Sept. 11th, 2004!!! Roll Call!

[femmfaerie]

Originally posted by ldb1030

femmfaerie - our room is aft also. what deck are you on? We are on deck 5! Same cabin as last cruise!!

We are on deck 7 i think, close to the secret deck.

 

[pvangordon]

Hi, everyone:

I'm totally new to these boards, which I learned about on Cruise Critic. My husband and I will be on the 9/11 W. Caribbean cruise and are very excited about the trip. The only other cruise we've taken was a 3 day Wonder cruise last October as part of a land/sea package.

We'll be flying in on a redeye the night before and hoping there will be no delays. Also keeping our fingers crossed that we'll catch some reasonable weather between hurricanes.

We're planning the Atlantis submarine in GC, jeep safari tour in Cozumel, and kayaking on CC. Anyone else doing these excursions?

 

[lopezgang]

Welcome to the boards. Are you travelling with children? We have a DS 3 and a DD 9. We aren't doing any of the excursions that you are, but others might be. We fly in the day before and are staying at the Airport Marriott and using Happy Limo to get to the port.

 

[pvangordon]

Thanks for the welcome. Nope, we have no kiddies. I'm a Disney fanatic and had always wanted to try DCL, so that was my first cruiseline of choice. I had such a good time that I booked my 2004 vacation while on the last cruise. It was originally scheduled for November, but I got impatient and moved it up.

On a side note, if you move your trip up, make sure you watch carefully for your docs. I remember getting docs for my last trip very early on, but this time around, we didn't receive anything except excursion info. Since I know 2-3 weeks is a common timeframe for doc mailing by many cruiselines, I waited til that point before calling. As it turns out, when I changed the trip dates, they didn't do something on their end that automatically generated the mailing for me. Good thing I called! I should be receiving everything today or tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to making that mad dash to check out our cabin, make our Palo and high tea reservations, visit the spa, and THEN relax!

 

[TraSee]

pvangordon...welcome! My husband and I aren't traveling with children either. This is my 6th Disney Cruise...I love them!
Tracy

 

[NancyDVC]

TraSee and HookedonMagic and all the rest of you who are in Florida-God Speed my prayers are with you.
From several threads I think that the only good thing that came out of Charley is that folks are taking these warnings seriously and getting out.

Welcome pvangordon. This is a great group. And provided we all make it to the ship we are having a DIS meet at 3:00 near the Mickey pool on Saturday.

Congrats on the upgrade scrapperjill!

Yes Duct tape (actually the colorful brand is "Duck Tape" with a yellow duky on the package) comes in several colors. I use the red at work to identify our equipment!
Now I know that I will need it!
As for Frances -Turn Baby Turn!!!
TTFN

 

[scrapperjill]

Well earler today I finished packing 100%...I was soooo happy. Our countdown chain is almost empty...and we had our bon voyage gathering last night....which went well. But just when everything seems to going good..BAM!!! I happened to check the airline web site today after fiishing the packing to get the measurments for the carryons...to make sure they will fit ..when I noticed that the airline had an alert for all those traveling to the Flordia area...they are willing to make any flight/travel changes with tickest free of charge at this time to avoid the hurricaine delays and danger. So I decided i should cut and paste and e-mail it to Jesse at work...when I did that I realized I had not checked my e-mail in DAYS..with being sooo busy with Sydneys treatments, school, packing...and everything else. Well as it was there was a e-mail from our wish grantor....which I check as soon as I saw it...to read...OUR WISH TRIP HAS BEEN CANCLED!!!

Ive spent the rest of the day in utter shock and disbeleif...The trip has been cancled because of the potiental danger while at the WDW area. The cruise is still set...BUT...now we have NO flight there. Since our trip is from the wish foundation and the group at Give Kids the World have the say on if they are open or not...theres not much we can do. I can truly say I'm lost and don't know where to start....and I thought the packing was difficult. From the many many phone calls I've made today our choices are to either...bag the whole thing and rebook at a latter time or buy our own airfair to get to the ship in time. The wish foundation was providing our round trip air...but since the WDW portion is cancled now...they cancled our flights also..until we can rebook the whole thing....Im kind of rambling...but I'm just in so much shock. I don't know how were going to come up with the 2000+ for airfair at this time....but I also don't see how I can tell the girls especialy Sydney that were not going anywhere now. She went through so much at the hospital...and the comming trip really helped her get through the two weeks.

Well I'm going to take my numb brain now and see where I can come up with airfair funds. I don't want to miss the boat!

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Scrapperjill--

I cannot believe what I just read! I'm in absolute awe, and I can't imagine how you must be feeling. I'm so sorry that you received such bad news....*@#% hurricanes!

I hope that you will be able to make the cruise with us instead of rescheduling. Considering what you've been through lately, I don't know a family that is more deserving of a magical vacation than yours.

We're going to pray for good news to come your way, and send lots of pixie dust.

