PTR - DCL Take 2: Pappy, Poppi, Pippi, and Peppi Try Again: 7-Day Western Caribbean

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – The Decision

Cast: Pappy and Poppi, ages not specified, and their daughters Pippi and Peppi, who will be 15 and 11 at the time of the cruise.

Their first and only cruise to date took place on the Disney Wonder for a 4-day cruise in the Bahamas in January 2003, after which, Pappy adamantly stated that he’d never cruise again, which had nothing to do with DCL and everything to do with weather, the ages/stages of the children, and especially the rampant norovirus.

Time finally managed to soften his stance and when Poppi suggested in July 2011 that they do a cruise for their next vacation, he was amenable. So, Poppi located a reasonably priced 7-day Caribbean itinerary on the Disney Magic. A nod from Pappy and a request to Michele Snoddy at Dreams Unlimited Travel locked in their reservation: Western Caribbean 7-day, December 10-17, 2011, stateroom category 11A. On board credit expected to include $100 from DU and $50 from Disney Visa.

COST: $909 guest 1, $909 guest 2, $539 guest 3, $489 guest 4, $334.76 taxes/fees.

TOTAL: $3180.76 (not including airfare, transfers, trip insurance, tips, port excursions, passports, pre-trip hotel, post-trip hotel, souvenirs, or pre-trip clothes shopping).

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Passports

Pippi and Peppi need passports. Pappy and Poppi still had valid passports but the ones for the children had expired, only being good for 5 years for folks under the age of 16. Knowing that only birth certificates are required but feeling much more comfortable with the entire family traveling with passports, they downloaded the forms from the State Department website, rounded up the expired passports and certified birth certificates, and ran to Walgreens for new snapshots of Pippi and Peppi. A quick trip to a passport processing office and they were assured that they would receive the passports in approximately 5 weeks, well before they needed to send the passport numbers to DCL.

COST: $21.83 to Walgreens, $160 to the State Department, and $50 to the USPS.

TOTAL: $231.83

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Planning

Poppi is a planner. Planning and anticipating are a large part of her vacation enjoyment. Pappy is not a planner but tolerates Poppi’s reading, research, and endless banter about the minutia of an upcoming trip. Pappy relaxes pre-trip, as he knows that all details are being taken care of. Poppi scours the internet for DCL information, cruise advice, port adventure recommendations, packing lists, hotel reviews, and trip reports. The cruise isn’t for another 5 months, but it is not too early for Poppi to become fixated. She’s surprised at the dearth of books on DCL but finally finds a treasure trove in the Passporter’s Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call. She pre-orders the current book directly from the Passporter website, thereby gaining instant access to the electronic version of the book. Instant is important; Poppi can’t wait another month for the book to be published in print.

COST: $18.66 for book + $4.85 shipping

TOTAL: $23.51

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Transportation Planning

Pappy and Poppi plan to drive the 12 hours to Cape Canaveral. They used to fly whenever they went to Orlando but one particularly problem-ridden trip convinced them that it is simpler (not to mention less expensive) to drive. Pippi and Peppi are good car travelers as long as they have books to read, DVDs to watch, and DS games to play. Pippi is very excited that 3 of her favorite book series are publishing new books this fall. However, her anticipation is stymied when Poppi suggests buying the books as they come out and setting them aside so that Pippi has books to read on the long trip. Poor Pippi.

COST: $250 for anticipated fuel costs (roundtrip), $100 for anticipated car entertainment costs for books and DS games, $200 anticipated for meals on the road (roundtrip)

TOTAL: $550

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Preparations for Pets

Pippi and Peppi have pets. Pippi has a dog and a cat. Peppi has a cat and 2 leopard geckos. They also have a large aquarium full of fish. Who will care for them all while Pippi and Peppi are on vacation? Pappy makes a reservation for the pooch to board at the vet clinic and Poppi talks her sister into stopping by regularly to feed and care for the remaining menagerie.

