Sept. 23, 2012 Pacific Coast - Wonder Cruise

[BigDisneyOE]

Gail suggest a meet before the safety drill a couple of weeks ago. It's back there somewhere in the thread.

We are staying at a private condo we rented before the cruise and we'll get a service to drive us over. When we get off the cruise we are going to a day rate hotel until our night flight back to NZ.

Erbie you got an odd email from DCL the other week right? I can't recall. I got one and I checked our c/card the other day and they'd refunded me about $3. Man how much did that cost them in international fees?

Okay ladies from the USA do any of these words mean anything to you? Milo, rooibos tea / redbush tea, Vegemite? If I can't get these in the States I'll have to bring them with me as they are staples for us.

I ran 8.5 kms today, non stop over dunes and hill trails. Three km further than I've ever run before. I couldn't run 2km in October last year without stopping heaps. I'm pleased with my effort considering the gale force wind was pushing me sideways. I'm still way faster rowing, I could have done 14kms in the same time that I run.

 

[bbangel]

You can get Milo and rooibos tea here but I'm not sure about California. Vegemite you will have to bring with you! According to some of the Aussies I've worked with it is almost impossible to find in North America.

I thought we were meeting at 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge...or did I confuse that?

Great job on the run! I don't run unless I have to (the reason running a marathon has never made it on my bucket list )

Oh and the refund is because some of the port fees went down or something. My amount changed when I made my final payment last week

 

[erbie]

You can get Milo and rooibos tea here but I'm not sure about California. Vegemite you will have to bring with you! According to some of the Aussies I've worked with it is almost impossible to find in North America.

I've seen Vegemite in stores, but it's expensive. It's probably cheaper to bring with you. Rooibos you can definitely get in CA. Haven't seen Milo in stores, but I'll keep an eye out.

I thought we were meeting at 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge...or did I confuse that?

That does sound familiar. So long ago I read it, I forgot.

Oh and the refund is because some of the port fees went down or something. My amount changed when I made my final payment last week

Mine did too, about $2.50 cheaper. We thought it was because we removed DH and then added SIL to our room. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[AussieMumma]

I just booked our Fire Engine Tour and Alcatraz for Tuesday 25th Just dh and the boys are doing Alcatraz, we decided miss 3 wouldn't enjoy it which means no one else would enjoy it (she likes to make herself heard) so the girls and I will find something else to do for a few hours, miss 13 wasn't that keen anyway so as soon as she heard of the plan she was all over it

BigDisneyOE, wow that was a massive run!! I saw a comment on facebook the other day that sums up my running perfectly "Me, jog...pffft! If you ever see me running then you'd better run too, cuz it means something is chasing me"
Definately take your own vegemite, i've never seen it in the grocery stores we've been to. We take our own instant coffee too, good coffee is hard to come by in the USA!


Sooo are we supposed to be meeting up on the first day? I'd not seen that mentioned I don't think, or I missed it which is probably more like it!

Does anyone know where on the DCL website it says about transfers from LAX and Disneyland to the port? I can't find it anywhere

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Thanks for the food advice everyone.

AussieMumma - I think we'll all be together on that Fire Truck, we booked yesterday for the 25th and Alcatraz opened today for the 26th and we booked that too. So that's all I wanted to do in terms of port things for the cruise done and dusted.

DH will have to take coffee with him, you know what coffee is like in NZ, Wellington has more coffee shops per square mile than Manhatten and it's a real 'thing' here. Dunno what he's going to be like without a proper Flat White for three weeks. He roasts his own beans as a hobby.

So I'll just take a suitcase full of coffee, Milo, Vegemite (national shortage of Marmite, talk about a scandal!), rooibos with ginger/lemon and Hubbards brekkie cereal for the kids. Can't be doing running out of Milo as one of the kids gets lemon and lime meds put in with it every morning - can you imagine the taste of Milo/lemon & lime? Ewww. He loves it tho'.

We are shopping for running gear for DH and I in the US. I need a few pairs of trail shoes and DH needs a heap more road shoes. Plus I want a raft of other trekking sandals etc. Poor kids, they are going to be hauled round malls looking at sporting goods stores. DH is planning to run on the Wonder with his Garmin - he wants to see the tracking route go round and round in small circles out at sea. I thought I'd just use the stairs and run up and down them a load early in the morning before people wake & maybe do the spin class (I wonder if I need to bring my cycling shoes?). I used to do 2.5 hours of spin classes and then go for a row afterwards, man I hope they have the C2 ergs onboard and not some low grader 'rowers'. If I don't do exercise I only sleep about three hours a night.