Stacy

 

[TraSee]

Scrapperjill...WHAT?!!!! That can't be! There has to be some way for you to get the money. Call Disney and explain, call every other Make a Wish Foundation org. Why can't they rebook your tickets for next week? I don't understand!!!
Tracy

 

[scrapperjill]

I asked the wish foundtion the same questions..and since were staying at Give Kids the World...they have the upper hand. They won't rebook at this time because they just don't know what is ahead...with Francis comming. From the sounds of it they won't even look into rebooking until after October 15th...even if Francis dosn't hit.

Jesse and I have decided to do what we can to try and get the tickets for the flight rebooked...well booked at this point so we can all make the cruise...then work more with the wish foundation later on, on rescheduling the WDW portion. Were all very disapointed, shocked, stunned, and in ahh on what's going on and what to do. I'm just starting to be able to think somewhat straight.

The wish foundation said they have never come across this type of problem before so they just arn't sure what to do. Since the cruise is still on as far as DCL goes, but the WDW portion is cancled...they can't "split" the wish up and pay for our flights both times...so as it is we can either foot the tickets ourself now...or wait to reschedule with the GKTW and Wishing Star foundation.

We have had a few people offer to give us their frequent flyer miles...but they also mentioned they didn't think it was allowed since they are "non transferable". But it gives us hope and something to work on tomarrow.

I'm am praying hard for all of you down in the area. Francis comming near the area has affected us and our trip.....now I can only pray and hope that when it hits..everyone in the area will be safe and affected as little a possable. May God be with all of you durring this time.

 

[4Sedgs]

Scrapperjill-

I'm so sorry. I don't even know what to say! I take from the airfare amount that Washington is the state and not our capital, so flying is the only option. My prayers continue to be with you and your husband as you search for a solution. I truly believe God opens a door every time He closes one.

Welcome, pvangordan! Glad you found the forum. You should spend some time and read some of the older messages. Great info.

Trasee and HookedonMagic - my prayers go out to all of you in Florida.

 

[ASROBERTS]

Scrapperjill, Have you been able to work anything out in order to make the cruise? My DH works for an airline and can probably get buddy passes. Of course, you'd be flying standby and the cost would probably be around $160-170 pp. Let me know if we can help. God bless. Angela

 

[lopezgang]

scrapperjill- so sorry to hear about your troubles. I can't even imagine having to think about cancelling after all of the buildup and everything you've been through. I hope you can get tickets. I wish I had some frequent fliers to give you. I just gave my last ticket to a friend of mine. Maybe the airline will give you some kind of discount if you explain the situtation. I really hope you can make it.

For everyone in Florida- good luck. Hopefully you will be safe during the storm.

pvangordon- I wonder if my documents were delayed because I also moved my dates up. I found out that I was unexpectedly pregnant and couldn't travel in November, when originally booked, so we moved it to September and my documents were just sent yesterday. At least I know it's happened to others. I was worried that they didn't have me on the ship!

 

[natale1980]

Scrapperjill-
that stinks!! I can't believe that they would do that... I hope everything works out for your family.

I just got off the phone with Disney asking about the hurricane... they said that it is in direct path of Castaway Cay. So the chances of us making it there are slim. But they don't know too much yet since it hasn't hit yet.... but I was told "not to hold my breath".
The rest of our cruise seems to still be on and when they do find out with is going on with CC they will tell us what other port we are going to be sent to.
I can't believe that we may miss CC!! The last time I was on a cruise was in 99 on our honeymoon... CC was closed cause of hurricane Floyd. Now for our Five Year Anniversary it is most likely going to be closed again.... oh well I'm sure it will still be a great trip.
FYI- I also asked in the cruise that leaves on this weekend is still on.... and they said yes.

See you all soon!
nat & baby

 

[scrapperjill]

lopezgang ...or anyone else knowing the answer....about using others frequent flyer miles. Jesse had a couple people at his work yesterday offer us some of their miles...but we didn't think they could be transfered to us and used....The more I have looked into it the more it sounds like it may be a possablity. So dose anyone know if we had people offer to give us their or some of their frequent flyer miles...how it would work. I am wanting to find out as soon as possable. Thanks.

 

[lopezgang]

scrapperjill- my southwest frequent fliers are always transferrable. I know some other airlines are transferrable also as I have used my dad's tickets numerous time and also my aunts. I believe I have gone American and Northwest on others miles. Try each airlines website to see. A friend of mine who is trying to book tickets for Xmas just told me that for some reason Delta is running big specials on one-way tickets. She booked one way tickets to Orlando and then one way tickets back to Phx for $326 (total for all 4) each way for two adults and two kids. Try to see what you can find.

 

[pvangordon]

Thanks again for the warm welcomes. I'm an avid forum reader on a couple of sites, so I'm glad to find another very active board on one of my favorite topics - cruising!