COST: $165 to board pup and $100 gift certificate to Sis

TOTAL: $265

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Hotel Reservation

Poppi’s research uncovers many negative recent reviews for the Radisson in Cape Canaveral. She is saddened because they really enjoyed their one-night stay there in 2003. The suite was large and clean with a convenient small kitchen, the pool was huge and well themed, and the staff were super friendly and helpful. Pappy commented at the time that it was too bad they were only staying one night. However, the recent reviews indicate the hotel has not been maintained and is run-down, uncomfortable, and not always clean.

Poppi decides that they will stay at the Country Inn and Suites with the cruise and park package for the night before their cruise. The included hot breakfast, cruise-duration parking, and shuttles to the port should really meet their needs. It is very close to the port and less expensive than the also well regarded Residence Inn.

COST: $139 regular room park and cruise package + $15.29 taxes

TOTAL: $154.29

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Disney Cruise Line DVD

Pippi and Peppi were excited to find a DVD on the Disney Cruise Line in the mail. They browsed the brochure and then wanted to watch the DVD immediately. Pappy and Poppi joined them around the television and selected “Watch All” to be sure that they didn’t miss anything. They made several observations.

1. Various topics (such as Castaway Cay or Palo) were covered in drips and drabs through several different segments. Not only was it non-cohesive, it was very repetitive.

2. The information provided would only be helpful to someone who knew nothing about DCL. It was a basic overview. Some of the information was already out of date (such as discussing pagers for parents and no mention of Wave phones).

3. Pappy pointed out that most of the minorities shown were employees. The DVD did show a few minority guests but the guests were overwhelmingly white.

4. Poppi commented that there was not a single overweight person on the DVD. Pippi and Peppi made it a game to try to find one.

COST: $0

 

[GraciesMommy]

I'm enjoying following along! My daughter and I will be cruising along with you. I'm not doing much planning yet (other than plane tickets) as I have a semester of grad school to get through before we embark.

 

[Pinkocto]

You are a hoot and a half! Love your writing style! Were they able to find any overweight people? I seem to remember thinking the same thing I was really quite surprised at how dated the actual footage was, I did like the UP characters. Of course that didn't stop me from watching the entire thing numerous times!

I'll be on the lookout for future posts, hope you have a fabulous vacation!

 

[peg2001]

I'm enjoying following along! My daughter and I will be cruising along with you. I'm not doing much planning yet (other than plane tickets) as I have a semester of grad school to get through before we embark.

I remember grad school (so many years ago). I wish you the best of luck. The cruise will be a wonderful reward for your hard work.

 

[peg2001]

You are a hoot and a half! Love your writing style! Were they able to find any overweight people? I seem to remember thinking the same thing I was really quite surprised at how dated the actual footage was, I did like the UP characters. Of course that didn't stop me from watching the entire thing numerous times!

Thanks. We agree about the dated footage. It still does the job of getting folks excited about DCL but we didn't really find it helpful.

We never did find any overweight people although Peppi did point out a person or two who had their backs to the camera that could have POTENTIALLY had a few extra pounds.

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Passporter’s Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call

Poppi immerses herself in the information provided in the Passporter’s e-book. Poppi is an engineer and appreciates all the charts, maps, and data tables. She especially likes the weather chart and the rate ranges and trends. She is very pleased to confirm that the cost of her cruise was on the low range for DCL. Poppi finds lots of information that she hasn’t seen anywhere else, or the same information but presented in a different and very helpful way.

Poppi does have a suggestion for improving the e-book. She would like it to include only the information related to her cruise and not have to wade through information about the new Dream ship or other itineraries and their port excursions. While cost prohibitive for a print book, it should be simple enough for an e-book to include only the sections wanted by the customer. Some customers will want it ALL but others, like Poppi, would appreciate a slimmer more efficient guide.

COST: previously accrued

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Pin Trading

Pippi and Peppi like pin trading. In preparation for their future Disney cruise, they dig out all of their pins and start deciding which ones could be traded. Peppi, who seems to enjoy the act of trading more than actually owning the pins, quickly selects several that she will trade. Pippi, who is much more particular about the pins she collects, only spots a couple possible traders.

Poppi decides that the neatest thing about children and pin trading is watching their taste develop as they age. One year, they may snatch up every Jessie pin that they can find but a few years later, they may trade their Jessie pins for pirate pins. Even non-favorite characters may be collected if the pin is particularly cool looking.

