Sept 16 2012 - WONDERing who's on the Calif Coastal with me?!

[GatorMomInNC]

Just spent the last couple hours rearranging our entire post cruise trip!! We've decided to do DL right after cruise, so we're spending three nights at the Sheraton Anaheim, then spending three nights at the Sheraton Santa Monica before flying out early on the 26th. Now I just have to decide whether to do a 3 day or 2 day pass to DL!!

Oh yeah, and figure out what we're doing in SF and SD and Ensenada...

 

[DominFam4]

Hello All,

We booked our cruise a few weeks ago and I am just now getting into the formus and prepping for our trip. We are first time Disney Cruisers. Our group has 3 cabins including my husband, daughter (3) and son (15 mo), plus my parents (who have cruised disney before), my grandmother and another family with a 10 year old son. In reading some of the early posts I think I saw few people with kids saying they were going to try to do a meet up so the kids could meet prior to going to the kids club. If so please let me know. I know my friend with the 10 year old would probably like the same. The FE sounds so fun, bummed it is closed. If anyone wants out or a space opens please let me know. We live in LA so we are familiar with our September weather but does anyone know what it will be like on sea days and in San Fran? I am hoping for warm pool weather but want to be prepared if not. I have enjoyed reading your posts and think this is a great group of people with fun energy!

 

[jlwhitney]

Just spent the last couple hours rearranging our entire post cruise trip!! We've decided to do DL right after cruise, so we're spending three nights at the Sheraton Anaheim, then spending three nights at the Sheraton Santa Monica before flying out early on the 26th. Now I just have to decide whether to do a 3 day or 2 day pass to DL!!

Oh yeah, and figure out what we're doing in SF and SD and Ensenada...

What are your port plans? I think we have finally decided too

 

[SamandWill1921]

Hello All,

We booked our cruise a few weeks ago and I am just now getting into the formus and prepping for our trip. We are first time Disney Cruisers. Our group has 3 cabins including my husband, daughter (3) and son (15 mo), plus my parents (who have cruised disney before), my grandmother and another family with a 10 year old son. In reading some of the early posts I think I saw few people with kids saying they were going to try to do a meet up so the kids could meet prior to going to the kids club. If so please let me know. I know my friend with the 10 year old would probably like the same. The FE sounds so fun, bummed it is closed. If anyone wants out or a space opens please let me know. We live in LA so we are familiar with our September weather but does anyone know what it will be like on sea days and in San Fran? I am hoping for warm pool weather but want to be prepared if not. I have enjoyed reading your posts and think this is a great group of people with fun energy!

We have a second FE list going for late comers. You might want to PM CruiseTink and see of you can get on that. Welcome to the group!

 

[DominFam4]

We have a second FE list going for late comers. You might want to PM CruiseTink and see of you can get on that. Welcome to the group!

Thanks, I will do that.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I'm glad you asked - I'm curious what others are doing, especially those with kids. I'm not in love with any of the DCL excursions.

In SF I am thinking we might just want to get a trolley/muni pass and see the pier district, maybe get over to Lombard street and the painted ladies (keep in mind, I don't know if I can do this with a trolley muni pass, so I need to research it). And then maybe do Alcatraz that same day or the next day - I know we have to buy those tix in advance, so I have to decide soon.

If we do Alcatraz in one day, then the other day I may rent a car and go to Muir woods. I'm thinking renting a car would be a lot easier and cheaper than doing the tour, and more importantly, we would have a lot of flexibility.

I really have to do a lot of research about how easy it is to use the transportation, renting a car and driving on my own, etc. I am hampered because my mother has mobility issues and can't walk more than about a block comfortably, even using her cane or walker. She would not do alcatraz with us, it would be just me and my 2 DSs, 5 and 8.

San Diego - I'm leaning towards the zoo.

Ensenada - considering staying on the boat as none of the excursions really look kid friendly and going into town requires walking, which my mom can't do, and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with 2 kids on my own.

What are your port plans? I think we have finally decided too

 

[sunshine1259]

I'm glad you asked - I'm curious what others are doing, especially those with kids. I'm not in love with any of the DCL excursions.

