Panama Canal Eastbound Sept. 14, 2013--it'll be WONDER-ful

[pahrumpgirl]

We'd definitely like to do the wine tasting! I was so excited about the FE idea but not sure if it will work out logistically. We're from LA but will be flying back from Galveston. Just need to figure out if that will work. It sounds like a ton of fun but I read that some people had too much stuff to take home on a plane.

Lol, this cruise has become my obsession. I have taken to watching videos of the Wonder on Youtube. This has gotten out of hand. I had the strangest dream about sitting and talking with the statue of Ariel on the boat. She was telling me cruise secrets and took it upon herself she to upgrade our room. I woke up feeling happy. It took me a few minutes to realize we hadn't actually been upgraded.

One thing I am worried about is having enough to do. I'm not really a "lay-by-the-pool" kind of girl. I'm a "get-up-and-go" kind of girl. I love adventure and seeing new things. We went on a Carnival cruise this past November and I was quite bored. We ate. We slept. We went to the pool. We ate and slept by the pool. We sat on our balcony. We ate and slept on our balcony. That was kind of the extent of it. Outside of learning how to fold towel animals or some other random skill, there wasn't much to do. It felt as though that cruise appealed to a much older audience. We're fairly young and have a young daughter. I'm just concerned that with so many sea days, there won't be much to do. When I'm bored, I attempt to start spontaneous song and dance numbers with the people around me. Things could get really strange on this boat. If you hear of a lone woman wandering the boat singing "Dancing Queen" and performing a perfectly coordinated dance number, don't say I didn't warn you. In fact, it's probably in your best interest to just join in.

In all seriousness, is there a good mix of things to do on a trip this long?

We have been on several Disney cruises and this is my DH's and my second PC with Disney. Never been bored yet. In fact I hope to get to the pool this time. -)

 

[CrusinLattas]

Hey all! I have been lurking on this forum for only a little while now. I'm a longtime lurker over at Cruise Critic but couldn't find a thread on this particular sailing. Someone mentioned this board and... well, here I am!

I'm Jessica(25) and will be cruising with my husband(Phil, 31) and our daughter(Alina, 2). We have never cruised Disney before and are ridiculously excited.

I have a question about the "Dine and Play" program. I was informed that my daughter(who will be a month shy of three at the point of sailing) can join the Oceaneer's club as long as she is fully potty trained. No problem. But does this also mean she can join in on Dine and Play? Also, does anyone have any tips for cruising this long with a toddler? We are currently booked in a category 06a. I wonder in the space in there will be sufficient.

Anyway, I can't wait till we set sail. My daughter asks about the "Mickey boat" every day.

Welcome!

Both my kids went into the Oceaneer's club at 2 no problems - they will then be registered into the program and have the wrist bands after the evaluation so they can easily do Dine and Play - which is a wonderful program!!!! It is nice to have the kids awake during the shows!

There are many things to do with toddlers on the ship - it is by far the easiest way to travel with toddlers! You can ask for a bed rail in the cabin and if she is using pull ups at night you can even request a diaper geinie for your cabin. We actually liked inside rooms when our kids were nap age because they were quiet and dark so no need to upgrade - just make sure you are at least in a Deluxe for the split bath. My kids wanted me in the club with them when they were young - the clubs have open play time that you will want to take advantage of during the cruise.

Pack princess dresses - there will be lots of character time on this cruise and probably not as many children due to the time of year.

 

[CrusinLattas]

If no one has linked together for late dining group I can do that - if someone has - add me in! We like late seating for Dine and Play - I don't know why it took us so long to discover this wonderful program, but now we wouldn't do early!

We had a huge group liked together on an 11 night holiday cruise a few years ago and we really had fun. On our last cruise in October we joined another DIS couple at Palo and we had a wonderful time trying everything on the menu! We plan on booking Palo brunch and dinner if anyone wants to join us.

This will be our 9th Disney cruise - I wish they counted longer cruises as more - since we normally do 7 night plus cruises it is taking us longer to get to 10 than if we did several short ones a year! We will hit our 10 next November - we had to book a double dipper at Castaway Cay since we have not been to the island on our last two cruises.

