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

[twokats]

Looks like we'll have our ship to ourselves still. lol We will be up for the FE. We always have fun with that. (or I do) lol

On a serious note, My wife had a small stroke last 10 days ago. The doctors think it is because of birth control. She has no risk factors, she is only 47
The Nuro surgeon thinks she be fine for the cruise

You are on the list! (I just double checked) DD and I have always enjoyed the fun of the FE also.

Will pray for your DW. It was a happy day for me years ago when I was able to get off of birth control. The side effects always bothered me, but sometimes you have to take them. Tell her to hang in there and we look forward to meeting her on the cruise (you too!!).

We are waiting to make our port excursions until the official DCL ones come out. By then we should know for sure how long we will be in port. Don't know for sure but they may be cutting port time because of all the trouble in Mexico. I know that on our PC cruise in 2008, every Mexican port we stopped in we were met as we got off the ship with men carrying big guns. Saw them in other locations in the cities, too. It was a little disquieting.

Our very first cruise is the only one that we ever ventured off on our own. We like the security of being on an official DCL in case it runs late and we know we will not be left. Plus DH and I have a healthy respect for the problems in Mexico. We have several friends that have family in some of the problem areas and even they are hesitant to visit their family and friends.

 

[twokats]

Wow, that is horrible, really hope everything works out for her. Yes we must have the ship to ourselves, just not seeing the activity we normally do. Our 2014 Mediterranean thread has nearly as many posts as here already.

I was on one cruise thread that did not really build up speed until the last few months. I keep hoping that is the case here, but until then, I guess we need to kick it up a notch and really get to talking here!!

 

[pahrumpgirl]

Our very first cruise is the only one that we ever ventured off on our own. We like the security of being on an official DCL in case it runs late and we know we will not be left. Plus DH and I have a healthy respect for the problems in Mexico. We have several friends that have family in some of the problem areas and even they are hesitant to visit their family and friends.

We usually take the DCL tours for the same reasons. The only time we haven't was on a Southern Caribbean Cruise in 2006 on, I believe St. Kitt. There were several of us that went and it was very nice but I am still more comfortable with cruise tours. If they are late for some reason the ship will wait and if for some reason you don't make it into port you will get your money back.

 

[MPS516]

I was on one cruise thread that did not really build up speed until the last few months. I keep hoping that is the case here, but until then, I guess we need to kick it up a notch and really get to talking here!!

My DD loves the pictures of your two little dogs, she has two miniature poodles, one black an one white. Funny though being twokats

We usually take the DCL tours for the same reasons. The only time we haven't was on a Southern Caribbean Cruise in 2006 on, I believe St. Kitt. There were several of us that went and it was very nice but I am still more comfortable with cruise tours. If they are late for some reason the ship will wait and if for some reason you don't make it into port you will get your money back.

We normally do private tours unless in areas where we are just unsure of, like Malta just before th revolution. We do lots of research, check DISboards and Cruise Critic and then book with a reputable and highly recommended company. Being this part of Mexico, will probably stay with DCL tours.

 

[twokats]

My DD loves the pictures of your two little dogs, she has two miniature poodles, one black an one white. Funny though being twokats

Yes, those are my babies, Max is on the left (he is my boy) and Jas is my little girl. We do have outside cats, but these are our inside babies, they are Maltese. You are the first to make comment about the kats and dogs!!
The TwoKats is DD and myself, (Kati and Kathy). We came up with that name when we were getting a domain and needed a name, plus with that we have a really cute logo that we use, but all I can say is the pups are king and queen around this house. And yes they have Disney names, Maximus and Jasmine!!!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Looks like we'll have our ship to ourselves still. lol We will be up for the FE. We always have fun with that. (or I do) lol

On a serious note, My wife had a small stroke last 10 days ago. The doctors think it is because of birth control. She has no risk factors, she is only 47
The Nuro surgeon thinks she be fine for the cruise

I hope your wife recovers quickly

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I managed to score a 2 bedroom at GCV for the Friday night so now I am only need 2 nights of my wait list I am still considering going over to dL hotel for 2 nights but it would be so much easier to stay in the one place.

I had an email from Carnival offering 40% off today it seems Disney is the only one not offering discount cruises at the minute.