 

[glindamood]

Good morning! All this talk of running, rowing, cycling and I can barely walk with these wonderful knees. Hopefully the round of shots that start this morning are going to get them back to where they were before the fusion.

DIS meet - my suggestion is 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge on Sunday if that works with everyone. Thoughts??

I am also the keeper of the FE list as well as the list for the postcard exchange. I need cabin numbers (when you get them), names and ages plus your email address as sending the list through PM's is bothersome at best. We will close the FE signups at the end of August.

Not much else here this early. Still home as my first shots are this morning at 8:00 and then I will head to the office.

 

[jetskigrl]

Hello everyone
It seems so unreal that we are going to be cruising again in just a few short months We are also going on our very first visit to Disney World in about 48 days so I am in total panic
I have a few questions for everyone if you don't mind helping a crazed planner:
Where is everyone staying before the cruise? Are you flying in the night before or the day of? We have not decied if we should chance flying in the day of the cruise or the day before. I have never been to LA and don't know of where the best place to stay would be. We are planning on using disney transfers unless I can find something better
Does anyone know how far the port is from the airport? Has anyone cruised out of LA?
Do we have a meet scheduled for this cruise onboard? We have been to one on all our othe cruises and it is fun and exciting to meet those we have been talking to
I finally had a chance to read all posts and I am totaly excited to be taking my dear friend and daughter Can't wait to be sailing again

Congrats on your first visit to WDW!!! We went in August 2010 for our first (well only) time and just loved it.

Sorry, I'm no help with transportation since I live about 15 minutes from the port (my Mom will be our transportation, LOL). I totally agree with erbie about the drive time. I live very close to the 405/110 interchange and from there it is usually no more than 10 or 15 minutes to the port. From LAX to the 110 it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45, depending on the time of day and day of week Sunday morning is about the best you will ever find the freeways but it only takes one accident to ruin that. So I would give yourself an hour and then be pleasantly surprised when it only takes 30 minutes

There are a few hotels right near the port that people highly recommend (both because of proximity and having a shuttle service). I'll see if I can find names for you. They have done a lot to improve that area of San Pedro. The fountains/water show at night is beautiful (think mini-Bellagio). But I still am a little uncomfortable walking around late at night there (daytime and early evening I have no problem with at all).

For the meet, we are planning on 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge.

Okay ladies from the USA do any of these words mean anything to you? Milo, rooibos tea / redbush tea, Vegemite? If I can't get these in the States I'll have to bring them with me as they are staples for us.

I ran 8.5 kms today, non stop over dunes and hill trails. Three km further than I've ever run before. I couldn't run 2km in October last year without stopping heaps. I'm pleased with my effort considering the gale force wind was pushing me sideways. I'm still way faster rowing, I could have done 14kms in the same time that I run.

Ok, I have heard of Vegemite but not the other things (well, except that Milo is not good in a dog's fur ). Wow..that is great for your run! Congrats on the new record. I wish I could run. I can walk forever but running kills me. Of course, my weight causes most of that problem...

I just booked our Fire Engine Tour and Alcatraz for Tuesday 25th Just dh and the boys are doing Alcatraz, we decided miss 3 wouldn't enjoy it which means no one else would enjoy it (she likes to make herself heard) so the girls and I will find something else to do for a few hours, miss 13 wasn't that keen anyway so as soon as she heard of the plan she was all over it

BigDisneyOE, wow that was a massive run!! I saw a comment on facebook the other day that sums up my running perfectly "Me, jog...pffft! If you ever see me running then you'd better run too, cuz it means something is chasing me"
Definately take your own vegemite, i've never seen it in the grocery stores we've been to. We take our own instant coffee too, good coffee is hard to come by in the USA!


Sooo are we supposed to be meeting up on the first day? I'd not seen that mentioned I don't think, or I missed it which is probably more like it!