I still have not booked our flights - I'm trying to figure out how long I want to be in LA before we sail - right now I am leaning towards a week, but still waiting on DVC for villas and to see how we are going to be out of school - whether we just wait until the second 6 weeks to start or just go for two weeks and then be out for three and back at the end. My kids school is great about missing for trips, but the Texas school system will only allow them to miss so many before it is an issue, so we have to figure out what will work best with the system.

I will try to get better about checking on here! Our facebook group is closed, so if you want to put a message on there about linking dining you can and only our group will see it or you can PM me on here as well!

 

[pahrumpgirl]

If no one has linked together for late dining group I can do that - if someone has - add me in! We like late seating for Dine and Play - I don't know why it took us so long to discover this wonderful program, but now we wouldn't do early!

We had a huge group liked together on an 11 night holiday cruise a few years ago and we really had fun. On our last cruise in October we joined another DIS couple at Palo and we had a wonderful time trying everything on the menu! We plan on booking Palo brunch and dinner if anyone wants to join us.

This will be our 9th Disney cruise - I wish they counted longer cruises as more - since we normally do 7 night plus cruises it is taking us longer to get to 10 than if we did several short ones a year! We will hit our 10 next November - we had to book a double dipper at Castaway Cay since we have not been to the island on our last two cruises.

I still have not booked our flights - I'm trying to figure out how long I want to be in LA before we sail - right now I am leaning towards a week, but still waiting on DVC for villas and to see how we are going to be out of school - whether we just wait until the second 6 weeks to start or just go for two weeks and then be out for three and back at the end. My kids school is great about missing for trips, but the Texas school system will only allow them to miss so many before it is an issue, so we have to figure out what will work best with the system.

I will try to get better about checking on here! Our facebook group is closed, so if you want to put a message on there about linking dining you can and only our group will see it or you can PM me on here as well!

I wish they would count longer trips for more, too, since my DH and I think anything less than 7 nights is really too short and really enjoy even longer ones.

We are flying SW into San Diego a week and a half before the cruise so that we can spend some time with our kids and grandkids. Then the Wednesday before we sail, Mommaluvsdis and her DH are flying into SD and we will meet them and drive up to DL. We have booked a 2 bedroom DVC unit at the Grand Californian for three nights. If anyone else is going to be at DL at that time it would be fun to have a mini meet before we get on the ship.

 

[catdreams]

I seem to recall a mention of a pub run somewhere in this thread. Can anyone describe what that is?

 

[MPS516]

I am not the poster who suggested the pub crawl but on our MED cruise it was visiting each lounge on a particular night and having a drink in each. We did it after a port day and before the sea day which gave us plenty to talk about as we visited the lounges. No need to partake at each spot, just enjoy the good company in a variety of locations.

 

[twokats]

If no one has linked together for late dining group I can do that - if someone has - add me in! We like late seating for Dine and Play - I don't know why it took us so long to discover this wonderful program, but now we wouldn't do early!

catdreams is sending me her reservation so that I could link us together. So as soon as I get hers, I will get with you and we will go from there.

We had a huge group liked together on an 11 night holiday cruise a few years ago and we really had fun. On our last cruise in October we joined another DIS couple at Palo and we had a wonderful time trying everything on the menu! We plan on booking Palo brunch and dinner if anyone wants to join us.

Le and I are still discussing Palo. Don't know what we want to do there yet.

This will be our 9th Disney cruise - I wish they counted longer cruises as more - since we normally do 7 night plus cruises it is taking us longer to get to 10 than if we did several short ones a year! We will hit our 10 next November - we had to book a double dipper at Castaway Cay since we have not been to the island on our last two cruises.

The PC cruise will be our #5

I still have not booked our flights - I'm trying to figure out how long I want to be in LA before we sail - right now I am leaning towards a week, but still waiting on DVC for villas and to see how we are going to be out of school - whether we just wait until the second 6 weeks to start or just go for two weeks and then be out for three and back at the end. My kids school is great about missing for trips, but the Texas school system will only allow them to miss so many before it is an issue, so we have to figure out what will work best with the system.