 

[MPS516]

We have been receiving all kinds of offers from Carnival lately, wonder why They seem especially interested in getting us to one of their Italian Lines, discount airfare and cabin upgrade, not me though, we are booked on the DCL Venice to Barcelona in 2014.

 

[catdreams]

On a serious note, My wife had a small stroke last 10 days ago. The doctors think it is because of birth control. She has no risk factors, she is only 47. The Nuro surgeon thinks she be fine for the cruise

Sorry to hear this. I hope she is feeling much better. Sounds like she needs a relaxing trip through the Panama Canal on a luxury ship with fabulous food, exciting entertainment and first class service. Know of any?

 

[pahrumpgirl]

We have been receiving all kinds of offers from Carnival lately, wonder why They seem especially interested in getting us to one of their Italian Lines, discount airfare and cabin upgrade, not me though, we are booked on the DCL Venice to Barcelona in 2014.

Carnival needs the business right now. DCL doesn't.

 

[Denine]

paragd911: So sorry to hear about your wife. Hope she make a quick recovery!

I have no idea what we are doing for excursions, if any. Well, maybe Cartegena. When we did the MR cruise in October 2011, we went with the DCL excursions. In Cabo, we took a harbour/bus tour. In PV, we did the pirate cruise. It was an all day thing, but we didn't get to see anything of PV.

I am going to try to be more active on this thread. Life just gets crazy around here. DD, 10 is on 2 softball teams. One is a travel team and the other is with the city. DH is the manager of the city team and practices start next week. THe travel team has been practicing all winter. Not to mention she is also in 4-H and is vice president of her club.

All I know is that come September, we are going to need a 2 week vacation!

We are planning on staying at Paradise Pier prior to the cruise. We stayed there the last time and really liked it.

 

[MPS516]

We saw Paradise Pier for the first time last week, NICE PLACE !

 

[Denine]

We saw Paradise Pier for the first time last week, NICE PLACE !

We also stayed at the DLH that trip. We liked PP MUCH, MUCH better.

 

[CrusinLattas]

If a villa doesn't open up we will convert pts for hotel - PP is less pts than GC - this will be our first time to stay at DL - we normally are at BLT at WDW - we like being close - is there a big difference location wise in the three?

 

[MPS516]

If a villa doesn't open up we will convert pts for hotel - PP is less pts than GC - this will be our first time to stay at DL - we normally are at BLT at WDW - we like being close - is there a big difference location wise in the three?

I think the nicest is the Grand Californian, it is right in California Adventure. The PP overlooks the lake, water show and ferris wheel at DL. Both the Pier and Disneyland Hotel are through Downtown Disney, not nearly as big as WDW so not that big a deal. Would say DL Hotel the furthest, then Pier and GC the "closest".

 

[Iceman93]

My family and I really love the PP (especially concierge), but some people do complain about having to walk across a busy road, even with a crosswalk and traffic light. Of course at WDW your Disney transportation (monorail, boat, or bus) takes you directly to your resort so this can be a bit of a surprise to people. The walk itself is no longer than getting from the bus or boat stop to the resort. The other complaint that comes up on the Internet about the PP is the lack of Disney theming, which I also think is an overblown whine. But I just want to put those out there; even though I and many others love the PP, it does have its detractors.

 

[Sparky47]

Still trying to plan transportation for the cruise. Does anyone have any information on the following:

Transporation from Grand Californian to the port
Transportation from Galveston to Hobby airport

We were told by Disney that they are in the process of starting a transporation program to the San Pedro Port but they do not have any information available yet. And we are having difficulty finding inexpensive transporation for 4 adults in Galveston.

Thanks for your help.

 

[CrusinLattas]

I rented a car for our Pre cruise stay - LA did not have a lot near the port - you have to take a taxi from rental locations to the port. Same with Galveston - no car rentals at that port area either - I have not rented anything yet to get us home from Galveston - I keep hoping our group will pick up enough for either sharing a van or bus back to the DFW area.

 

[Denine]

We will most likely go with a limo company to get us from the airport to DL. I can't remember the name of the company we used last time, but they were good. I will have to find out from DH.

I don't know what we are doing for transport from Galveston to the airport yet.

 

[catdreams]

Limos.com is what we are using from the airport to the boat in California. There's a discount from Mousesavers.com