Scrapperjill - So sorry to hear about your trip. Not sure about the transfer of FF miles, but people do sell them and there's a certain process they follow to do so (for example, do a search on eBay and some of the auctions explain how they "transfer" the miles to the buyer). Also, the FF holder can use the miles to book flights for other people. A couple years ago, my DH's mother was diagnosed with cancer and he had to fly out from CA to FL the next day. I just called up Delta and booked him a flight using my miles. So you can always see if the FF holder would be willing and able to do that for you.

Lopezgang - I have no idea what would have happened if I hadn't called! I know I had a reservation and everything was fine in that regard, but it was a little bit disconcerting since the last time around, we were getting stuff in the mail weeks in advance. I did finally get all my docs yesterday, so now it's down to watching the countdown clock and the path of Frances.

I'm praying the extra days will give time for the worst of it to pass. The cruiselines will do everything in their power to sail, given the huge loss of revenue if they don't, so I figure at worst, they'll change up the itinerary a bit or the weather might not be perfect. I don't really mind changed or missed ports, as long as the overall vacation is still solid. I would just hate to go and end up with a not-so-relaxing time because of all the hurricane issues.

Also, it would be sort of ironic if we miss CC. We didn't stop there on my last cruise due to high winds.

Thanks for the info on the DIS meet on Saturday. We will make it if we can (although given that we're flying in on a red-eye, we could be conked out in our cabin by then!).

 

[ThreeSmiths]

Did anyone else see this?

Quote:
The Disney Cruise Line is offering the following "compensation" to anyone who does not cancel or change their September 4th (now 6th) Disney Magic Cruise: 40% refund off of the voyage fare, $200 per room stateroom credit, 25% discount voucher for a future cruise (any length) until Oct, 2005 (must be booked by Dec. 31, 2004).

From Disneycruise.com: Currently, we are monitoring Hurricane Frances very closely. At this time, it is probable that the storm will impact air travel into the Central Florida area through Sunday. Given this information, we have decided to modify the Disney Magic sailing scheduled to begin on Saturday, September 4th and the Disney Wonder sailing scheduled to depart on September 5th. (2:30pm 9/2)

The Disney Magic will now sail on Monday, September 6th on a 5-night voyage and the Disney Wonder will also sail on Monday, September 6th on a 3-night voyage. Both ships are scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral. Guests sailing on one of these voyages are currently being contacted by our Reservations staff.

Wow! What bad luck! I guess that's the chance we have all taken booking during the height of hurricane season. I would (will?) be so bummed if that happens to us!

I was talking to my hairstylist today, telling him about our cruise. He said that it's probably a good thing for us that Francis is pushing through this week, because there probably won't be an active hurricane while we're at sea....something to do with the air pressure and other scientifc stuff that I don't quite understand. I don't know how true that is, but it sounded good to me.

I'm worried that Francis is going to ravage CC to the point that we cannot stop. Then I check back in with reality and feel guilty for worrying about my trip when the people in the path of the storm are so at risk.

With that being said...
Prayers going out to all of those in the path of Francis.

Scrapperjill: Any good news yet on plane tix? I wish I knew something about FF miles, but we don't fly enough to collect them.

 

[lopezgang]

ThreeSmiths- I had read that. I am so happy that we are going next week. I have a feeling that everything will be clear, too. I feel really bad for the people on this week. From other posts it doesn't look like we have good chances for CC. Even with the hurrican being gone it sounds like it might do a lot of damage there. Have you gotten your docs yet?

I hope everyone who lives in FL is safe. The news keeps saying that this is going to be worse than Andrew. I sure hope not!

 

[cali4niacruisin]

Originally posted by ThreeSmiths
I'm worried that Francis is going to ravage CC to the point that we cannot stop. Then I check back in with reality and feel guilty for worrying about my trip when the people in the path of the storm are so at risk.

With that being said...
Prayers going out to all of those in the path of Francis.

. [/B]

ThreeSmiths,

I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm sure everyone on this board wants most of all for those in Frances' path to be safe and have the least possible damage. That said, all of us have a right to hope our vacation is wonderful. We are obsessively watching the weather channel both on television and on the internet. We are booked to fly into MCO on Tuesday from Sacramento through Atlanta. We are watching closely for possible travel delays and to see if we get there will we have a hotel to stay at and can we visit WDW as planned. Nothing seems to be coming on the heels of Frances (yet) so it seems we will be able to sail on 9/11. We hope to be able to do our vacation as planned, but will be happy with a "Mystery Cruise". Stopping at CC does not look promising. I read on the 9/4 board that there are mixed feelings about rescheduling or taking the 5 day. I think DCL is offering pretty good compensation and options for those cruisers. I do feel lucky that we aren't booked on the 9/4 cruise, 9/6 now I guess. What a difference a week might make.

Hoping for the very best for all those affected by Frances!

Scrapperjill- What a bummer! I'm sorry you have to scramble for flights and how to pay for them. I hope you guys are able to make it. I know you and your family really need a vacation and even more so after all this added stress. Good luck!

Erin