I booked our flights a couple of weeks ago. We are flying into CA 4 days before the cruise and I have us booked in the Grand Californian 1 bedroom villa.

I will try to get better about checking on here! Our facebook group is closed, so if you want to put a message on there about linking dining you can and only our group will see it or you can PM me on here as well!

I hope everyone has had a good week. And remember if you want to join any of the existing groups let me know, or if you are interested in something new, put it out there.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

just thought I would pop in and say Hi we are planning on doing this cruise, I have been stalking the DCL website at this point in time we are going to take the risk and wait for a GTY rate so we can book 2 cabins there will be 5 of us but if there is sudden movement an increase booking I guess we will reconsider.
We have 2 nights booked at the GCV and 3 nights wait listed before the crusie although I am seriously considering changing our wait list to the DL hotel I am really nervous about the wait list and don't want to end up paying for a hotel rather than using points. We also have 4 nights booked at GCV after the Crusie for before we fly home hoping to do a Halloween party we did one at WDW lat year and loved it.
Our kids have no idea about this trip it's a surprise

 

[MPS516]

Given what seems to be a low number of DISrs on this cruise we are thinking that so far it has not sold well, thinking that there will be a fairly sizable GTY offering. Some of the people on the Dec 2012 EBPC canceled and rebooked GTY and saved quite a bit even with a penalty, we are watching

Airfares seemed to come down this week, we are looking to fly into John Wayne to avoid LAX since we were probably going to fly in same day. It is hard for us to be gone more than 2 weeks at a time so we are doing DL and D23 at Reagan Library this month, after 16 inches of snow are ready to go

 

[twokats]

just thought I would pop in and say Hi we are planning on doing this cruise, I have been stalking the DCL website at this point in time we are going to take the risk and wait for a GTY rate so we can book 2 cabins there will be 5 of us but if there is sudden movement an increase booking I guess we will reconsider.
We have 2 nights booked at the GCV and 3 nights wait listed before the crusie although I am seriously considering changing our wait list to the DL hotel I am really nervous about the wait list and don't want to end up paying for a hotel rather than using points. We also have 4 nights booked at GCV after the Crusie for before we fly home hoping to do a Halloween party we did one at WDW lat year and loved it.
Our kids have no idea about this trip it's a surprise

We are booked at GCV for 4 nights before the cruise. Are you flying back to CA from Galveston to do the 4 nights after the cruise? We are happy that it is coming to TX where our kids can drive down and pick us up instead of us having to fly home.

Given what seems to be a low number of DISrs on this cruise we are thinking that so far it has not sold well, thinking that there will be a fairly sizable GTY offering. Some of the people on the Dec 2012 EBPC canceled and rebooked GTY and saved quite a bit even with a penalty, we are watching

Airfares seemed to come down this week, we are looking to fly into John Wayne to avoid LAX since we were probably going to fly in same day. It is hard for us to be gone more than 2 weeks at a time so we are doing DL and D23 at Reagan Library this month, after 16 inches of snow are ready to go

We are flying into John Wayne when we come in and it was a substancial price difference compared to LAX, plus I am not a big fan of huge airports. DFW and Orlando are big enough for me.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

We are booked at GCV for 4 nights before the cruise. Are you flying back to CA from Galveston to do the 4 nights after the cruise? We are happy that it is coming to TX where our kids can drive down and pick us up instead of us having to fly home.



We are flying into John Wayne when we come in and it was a substancial price difference compared to LAX, plus I am not a big fan of huge airports. DFW and Orlando are big enough for me.

If you haven't booked return air yet you might want to consider Hobby (HOU) in Houston. It is a small airport. Very easy to navigate.

 

[twokats]

If you haven't booked return air yet you might want to consider Hobby (HOU) in Houston. It is a small airport. Very easy to navigate.