COST: $0 so far this year, Poppi tries not to tally all the money sunk into pins over the years

 

[Pinkocto]

Pappy, any thoughts on excursions yet?

 

[CitaPita]

Loving this so far! Great, unique style. You've just about sold me on that Passporter guide. Can't wait to read more (especially since we're on the same cruise!). Subbing.

 

[peg2001]

Pappy, any thoughts on excursions yet?

LOTS of thoughts. Enough to make decisions and then change them! Here's what we've settled on:

Key West - no formal excursion but we'll do a few things on our own, including the Butterfly Exhibit (primarily for Peppi) and the Hemingway House (Pippi wants to see the 6-toed cats) and just walking around to see the sights.

Grand Cayman - Nautilus Undersea Tour through Disney. We aren't experienced travelers and feel better paying a bit more and not worrying about it. Still, we picked a shorter and less expensive excursion. Reviews are mostly positive.

Cozumel - I had the Highlights and Mayan Ruins all picked out but it is a long one (4.5 hours) and we want to really take it easy on this day so that we all have energy to stay up for the Pirate Party and fireworks. So, we plan no excursions for this day.

Castaway Cay - Stingray Encounter. Peppi is so excited about this and I think it looks like a blast as well. Reviews are generally positive.

 

[peg2001]

Loving this so far! Great, unique style. You've just about sold me on that Passporter guide. Can't wait to read more (especially since we're on the same cruise!). Subbing.

Thanks! The Passporter guide can be information overload and isn't perfect; I've found a few things in the guide that are contradicted by posters on the DIS boards and I'm pretty sure the DIS posters are correct! It was definitely worth its cost though, in helping me plan.

Now. . .back to posting the PTR. I've had these written for a while and have been meaning to post them!

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Passports Revisited

Poppi was surprised to find that Pippi’s and Peppi’s passports arrived exactly 3 weeks after being submitted. Passport processing is running especially efficiently. She quickly ripped open the envelopes to double-check the birthdates and spelling of the names. You would be surprised at how often Pippi and Peppi are misspelled. The passports are accurate and the family is set for cruise identification.

COST: previously accrued

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – The Route

Pappy and Poppi will drive I-75 south into Florida. Poppi begins to research whether they should stay on I-75 all the way to the Florida Turnpike and then take the Beachline Expressway into the port. She knows that these are toll roads and while not budget busters, it’s always nice to save your quarters where you can. The main alternate choice would be to cut east on I-10 towards Jacksonville and hit I-95 south. Each alternative seems to have its fans but the general consensus is that the I-75 route is a nicer drive than I-95 and not as congested. Poppi easily decides that less stress is worth the toll costs.

That settled, Poppi turns her mind and Google to determining the best way to get through Atlanta. I-75 goes right through the middle of downtown Atlanta while I-285 takes a large detour around either side. The advice from strangers on the internet is clear: avoid the rush hours (which seem to span several hours each work day!) and take I-75 right through, keeping to the left HOV lanes.

Poppi also runs across a reference to a small short cut near Macon, GA. I-475 by-passes Macon and actually shaves miles from the trip. Bonus!

COST: $12 anticipated for tolls (round-trip), other travel costs previously accrued

 

[peg2001]

Pre-Trip Report – Hotel Reservations Revisited

Pappy mentioned to Poppi that he would really appreciate a hotel day to rest after driving to Cape Canaveral prior to boarding the ship. He then said that he really didn’t want to make the long drive home immediately after stepping off the ship either. Poppi asked if he wanted to stay in the Cape Canaveral area or near WDW and Pappy thought he’d prefer staying near the port.

Poppi is happy with any decisions that extends her vacation time so she made 2 new reservations for the Country Inn and Suites, one for Thursday night before the cruise (Friday night reservation had been made previously) and one for the Saturday night after the cruise. Poppi first thought to simply add Thursday night to her previous Friday night reservation but discovered that it was cheaper to add a separate reservation for Thursday night as the website offered a non-refundable advanced reservation rate for that night.

COST: $ 79.50 + $8.74 tax for Thursday night pre-cruise, $119 + $13.09 tax for Saturday night post-cruise

TOTAL: $220