In SF I am thinking we might just want to get a trolley/muni pass and see the pier district, maybe get over to Lombard street and the painted ladies (keep in mind, I don't know if I can do this with a trolley muni pass, so I need to research it). And then maybe do Alcatraz that same day or the next day - I know we have to buy those tix in advance, so I have to decide soon.

If we do Alcatraz in one day, then the other day I may rent a car and go to Muir woods. I'm thinking renting a car would be a lot easier and cheaper than doing the tour, and more importantly, we would have a lot of flexibility.

I really have to do a lot of research about how easy it is to use the transportation, renting a car and driving on my own, etc. I am hampered because my mother has mobility issues and can't walk more than about a block comfortably, even using her cane or walker. She would not do alcatraz with us, it would be just me and my 2 DSs, 5 and 8.

San Diego - I'm leaning towards the zoo.

Ensenada - considering staying on the boat as none of the excursions really look kid friendly and going into town requires walking, which my mom can't do, and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with 2 kids on my own.

We are doing the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco on day and probably a Giants' game that same day. The next day we will spend at the harobr. In San Diego we are going to the zoo. We will be staying onboard in Ensenada to enjoy the ship.

 

[jlwhitney]

I'm glad you asked - I'm curious what others are doing, especially those with kids. I'm not in love with any of the DCL excursions.

In SF I am thinking we might just want to get a trolley/muni pass and see the pier district, maybe get over to Lombard street and the painted ladies (keep in mind, I don't know if I can do this with a trolley muni pass, so I need to research it). And then maybe do Alcatraz that same day or the next day - I know we have to buy those tix in advance, so I have to decide soon.

If we do Alcatraz in one day, then the other day I may rent a car and go to Muir woods. I'm thinking renting a car would be a lot easier and cheaper than doing the tour, and more importantly, we would have a lot of flexibility.

I really have to do a lot of research about how easy it is to use the transportation, renting a car and driving on my own, etc. I am hampered because my mother has mobility issues and can't walk more than about a block comfortably, even using her cane or walker. She would not do alcatraz with us, it would be just me and my 2 DSs, 5 and 8.

San Diego - I'm leaning towards the zoo.

Ensenada - considering staying on the boat as none of the excursions really look kid friendly and going into town requires walking, which my mom can't do, and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with 2 kids on my own.

No kids with us, but I am pregnant (will be 23 weeks) so not doing anything super crazy...lol.

San Fran going to do the City Pass with Alcatraz option..google it. With it we are going to do the calfornia academy of science, aquarium of the bay and possibly the exploritorium (science center).

Wanted to do Muir Woods, but renting a car is going to be a pain....good 15 min walk or so to rent car, and then the drive and hear the road is very narrow and windy (DH wouldnt care though) and then havent found a place that lets you drop the car after 5pm....on the other hand it is defiantly cheaper.

We have been to San Francisco before and the Zoo is awesome, but I warn you its big and lots of hills....but totally worth it. I almost considered going back . You can get to this fairly easily. It will easily eat up all day which can be good or bad .

We are going to go to La Jolla, thinking about doing the excursion through DCL.

Ensenada, no excursion, may get off and walk around a bit...not sure will decide that day most likely.

 

[DominFam4]

Is anyone doing their own excursion to Napa or Sanoma? DCL seems pricey. We are looking to book our own with pick up from port/warf/hotel area. Just starting to research. Would appreciate any info anyone has already looked into this. Or if there are a few couples looking to do this we may be able to book our own private tour. Let me know if anyone else is interested in this.

 

[SamandWill1921]

I called DCL this morning because I had a few questions. Most pertained to my reservation so you probably wouldn't be interested but I did glean some info that may benefit the group.

We will be docking at Pier 35 in San Francisco.
Here's what I then discovered on my own: If you are doing the Walt Disney family museum on your own you can't ride the cable car there but there is a bus that is pretty much a straight shot.

Finding Nemo in 3D is not, at this time listed as a movie to be shown on our cruise! When she didn't mention it I specifically asked and she said it's not impossible for it to be on our sailing but they usually know and it wasn't on her list. She also didn't have listed any pixar movies besides Brave. I was under the impression there would be a pixar film marathon and i was really looking forward to that......

