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

[catdreams]

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

For my fiancée and I we're booked for the following...

Cabo -Snorkel and Sea Adventure so we can swim in the ocean and take pictures with our underwater cameras. We love to scuba dive but I don't think we will dive this trip

PV - Extreme Canopy Adventure. Still hoping Disney will add Outdoor Adventure here. I'm going to call Monday since I was told it would be offered. I figure it's a long shot but it can't hurt to ask. We really love the idea of repelling down a waterfall. Anyone have experience scheduling a non DCL excursion in PV?

Cartagena - Deluxe Cartagena & Folkloric Show. I didn't really love any of the excursions here but felt like we should do something since I don't know that we will ever go there again

Cozumel - Speed Boat Beach Escape. My fiancée and I did a waverunner tour in Grand Cayman and loved it. We figured this would be just as thrilling.

This is my first time on DCL without my kids. It will be my fiancée's first DCL trip. I've never been to Palo or taken advantage of the other adult only stuff so we've booked brunch for the day before the Panama Canal. My plan is to eat a HUGE meal, go get a couples massage at the spa then get to bed early so we can get up EARLY to watch all of the Canal stuff. I also booked Palo for the last night on the ship. I might be the one crying into my dinner. I'm always sad when it's time to leave DCL. Who is going to make my bed and cook my meals and make me towel animals???

Have a fabulous day everyone. I've been off the last three days so it is back to Sea World for me. Summer hours and all that fun. Only 90 days until we all meet in LA!

 

[Sparky47]

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

For my fiancée and I we're booked for the following...

Cabo -Snorkel and Sea Adventure so we can swim in the ocean and take pictures with our underwater cameras. We love to scuba dive but I don't think we will dive this trip

PV - Extreme Canopy Adventure. Still hoping Disney will add Outdoor Adventure here. I'm going to call Monday since I was told it would be offered. I figure it's a long shot but it can't hurt to ask. We really love the idea of repelling down a waterfall. Anyone have experience scheduling a non DCL excursion in PV?

Cartagena - Deluxe Cartagena & Folkloric Show. I didn't really love any of the excursions here but felt like we should do something since I don't know that we will ever go there again

Cozumel - Speed Boat Beach Escape. My fiancée and I did a waverunner tour in Grand Cayman and loved it. We figured this would be just as thrilling.

This is my first time on DCL without my kids. It will be my fiancée's first DCL trip. I've never been to Palo or taken advantage of the other adult only stuff so we've booked brunch for the day before the Panama Canal. My plan is to eat a HUGE meal, go get a couples massage at the spa then get to bed early so we can get up EARLY to watch all of the Canal stuff. I also booked Palo for the last night on the ship. I might be the one crying into my dinner. I'm always sad when it's time to leave DCL. Who is going to make my bed and cook my meals and make me towel animals???

Have a fabulous day everyone. I've been off the last three days so it is back to Sea World for me. Summer hours and all that fun. Only 90 days until we all meet in LA!

I'm glad you got most of what you wanted including Palo! Brunch is our absolute favorite!

We did have to pick a port arrival time in 2011 when we went to Port Canaveral; and we had to pick one in LA last October when we went on the Hawaii cruise. I will tell you that we had an 1130 arrival time and had pre-scheduled a shuttle to take us to the port to arrive right around that time (an independent company). The morning of the cruise, we received a call at 9:00 a.m. indicating there was a mix up and no shuttle was available for us. In our panic (and honestly not really knowing how long it would take to get to the port once we found someone to take us) we asked the hotel receptionist for a recommendation. She called a cab that arrived in seconds - we ended up getting to the port right around 10:00. (People were still hectically leaving the port). We walked right in with no trouble...even tried to explain what happened to justify arriving early - no one seemed to care. Not sure that's always the case but we were relieved we didn't have to sit outside until 11:30.

