that and it looks like it's not much more than doing the Dolphin Discovery encounter through DCL, although I realize it wouldn't include transportation.

Yes, you can only book this directly through Dolphin Discoveries. DCL only offers the Encounter. You won't pay the DCL mark-up, however, so they are very close in price. The taxi ride would only be $10 or so (plus tip) each way so it is very reasonable. There is quite a difference in the programs and we felt that, for the money we were paying, we wanted the most interactive swim available. After doing the program we know we made the right decision. It was amazing! Truly the event of a lifetime.

Also, is there a place nearby to watch the swim? I am not big on interacting with sea life and I'll have to stay with my 3 yo DS anyway but I definitely would want to watch if I could.

Yes, you'll definitely be able to watch. This picture shows the area where the Royal Swim takes place. The larger area in to the right is for the Royal Swim. The smaller pens on the left are for the Encounter programs.

You can definitely stand on this dock area to watch the swim. It is right by the pool and the gift shop. You can't miss it. The two grandpas watched from here and could see everything perfectly.

As observers you will have to pay park admission. It is $16 for adults and i do not know the cost for kids. The Dolphin programs include admission so your DH and DS will be all set. The park has so much to offer and you could easily stay there all day. The beach was beautiful and the lunch we had at the restaurant was fantastic. Here's a website on Chankanaab that you can check out...
http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelChankanaab.htm


You mentioned the photos were very expensive as I'm sure was the DVD. Do you mind telling me what the prices are? You can never start working on your budget too early, right?

The video was $50, which I thought was reasonable. The photos were $13 each but they dropped it to $10 each as long as you bought 2 per person. I think the discount was bigger if you bought all of the photos (5 per person) but I didn't want to spend that much and didn't need all of the pictures. I just picked the two best shots of each of us and went with that. My total was $130 for the photos and video together.

I've enjoyed reading your TR so far and can't wait to get more time to read more.

I'm so glad. I love reading them too but this was my first time writing one...at least for the DIS.

If you have any more questions just let me know!

 

[SweetSpot]

Chapter 3 - Key West Day

After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “I,I”, “I,I,I”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.

I love Rich Purpura! We had seen Rich's show many times and for years it didn't change a bit. My DH had the show almost memorized and knew it would be part of the show. Three years ago when Rich was doing the show in the Rockin' Bar D my DH dared my DD to raise her hand and do Roman numbers. Rich laughed like he had never heard it before (which I'm sure he did) but it made my DD's cruise. She prepared for the following year by learning to count in Morse Code but Rich wasn't on that cruise. She was hoping that this year he would be there and was thrilled to find out he was onboard that week. I saw Rich after a show the night before the Walt Theatre show and told him my DD was looking forward to his show and he asked my her name and what she looked like. He made a point to pick her at the show and she did her Morse code bit and he looked at her and said wait a minute are you Aubrey? Didn't you do Roman numbers last time. The look on her face was priceless! She truly believes he remembered her. I couldn't believe he remembered our conversation or her name. I never expected him to do anything, I was just telling him how much my DD loved his show. Rich is one of the many reasons we find DCL magical.

Your trip report is great! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I love Rich Purpura! We had seen Rich's show many times and for years it didn't change a bit. My DH had the show almost memorized and knew it would be part of the show. Three years ago when Rich was doing the show in the Rockin' Bar D my DH dared my DD to raise her hand and do Roman numbers. Rich laughed like he had never heard it before (which I'm sure he did) but it made my DD's cruise. She prepared for the following year by learning to count in Morse Code but Rich wasn't on that cruise. She was hoping that this year he would be there and was thrilled to find out he was onboard that week. I saw Rich after a show the night before the Walt Theatre show and told him my DD was looking forward to his show and he asked my her name and what she looked like. He made a point to pick her at the show and she did her Morse code bit and he looked at her and said wait a minute are you Aubrey? Didn't you do Roman numbers last time. The look on her face was priceless! She truly believes he remembered her. I couldn't believe he remembered our conversation or her name. I never expected him to do anything, I was just telling him how much my DD loved his show. Rich is one of the many reasons we find DCL magical.

Your trip report is great! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us.

That's too funny! Isn't he the best? He told DH and I, after the show, that he's heard just about everything by now.

DD totally plans to do Binary if RP is on our August PC repo cruise. I wonder if he's heard that one before.

 

[SweetSpot]

That's too funny! Isn't he the best? He told DH and I, after the show, that he's heard just about everything by now.

DD totally plans to do Binary if RP is on our August PC repo cruise. I wonder if he's heard that one before.

That's so funny, my DD was going to try to do Binary this year but since we are also on the August Repo she's going to have to brainstorm for another idea. I hope she doesn't really because I know he won't remember her and I don't want her to be disappointed and lose the memory she got from him in November.

 

[CraftyMouse]

That's so funny, my DD was going to try to do Binary this year but since we are also on the August Repo she's going to have to brainstorm for another idea. I hope she doesn't really because I know he won't remember her and I don't want her to be disappointed and lose the memory she got from him in November.

Sounds like our families are very similar! Maybe we'll get to meet on the repo! How old are your kids?