 

[anc876]

We are flying Southwest in on the 15th and got the Westin Long Beach via Priceline. Still figuring out how we want to do our transfers from point to point... probably shuttles and cabs. We have a 2 year old and did not plan any excursions through DCL. Already been to San Diego many times and not too interested in Ensenada.

For San Francisco, here is our tentative plan:

Day 1:
Rent a car from Enterprise
Golden Gate Park and Bridge
Muir Woods
Visiting friends for dinner

Day 2:
Use public transportation
Alcatraz tour
Exploratorium
Ghirardelli Square
Fisherman's Wharf

After we disembark on the 23rd, we're heading to DL for 3 days and staying at BWPPI.

 

[caladbolg]

So excited! September can't get here soon enough!

In San Francisco, we are meeting my family and they are going to be our tour guide. We've been to the City a few times so it'll just be nice to hang out with family. Hoping they take us to Muir Woods so I don't have to pay for that excursion. Haven't seen the coastal redwoods yet!

We don't plan on getting off the ship in San Diego since we live here and have been down the Harbor numerous times.

In Ensenada we're doing the city tour.

Counting down...

 

[CruiseTink]

Welcome!!

I just sent you an email with information about the FEs and meet-up for Embarkation Day.

FYI for all -- we have started a second FE list so if you join the board you still can join the FE list right up to sailing time! Just PM me for details!

Susan

Hello All,

We booked our cruise a few weeks ago and I am just now getting into the formus and prepping for our trip. We are first time Disney Cruisers. Our group has 3 cabins including my husband, daughter (3) and son (15 mo), plus my parents (who have cruised disney before), my grandmother and another family with a 10 year old son. In reading some of the early posts I think I saw few people with kids saying they were going to try to do a meet up so the kids could meet prior to going to the kids club. If so please let me know. I know my friend with the 10 year old would probably like the same. The FE sounds so fun, bummed it is closed. If anyone wants out or a space opens please let me know. We live in LA so we are familiar with our September weather but does anyone know what it will be like on sea days and in San Fran? I am hoping for warm pool weather but want to be prepared if not. I have enjoyed reading your posts and think this is a great group of people with fun energy!

 

[sunshine1259]

I called DCL this morning because I had a few questions. Most pertained to my reservation so you probably wouldn't be interested but I did glean some info that may benefit the group.

We will be docking at Pier 35 in San Francisco.
Here's what I then discovered on my own: If you are doing the Walt Disney family museum on your own you can't ride the cable car there but there is a bus that is pretty much a straight shot.

Finding Nemo in 3D is not, at this time listed as a movie to be shown on our cruise! When she didn't mention it I specifically asked and she said it's not impossible for it to be on our sailing but they usually know and it wasn't on her list. She also didn't have listed any pixar movies besides Brave. I was under the impression there would be a pixar film marathon and i was really looking forward to that......

I called Disney as well and I was told that although subject to change, this what the probable schedule will look like for our sailing:

Timothy Green will premeire on our cruise on Wednesday, September 19th.
Pirates of the Caribbean whatever
Cars 2 in 2/3D
The Help
The Mupppets in 2/3D
People Like Us
War Horse
John Carter in 2/3D
Chimpanzee
The Advengers
Brave in 2/3D.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I called DCL ALSO about the movie a couple days ago - bet they are sick of us!

Anyway, they gave me this same list (although they didn't mention the premier of TImothy Green, just that it would be on the ship - but how cool is that?!?!?). Anyway, I pointed out that the website says that Nemo 3D would be playing as well as lots of Pixar movies, and I was wondering if these movies would be playing as well (I haven't seen a lot of them, and although I love Pixar I have seen all of those!). She put me on hold for a while and then said, "I wish I knew, but I don't."

Not sure if anyone will give us an answer before the cruise date, especially since we are on the first of the California Coastal Cruises. I hope that at at least some of these newer movies (Timothy Green, the Avengers) are playing as well as all the Pixar stuff...

I called Disney as well and I was told that although subject to change, this what the probable schedule will look like for our sailing:

Timothy Green will premeire on our cruise on Wednesday, September 19th.
Pirates of the Caribbean whatever
Cars 2 in 2/3D
The Help
The Mupppets in 2/3D
People Like Us
War Horse
John Carter in 2/3D
Chimpanzee
The Advengers
Brave in 2/3D.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

So excited! September can't get here soon enough!