Does anyone know where on the DCL website it says about transfers from LAX and Disneyland to the port? I can't find it anywhere

Does this help? It might be an older link though so you might find something more current by looking under the Mexican Riviera cruise information:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/p...ry/air-ground-transportation-mexican-riviera/

LOL - I love that quote about running. That is me exactly

Thanks for the food advice everyone.

AussieMumma - I think we'll all be together on that Fire Truck, we booked yesterday for the 25th and Alcatraz opened today for the 26th and we booked that too. So that's all I wanted to do in terms of port things for the cruise done and dusted.

DH will have to take coffee with him, you know what coffee is like in NZ, Wellington has more coffee shops per square mile than Manhatten and it's a real 'thing' here. Dunno what he's going to be like without a proper Flat White for three weeks. He roasts his own beans as a hobby.

So I'll just take a suitcase full of coffee, Milo, Vegemite (national shortage of Marmite, talk about a scandal!), rooibos with ginger/lemon and Hubbards brekkie cereal for the kids. Can't be doing running out of Milo as one of the kids gets lemon and lime meds put in with it every morning - can you imagine the taste of Milo/lemon & lime? Ewww. He loves it tho'.

We are shopping for running gear for DH and I in the US. I need a few pairs of trail shoes and DH needs a heap more road shoes. Plus I want a raft of other trekking sandals etc. Poor kids, they are going to be hauled round malls looking at sporting goods stores. DH is planning to run on the Wonder with his Garmin - he wants to see the tracking route go round and round in small circles out at sea. I thought I'd just use the stairs and run up and down them a load early in the morning before people wake & maybe do the spin class (I wonder if I need to bring my cycling shoes?). I used to do 2.5 hours of spin classes and then go for a row afterwards, man I hope they have the C2 ergs onboard and not some low grader 'rowers'. If I don't do exercise I only sleep about three hours a night.

OMG...you are making me feel guilty. The most exercise we get on the ship is walking to dinner LOL - just kidding. I do like to walk on the deck 4 track but I have never even been in the gym.

Good morning! All this talk of running, rowing, cycling and I can barely walk with these wonderful knees. Hopefully the round of shots that start this morning are going to get them back to where they were before the fusion.

DIS meet - my suggestion is 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge on Sunday if that works with everyone. Thoughts??

I am also the keeper of the FE list as well as the list for the postcard exchange. I need cabin numbers (when you get them), names and ages plus your email address as sending the list through PM's is bothersome at best. We will close the FE signups at the end of August.

Not much else here this early. Still home as my first shots are this morning at 8:00 and then I will head to the office.

FInger's crossed that the shots provide relief for you.

I'm totally fine with the 3:00 meet.

I realized that I never said welcome to our newest members so WELCOME!!! I'm really getting excited about this cruise. We have one more trip (up to Northern California) next week and then after that, I'm in full cruise mode

 

[bbangel]

Mom and I are taking the early bird tour to Alcatraz on the 26th. And I've got Giants tickets for the 25th. The rest of the time in San Fran we will hang out on our own. There is some kind of day pass for the transit right?

I think the only piece I still have to figure out now is getting from Disneyland to the port. Oh, and what, if anything, to do in Ensenada.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Gail - can we close the FE list on 23 August please? That's one month prior to sail. Beyond that time I'll not have spare time to make my FE gifts for latecomers to the list as we'll travel soon after. For the post card exchange it's just one per cabin or one per person?

Last day of Kindy now then it's two weeks of winter holidays. Always the hardest holiday to accomodate small people due to cold, wind and rains.

I used to only run in emergencies, then I got into it. Two things changed - my husband said what my mother had told me about never running due to asthma was rot (he was right) and, when I was out for a run in the six weeks, one of the teachers at Kindy dropped dead in the Kindy grounds. Life is too short and I'm trying to lengthen it out a bit. Lost 600 gms this week, which is a bonus. As Jetskigirl will tell you, I'm never going to go shopping in the short & petite clothing racks.

 

[erbie]

Does anyone know if there are any exercise classes on the cruise? I didn't stop into the gym in my last few cruises but I seem to remember seeing a room that could be used for group exercise like step aerobics or zumba on my first cruise. I'd love to participate in anything like that, as I love zumba, but I'm not so fond of treadmill/elliptical/stairstep machines.

 

[glindamood]

Gail - can we close the FE list on 23 August please? That's one month prior to sail. Beyond that time I'll not have spare time to make my FE gifts for latecomers to the list as we'll travel soon after. For the post card exchange it's just one per cabin or one per person?