 

[Sparky47]

Finished all my bookings also! Got everything we wanted except it would only let me book 1 Palo dinner & brunch & we wanted 2 of each. We are not doing any excursions. I am mobility challenged and things seemed like I might have problems. In Cartagena I'm going to take taxi into the city to shop a bit and I may do the same in Puerta Vallarta. We may just stay on the ship in Cabo & Cozumel.

Generally you can only book one Palo brunch and one Palo dinner ahead of time. Sometimes when you are on the ship you can get more. There have been trips where I've tried getting additional and they usually take our stateroom number and put us on a wait list. On the 2 week Hawaii cruise it was the first time I had ever been called for a second brunch. When you get the ship, you or someone from your party can go to the location where they are doing Palo bookings (check Navigator or ask upon boarding). They will take your name/stateroom # at that time (or maybe allow you to sign up for another - you never know).

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Finished all my bookings also! Got everything we wanted except it would only let me book 1 Palo dinner & brunch & we wanted 2 of each. We are not doing any excursions. I am mobility challenged and things seemed like I might have problems. In Cartagena I'm going to take taxi into the city to shop a bit and I may do the same in Puerta Vallarta. We may just stay on the ship in Cabo & Cozumel.

With all those sea days, I bet you will be able to snag another one on board.

My mom is mobility challenged, so we had to be careful with the excursions we booked. I am a little concerned, especially about her getting on and off the water taxi in Cabo...

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I have nothing booked for Cabo San Lucas nothing is really appealing, I am open to suggestions.
Cozumel we are doing Cozumel Highlights and Mayan Ruins we had to take a 7:45am for this
Puerto Vallarta Historic Towns & Tequila-Making
Cartagena by Horse Carriage.

In Cabo we booked the harbor tour and scenic drive, but still not 100% sure I won't cancel. From what I have read, as soon as you get off the tender there are lots of people offering water taxis around los arcos (which is what we mainly want to do). But I'm concerned about safety and time mgmt.

The horse carriage in Cartagena was the one that I almost booked, but all the pictures showed the carriages were open, and I think we would be really hot an uncomfortable after a while. My Colombian friend said that it is VERY HOT - we are both former Floridians and what she said is, you think Florida is hot, is is nothing compared to Colombia. We will be only about 600-700 miles from the equator!!

 

[cmesq61]

With all those sea days, I bet you will be able to snag another one on board.

My mom is mobility challenged, so we had to be careful with the excursions we booked. I am a little concerned, especially about her getting on and off the water taxi in Cabo...

I totally understand. I'm very independent, work full time & do pretty well. But I have MS so fatigue & balance are constant hurdles. I worry about being on an excursion alone, getting tired & so forth, so I'll just see Mexico on my own!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

For my fiancée and I we're booked for the following...

Cabo -Snorkel and Sea Adventure so we can swim in the ocean and take pictures with our underwater cameras. We love to scuba dive but I don't think we will dive this trip

PV - Extreme Canopy Adventure. Still hoping Disney will add Outdoor Adventure here. I'm going to call Monday since I was told it would be offered. I figure it's a long shot but it can't hurt to ask. We really love the idea of repelling down a waterfall. Anyone have experience scheduling a non DCL excursion in PV?

Cartagena - Deluxe Cartagena & Folkloric Show. I didn't really love any of the excursions here but felt like we should do something since I don't know that we will ever go there again

Cozumel - Speed Boat Beach Escape. My fiancée and I did a waverunner tour in Grand Cayman and loved it. We figured this would be just as thrilling.

This is my first time on DCL without my kids. It will be my fiancée's first DCL trip. I've never been to Palo or taken advantage of the other adult only stuff so we've booked brunch for the day before the Panama Canal. My plan is to eat a HUGE meal, go get a couples massage at the spa then get to bed early so we can get up EARLY to watch all of the Canal stuff. I also booked Palo for the last night on the ship. I might be the one crying into my dinner. I'm always sad when it's time to leave DCL. Who is going to make my bed and cook my meals and make me towel animals???

Have a fabulous day everyone. I've been off the last three days so it is back to Sea World for me. Summer hours and all that fun. Only 90 days until we all meet in LA!