The plan right now is our son and daughter in law will drive down a day before we get to Galveston and enjoy themselves for a bit and pick us up and drive us home. They will be keeping our car since they live in the Dallas area and that way we will not have to pay parking at DFW.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Sweet!

 

[CrusinLattas]

At this point I think we will rent a car in Galveston to get us home - unless there are more people closer to time that want to share a bus or van to the DFW area. I am still hopefull we will get more on the ship if the rate drops!

 

[CrusinLattas]

just thought I would pop in and say Hi we are planning on doing this cruise, I have been stalking the DCL website at this point in time we are going to take the risk and wait for a GTY rate so we can book 2 cabins there will be 5 of us but if there is sudden movement an increase booking I guess we will reconsider.
We have 2 nights booked at the GCV and 3 nights wait listed before the crusie although I am seriously considering changing our wait list to the DL hotel I am really nervous about the wait list and don't want to end up paying for a hotel rather than using points. We also have 4 nights booked at GCV after the Crusie for before we fly home hoping to do a Halloween party we did one at WDW lat year and loved it.
Our kids have no idea about this trip it's a surprise

I am new to doing the wait list thing with my points - we always stay at our home resort in FL - I thought if DVC villa does not open up we could always just use our points for the hotel, which should not be that full with the time of year - should I be nervous?

 

[WAMUMOF4]

We are booked at GCV for 4 nights before the cruise. Are you flying back to CA from Galveston to do the 4 nights after the cruise? We are happy that it is coming to TX where our kids can drive down and pick us up instead of us having to

We are staying in Houston for 2-3 nights with friends and then flying back to LA before we fly home to Australia

I am new to doing the wait list thing with my points - we always stay at our home resort in FL - I thought if DVC villa does not open up we could always just use our points for the hotel, which should not be that full with the time of year - should I be nervous?

They are having the limited time magic Friday the 13 th party and it's suppose to be the first weekend of Halloween overlay so because of that I am super nervous, I was under the impression there are limited rooms able to be booked on points I need to use points for this to be a budget trip It's the first time we have wait listed but I really don't like our chances especially if a few of us from the cruise are wait listed.

 

[graysonsmom]

Hi count me into the group. .. I have made it through the first few pages! Well this will be our second cruise and can't be more excited! I'm still working in booking and all the logistics...

 

[pahrumpgirl]

1 one We are staying in Houston for 2-3 nights with friends and then flying back to LA before we fly home to Australia

They are having the limited time magic Friday the 13 th party and it's suppose to be the first weekend of Halloween overlay so because of that I am super nervous, I was under the impression there are limited rooms able to be booked on points I need to use points for this to be a budget trip It's the first time we have wait listed but I really don't like our chances especially if a few of us from the cruise are wait listed.

Glad Mommaluvsdis and I booked our dedicated 2 bedroom the first day we could. I noticed then that even though the dedicated 2 bedrooms were available, lock offs and 1 bedrooms were only available for one or two of the days we wanted.

We are doing almost our whole trip on points. We were able to pay for the cruise and GC with points and had enough SW points for our air. Only way I could talk my DH into doing it.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Glad Mommaluvsdis and I booked our dedicated 2 bedroom the first day we could. I noticed then that even though the dedicated 2 bedrooms were available, lock offs and 1 bedrooms were only available for one or two of the days we wanted.

We are doing almost our whole trip on points. We were able to pay for the cruise and GC with points and had enough SW points for our air. Only way I could talk my DH into doing it.

A 2 bedroom is what I am wait listed for, the dates were available when I first looked but by the time we had the all clear from DHs work I could only get 2 nights and had to wait list the other 3 lesson learned.
I wonder how many people doing this cruise are booked DVC?

 

[pahrumpgirl]

A 2 bedroom is what I am wait listed for, the dates were available when I first looked but by the time we had the all clear from DHs work I could only get 2 nights and had to wait list the other 3 lesson learned.
I wonder how many people doing this cruise are booked DVC?

We had a feeling we would be in trouble if we waited so we got on the phone as soon as they opened. I am not sure how many are staying DVC but several have said they would be there a few days before. Really sorry you weren't able to get all your nights. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.