PodCast 4.0 Chit Chat

[philatiger]

Hi everyone,

My name is Chuck and I am traveling with my partner Mark. This will be our 4th Disney Cruise. We were on the Dream's first 5D DD and had a great time.

We are booked on this cruise but we will not be part of the podcast activities. We will be spending the week before the cruise at Disney. We decided to immerse ourselves in Disney and the holiday decorations.

Looking forward to getting to know you over the next year and a half.

 

[OKW Lover]

Hi everyone,

My name is Chuck and I am traveling with my partner Mark. This will be our 4th Disney Cruise. We were on the Dream's first 5D DD and had a great time.

We are booked on this cruise but we will not be part of the podcast activities. We will be spending the week before the cruise at Disney. We decided to immerse ourselves in Disney and the holiday decorations.

Looking forward to getting to know you over the next year and a half.

Sorry to hear that you won't be part of the official activities, but I guarantee that you'll meet some really nice folks just wandering around the ship!

 

[philatiger]

Sorry to hear that you won't be part of the official activities, but I guarantee that you'll meet some really nice folks just wandering around the ship!

I tried, but DU would not allow me to transfer my reservation.

 

[NancyIL]

I tried, but DU would not allow me to transfer my reservation.

Is your current reservation an onboard booking? If so, could you book this cruise with DU and move your onboard booking to a different date?

 

[philatiger]

Is your current reservation an onboard booking? If so, could you book this cruise with DU and move your onboard booking to a different date?

Yes it is. But this cruise will probably be the last Disney cruise for a while. Going to focus on ABD trips to see more of the world.

What type of activities would we miss out on if we weren't part of the group? Still unclear about what happens with the group on board.

 

[mdvlprof]

What type of activities would we miss out on if we weren't part of the group? Still unclear about what happens with the group on board.

You'll miss out on 'official' DU stuff. But you can sign up for the 'unofficial' stuff. Breakfast, wine tasting, cabin crawl, FE, etc., which are put together by listeners, not the DU/Podcast team.

 

[OKW Lover]

What type of activities would we miss out on if we weren't part of the group? Still unclear about what happens with the group on board.

The powers that be haven't said what's planned for this trip, but on PCC 1.0 & 2.0 there were several special events.

• A live taping of the podcast.
• Special private party on Castaway Cay
• Concert by Jodi Benson (PCC 2.0)
• Disney University talk about developing WDW (PCC 1.0)
• Special speakers by legendary former Disney CM's (Lee Cockerel, Bob Gurr, Charlie Ridgeway)

 

[philatiger]

Thanks for the info. My brain seems to be in freeze mode this morning and I can't find it .... Can someone send me the link to where I can see information on cabin categories, pricing, etc...

the freeze seems to have melted.... found it...lol

 

[philatiger]

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads.

 

[sdlong329]

Philatiger ... we are located just north of Philadelphia. We will be spending time in WDW for precruise excitement (probably just a few days). Any ideas where you will be staying? We are DVC members ... have home resort status at Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Villas.

/////////////

As for having DU handle your reservation ... when you purchase a cruise while onboard, you MUST specify a Travel Agency, if you want that Agency to handle the reservation ... otherwise, DCL will be listed as your T/A. If you do not initially select a Travel Agency, DCL will usually permit you to transfer your reservation to a T/A, but the T/A would be paid a significantly lower commission (similar to being paid a referral fee).

As I understand, since DU will be paying significant $ for all of their special events and activities, these events / activities are only made available to their clients who booked the cruise through DU.

Suggestion: Contact DU to obtain a quote for the same cruise, and compare it to the price you received while onboard the ship. If you opt for booking directly throug DU (not DCL onboard booking), DCL will not provide you with their shipboard credit. In the event you opt for booking through DU (not DCL onboard booking), you will then be able to use your existing DCL booked reservation for future reference (dummy cruise, remember to change the date) ... or cancel the reservation (subject to cancellation policies).

I believe most guests would agree that it is likely worth spending a tad more $ (if necessary) to attend the podCast events / activities ... versus saving a few dollars and missing out on the events / activities.

I hope I explained this properly. If, for some reason, the content of this post somehow violates any rules ... I ask the moderators to please feel free to modify, amend or delete the thread.

Steven (& Donna)

 

[Cherinva]

Hey there everyone !! I hope the Dads had a nice day yesterday.

Weather isn't too bad....cloudy and showers...I'll take this over the high heat we had during the weekend.

 

[NancyIL]

Is your current reservation an onboard booking? If so, could you book this cruise with DU and move your onboard booking to a different date?

Yes it is. But this cruise will probably be the last Disney cruise for a while. Going to focus on ABD trips to see more of the world.

Suggestion: Contact DU to obtain a quote for the same cruise, and compare it to the price you received while onboard the ship. If you opt for booking directly throug DU (not DCL onboard booking), DCL will not provide you with their shipboard credit. In the event you opt for booking through DU (not DCL onboard booking), you will then be able to use your existing DCL booked reservation for future reference (dummy cruise, remember to change the date) ... or cancel the reservation (subject to cancellation policies).

I suggested the same thing, but it doesn't sound like that is an option.

 

[philatiger]

Philatiger ... we are located just north of Philadelphia. We will be spending time in WDW for precruise excitement (probably just a few days). Any ideas where you will be staying? We are DVC members ... have home resort status at Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Villas.