Wow, sounds like you have a very exciting group of excursions planned!! Very cool, I hope you take lots of pix and do a TR!

 

[MPS516]

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

Have a fabulous day everyone. I've been off the last three days so it is back to Sea World for me. Summer hours and all that fun. Only 90 days until we all meet in LA!

We would normally fly in on Sat morning but didn't want to risk it so we are in Fri and pre-boarding time 11:00 to 11:30, I will have a margarita for you so at least someone is enjoying the early boarding

Generally you can only book one Palo brunch and one Palo dinner ahead of time. Sometimes when you are on the ship you can get more. There have been trips where I've tried getting additional and they usually take our stateroom number and put us on a wait list. On the 2 week Hawaii cruise it was the first time I had ever been called for a second brunch. When you get the ship, you or someone from your party can go to the location where they are doing Palo bookings (check Navigator or ask upon boarding). They will take your name/stateroom # at that time (or maybe allow you to sign up for another - you never know).

With long cruises Palo seems to have more openings than the sorter trips, we have been able to go up to the reception desk at the restaurant and get another dinner booked in the past. We have also been able to get on a notification list for a brunch on a day that was full up. People do cancel and they are pretty good about calling to get you in.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Are there any solo cruisers out there who want to do Palo but haven't gotten a reservation? I have Palo dinner booked at 8:30 on Tuesday the 24 th and Palo brunch on Thursday Sept 19 at 10:30 for my mother and I, but she has told me she would rather not go. I guess the rich food is too much for her. Would anyone want to join me?

 

[WAMUMOF4]

In Cabo we booked the harbor tour and scenic drive, but still not 100% sure I won't cancel. From what I have read, as soon as you get off the tender there are lots of people offering water taxis around los arcos (which is what we mainly want to do). But I'm concerned about safety and time mgmt.

The horse carriage in Cartagena was the one that I almost booked, but all the pictures showed the carriages were open, and I think we would be really hot an uncomfortable after a while. My Colombian friend said that it is VERY HOT - we are both former Floridians and what she said is, you think Florida is hot, is is nothing compared to Colombia. We will be only about 600-700 miles from the equator!!

I am really concerned about safety and would be happy to not get off the ship but I don't see us going here again and that's why I have booked all DCL excursions instead of doing things on our own. DH will go stir crazy if he is on the boat for 14 days straight it's a miracle he agreed

I was really worried about it being to hot maybe I will need to rethink it, but it looks like fun I will have to change it I just realised it says 4 people per carriage and we have 5 why did that not click when booking

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

Wow the port times must of filled up quick when I checked in every time was available I picked 12-12:30 and was thinking of picking later but we have to be checked out of GCV at 11 am anyway

Yay.... Maybe we can hook up as a group.

I am unsure if I will be able to do that until closer to, I am still waiting for other people to decide if they are coming to DL or not any all my plans hinge on whether we have first timers with us or not!

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Okay,would everyone please quit talking about the cruise? I'M GETTING TOO EXCITED!!

Woohoo! Just joking. Looking forward to meeting everyone and especially traveling with our beasties Carol and Doug (pahrumpgirl).

 

[pahrumpgirl]

I have noticed that there are several of us staying at least a few days at the GC. It really would be nice to meet some of the group before we get on board the ship. Mommaluvsdis and we will get in sometime on Wednesday and are planning on doing DTD that day so would be willing to meet up there at some point. We will spend Thursday and Friday at the parks since she and her DH have never been there.

 

[sharan56]

I'm thinking about it. We can't book until July 1st. I really wanted to do the rainforest ride in PV, but it's not offered on our cruise. You're saying you're going encourages me to go.

Come with me... I'm not an expert rider for sure but I did the trail ride in the rain forest Belize. I got eaten alive by bugs even tho I used off. I just want to ride in the water on a horse.