In San Francisco, we are meeting my family and they are going to be our tour guide. We've been to the City a few times so it'll just be nice to hang out with family. Hoping they take us to Muir Woods so I don't have to pay for that excursion. Haven't seen the coastal redwoods yet!

We don't plan on getting off the ship in San Diego since we live here and have been down the Harbor numerous times.

In Ensenada we're doing the city tour.

Counting down...

So tell US - what should we do in SF (with 2 kids)? I'm thinking the zoo, if for nothing else but to see the Pandas. But the one DCL excursion that looked good was the Seal Tour (which at first I thought meant you would see seals, but apparenlty it is an amphibious vehicle tour).

 

[jlwhitney]

I called DCL this morning because I had a few questions. Most pertained to my reservation so you probably wouldn't be interested but I did glean some info that may benefit the group.

We will be docking at Pier 35 in San Francisco.
Here's what I then discovered on my own: If you are doing the Walt Disney family museum on your own you can't ride the cable car there but there is a bus that is pretty much a straight shot.

Finding Nemo in 3D is not, at this time listed as a movie to be shown on our cruise! When she didn't mention it I specifically asked and she said it's not impossible for it to be on our sailing but they usually know and it wasn't on her list. She also didn't have listed any pixar movies besides Brave. I was under the impression there would be a pixar film marathon and i was really looking forward to that......

I wouldn;t worry about it...the pixar movies will be there....the cruise is advertised to have them including nemo 3d.....normally calling closer to the cruise is more accuarte to movies being shown

 

[jlwhitney]

I called Disney as well and I was told that although subject to change, this what the probable schedule will look like for our sailing:

Timothy Green will premeire on our cruise on Wednesday, September 19th.
Pirates of the Caribbean whatever
Cars 2 in 2/3D
The Help
The Mupppets in 2/3D
People Like Us
War Horse
John Carter in 2/3D
Chimpanzee
The Advengers
Brave in 2/3D.

That list is prolly wrong....since timothy green comes out in two days August 15th.

So I would not bank on anything right now....since not sure how they will mix in other movies with all the pixar movies.

 

[MadLove]

Thousand Oaks? Cool, we used to live in Agoura Hills.

you would be my neighbor if you still lived in Agoura Hills !

 

[caladbolg]

So tell US - what should we do in SF (with 2 kids)? I'm thinking the zoo, if for nothing else but to see the Pandas. But the one DCL excursion that looked good was the Seal Tour (which at first I thought meant you would see seals, but apparenlty it is an amphibious vehicle tour).

Do you mean SD (San Diego)? The Zoo is great. It's HUGE! The panda at the Zoo just had another baby a few weeks ago so I'm not sure if the baby or the mom will be out for public viewing. But the dad will most likely be out. You can see the baby on the panda cam on the website (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/index.php). Expect a full day if you go. You can take the bus there and save $$ from the excursion.

To the north of where the cruise ship docks, is the Maritime Museum (http://www.sdmaritime.org). You can see sailing ships (Star of India, HMS Surprise replica), steam powered boat (Berkeley) and submarines (Soviet and US subs). The HMS Surprise was used in the movie Master and Commander.

Just south of where the cruise ship docks is the Midway Museum (the retired Naval Air Craft Carrier). http://midway.org/ You can learn about Naval aviation and history. Many of the docents have been stationed aboard the Midway so it's great to hear first hand experiences. Lots of stairs (some very steep - especially on the Island/Bridge).

Further south is Seaport Village (http://www.seaportvillage.com) where you can go shopping, watch street entertainers and enjoy the beautiful views of the Harbor.

Downtown San Diego, Gaslamp Quarter (http://www.gaslamp.org/) and Horton Plaza (http://www.westfield.com/hortonplaza/) are also walking distance but have a good pair of walking shoes! Mostly shops and restaurants.

Map and coupon for Midway and Maritime Museum here: http://www.seaportvillage.com/admin/aMediaBackend/original?slug=embarcaderowalkingmap&format=pdf

Hope this helps!