/////////////

As for having DU handle your reservation ... when you purchase a cruise while onboard, you MUST specify a Travel Agency, if you want that Agency to handle the reservation ... otherwise, DCL will be listed as your T/A. If you do not initially select a Travel Agency, DCL will usually permit you to transfer your reservation to a T/A, but the T/A would be paid a significantly lower commission (similar to being paid a referral fee).

As I understand, since DU will be paying significant $ for all of their special events and activities, these events / activities are only made available to their clients who booked the cruise through DU.

Suggestion: Contact DU to obtain a quote for the same cruise, and compare it to the price you received while onboard the ship. If you opt for booking directly throug DU (not DCL onboard booking), DCL will not provide you with their shipboard credit. In the event you opt for booking through DU (not DCL onboard booking), you will then be able to use your existing DCL booked reservation for future reference (dummy cruise, remember to change the date) ... or cancel the reservation (subject to cancellation policies).

I believe most guests would agree that it is likely worth spending a tad more $ (if necessary) to attend the podCast events / activities ... versus saving a few dollars and missing out on the events / activities.

I hope I explained this properly. If, for some reason, the content of this post somehow violates any rules ... I ask the moderators to please feel free to modify, amend or delete the thread.

Steven (& Donna)

Hi Steven,

We will most likely stay at BLT, one of our home resorts. We plan to visit as many hotels the week before to see the Christmas decorations, something we have never done. So being on the monorail gives us quick access to a few.

Asking for a quote from DU right now. Will make a decision based on the quote. I had sent Tracy an email but I was not able to follow her explanation. Finally figured it out and what you just said confirmed it. thanks

 

[sdlong329]

We plan to visit as many hotels the week before to see the Christmas decorations, something we have never done.

Asking for a quote from DU right now. Will make a decision based on the quote. I had sent Tracy an email but I was not able to follow her explanation. Finally figured it out and what you just said confirmed it. thanks

WHAT A GREAT IDEA to visit the resorts to see the Christmas decorations! I will have to BORROW that idea!

As for the *travel* explanation ... sometimes I think it's the way things are explained ... T/A's and/or DCL don't seem to understand what we are trying to do, or don't want competition with the other. When it was first explained to me, it did not make sense, and I got $crewed out of a podCast cruise (long story, not worth explaining). Suffice it to say, now that I know how it works, it will not happen again.

If the pricing from DU is about the same ... it would make sense to grab their offer, and cancel your original cruise (IF you can get your money back). If the DU price is a tad more ... it's probably worth experiencing the extra perks. If it's A LOT more ... you will have a tough choice! No matter what happens ... all is good, so long as you are sailing with the mouse!

 

[philatiger]

WHAT A GREAT IDEA to visit the resorts to see the Christmas decorations! I will have to BORROW that idea!

As for the *travel* explanation ... sometimes I think it's the way things are explained ... T/A's and/or DCL don't seem to understand what we are trying to do, or don't want competition with the other. When it was first explained to me, it did not make sense, and I got $crewed out of a podCast cruise (long story, not worth explaining). Suffice it to say, now that I know how it works, it will not happen again.

If the pricing from DU is about the same ... it would make sense to grab their offer, and cancel your original cruise (IF you can get your money back). If the DU price is a tad more ... it's probably worth experiencing the extra perks. If it's A LOT more ... you will have a tough choice! No matter what happens ... all is good, so long as you are sailing with the mouse!

Well, it's now official. We are part of the Podcast.

The only difference is that we had 6B before and now 6A. The price difference we felt made up for deck location and the PC activities on board. Plus we were able to get an aft cabin so we didn't lose the location we like. It's a good day in Philly.

We moved our on board reservation to the week before as a place holder. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[NancyIL]

Well, it's now official. We are part of the Podcast.

The only difference is that we had 6B before and now 6A. The price difference we felt made up for deck location and the PC activities on board. Plus we were able to get an aft cabin so we didn't lose the location we like. It's a good day in Philly.

We moved our on board reservation to the week before as a place holder. Thanks everyone for the help.

Congratulations!

 

[sdlong329]

Well, it's now official. We are part of the Podcast ... It's a good day in Philly ...

... and it's a GREAT DAY to be on THE DIS!

 

[paulasillars]

The airfare is often the deal breaker when it comes to booking a bargain cruise, especially if you are flying internationally.

I can pretty much guarantee that my airfare is going to cost more than my cruise on pretty much every trip. Which is why us "internationals" tend to stay a lot longer at WDW - we have to justify the cost of the airfare.

WHAT A GREAT IDEA to visit the resorts to see the Christmas decorations! I will have to BORROW that idea!

Thats exactly what we are probably going to do around this cruise too - we will have DVC points to use so will have an extended stay at WDW. YAY!

 

[mdvlprof]

Well, it's now official. We are part of the Podcast.

The only difference is that we had 6B before and now 6A. The price difference we felt made up for deck location and the PC activities on board. Plus we were able to get an aft cabin so we didn't lose the location we like. It's a good day in Philly.

We moved our on board reservation to the week before as a place holder. Thanks everyone for the help.

So glad you were able to work things out.

 

[Cherinva]

Well, it's now official. We are part of the Podcast.

The only difference is that we had 6B before and now 6A. The price difference we felt made up for deck location and the PC activities on board. Plus we were able to get an aft cabin so we didn't lose the location we like. It's a good day in Philly.

We moved our on board reservation to the week before as a place holder. Thanks everyone for the help.

Fantastic !!! Welcome to the Pod Cast Events....you will not regret it. Let me know what your new cabin number is so I can record it.