 

[sharan56]

I stuck with it and finally got almost everything we want. We can't board the ship until 2:30. I don't remember having to pick a boarding time in Port Canaveral?! We land at John Wayne at 10:10 and have limos.com scheduled to take us to the port. I can't imagine sitting in the terminal gazing longingly at the Wonder for that many hours wishing I was at the buffet or sitting by the pool with a margarita!!!!

For my fiancée and I we're booked for the following...

Cabo -Snorkel and Sea Adventure so we can swim in the ocean and take pictures with our underwater cameras. We love to scuba dive but I don't think we will dive this trip

PV - Extreme Canopy Adventure. Still hoping Disney will add Outdoor Adventure here. I'm going to call Monday since I was told it would be offered. I figure it's a long shot but it can't hurt to ask. We really love the idea of repelling down a waterfall. Anyone have experience scheduling a non DCL excursion in PV?

Cartagena - Deluxe Cartagena & Folkloric Show. I didn't really love any of the excursions here but felt like we should do something since I don't know that we will ever go there again

Cozumel - Speed Boat Beach Escape. My fiancée and I did a waverunner tour in Grand Cayman and loved it. We figured this would be just as thrilling.

This is my first time on DCL without my kids. It will be my fiancée's first DCL trip. I've never been to Palo or taken advantage of the other adult only stuff so we've booked brunch for the day before the Panama Canal. My plan is to eat a HUGE meal, go get a couples massage at the spa then get to bed early so we can get up EARLY to watch all of the Canal stuff. I also booked Palo for the last night on the ship. I might be the one crying into my dinner. I'm always sad when it's time to leave DCL. Who is going to make my bed and cook my meals and make me towel animals???

Have a fabulous day everyone. I've been off the last three days so it is back to Sea World for me. Summer hours and all that fun. Only 90 days until we all meet in LA!

My husband and I are doing the speed boat beach escape also. I figured he owns 3 boats so anything g boat related he's in to.

 

[sharan56]

I have noticed that there are several of us staying at least a few days at the GC. It really would be nice to meet some of the group before we get on board the ship. Mommaluvsdis and we will get in sometime on Wednesday and are planning on doing DTD that day so would be willing to meet up there at some point. We will spend Thursday and Friday at the parks since she and her DH have never been there.

I suggested the same thing. We are going with our gran Shelby who work for WDW. She has never been to DL so she's excited! We will be there Thursday and Friday.

 

[sharan56]

Are there any solo cruisers out there who want to do Palo but haven't gotten a reservation? I have Palo dinner booked at 8:30 on Tuesday the 24 th and Palo brunch on Thursday Sept 19 at 10:30 for my mother and I, but she has told me she would rather not go. I guess the rich food is too much for her. Would anyone want to join me?

Your welcome to join us. We are going on the 21st. Have to give you fair warning.... We're DAWG fans. Lol I've never been so I really don't care when we go. I just am concerned that I will be too much food for me. I hate to pay for something and then not be able to enjoy it.

 

[MelSpees]

Come with me... I'm not an expert rider for sure but I did the trail ride in the rain forest Belize. I got eaten alive by bugs even tho I used off. I just want to ride in the water on a horse.

I'm no expert either, but I'm comfortable on a horse. I think maybe I'll do it if it's still available in 2 weeks.

 

[MelSpees]

Your welcome to join us. We are going on the 21st. Have to give you fair warning.... We're DAWG fans. Lol I've never been so I really don't care when we go. I just am concerned that I will be too much food for me. I hate to pay for something and then not be able to enjoy it.

DAWG fans? Where are you from?

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Your welcome to join us. We are going on the 21st. Have to give you fair warning.... We're DAWG fans. Lol I've never been so I really don't care when we go. I just am concerned that I will be too much food for me. I hate to pay for something and then not be able to enjoy it.

Thanks for the invite! I may take you up on it, let's see- when I get on the ship I need to check to make sure I am not missing something great on the day of the brunch or the night of the dinner.

PS GO GATORS!!

 

[sharan56]

DAWG fans? Where are you from?

Orlando.... DAWG fan via St. Mary's Ga for many years.