The FE list as well as the postcard list will officially close on 8/23. If we get any late comers, they can start their own list (and we will have extras I imagine).

Postcards - they can be done how you like but I typically just do one as they are not especially easy to find for my town. You may also sign them however you would like but at least with your DIS/real names so people can remember.

Shots - well, two down and four to go. Plus they drained 20 mg off my left knee - at least I think that is what he said, he showed me and it was sort of a lot I thought. I do hope this makes a difference so that the walking I thought I was going to do on this trip I can actually do. The pain stops the movement which is putting those dang pounds back on . If I did it once, I guess I can do it again.

Nothing else to report from here, warm but at least I have not had Debby to contend with. How awful - I can not even imagine.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Erbie - I seem to recall from Cruise Critic that there are Zumba classes or something like it. Believe me you do not want me in those with you - I'm always the one going the wrong direction with the wrong arm out. I can't do group movement to save myself. Now I know there are spin classes but I can't get any sensible answer if the bikes have clips to clip spin shoes in or you just put your foot in a strap.

Gail - that sounds like a lot of fluid. I once stood in a hospital aiding a NZer who needed Consular Services, they drained two big horse size syringes of fluid off his legs. They were swollen up two times the size. Man he screamed as it was so uncomfortable. I hope you got some anesthetic or something. Do they know why the fluid is collecting at all?

Ran the same track again. Two minutes slower this time but hey 8.5kms is 8.5kms. Would have kept to the same pace had my mind not wandered off a couple of times and I slowed down.

Just made the kids a brownie as treat for finishing this term so well. Oli got an award this week - the Kindness Stone. He was so happy. His favourite thing in the world is brownie and he keeps asking if California has brownies. I keep telling him that the Americans invented the stuff but he still looks dubious.

I can't get any news feeds up for some reason. What is Debby? Hurricane weather patterns? The fires in Colorado?

 

[dennisbryce]

We would be interested in the postcard exchange
It would be : Crystal, Becky, and Kaprisha, Room GTY and we are from Montana. I feel bad that we aren't doing the fish extender but I am not sure I would have time to put anything together

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

Hi everyone!

Just booked this cruise and am very excited.
I will start reading this roll call this week and get caught up.

Booked the Doubletree at San Pedro for pre-cruise.
No transportation available by the hotel, so am booking a private car or possibly one of the shuttles from LAX to the hotel.

The hotel then has a free shuttle to the cruise on Sunday.
You sign up when you check in.

Disney has transportation to the ship, if you are staying at one of the Disneyland resorts. They also have transportation from LAX to San Pedro on the sailing day only.

IF you are flying, I DO NOT recommend flying in the same day. Too many horror stories about delays, weather, canceled flights, mechanical problems, security problems, etc. It's worth the price of a hotel stay to make sure you board the ship on time.
Of course, if you just have a short flight and non-stop, that would be different

Reba

 

[AussieMumma]

Marian, I just looked on the fire engine tour bookings page and it's only available for another 4 people, we've practucally got a private tour between us!!!

Anyone care to join us on the 25th at 11am?!! LOL

jetskigirl, Thanks for the link for the ground transportation, I think I’ll just give them a ring.

bbangel, Are you staying at a DL resort? They have buses that run from the resorts to the port.
We’ve decided just to walk into Ensenada town and have a wander around the shops and taste test some yummy Mexican food!

Gail, I hope the shots and fluid drainage helps your knees, it doesn’t sound pleasant at all!

Welcome to the group and the cruise BlondeJungleBookFan

 

[glindamood]

Good morning! Going to be a hot one here today, the weatherman said low 90's. Not my fav but better than the other extreme of below zero since that generally includes my fav four letter word - snow.

Knee - a bit better today and there is a difference in the mobility of the left one (where they were able to drain all that fluid off) - I could see a difference when I put the moisturizer on my feet this morning but sadly, no difference in the right one. It wasn't even uncomfortable when they did it at all - cold when they spray that numbing stuff and a prick when they stick the needle in but no biggie at all.

Nothing else to report for now. To those signing up for postcards and FE's - please PM me, I don't want to miss a post here if I get behind. Also be sure to include your email address so that I can send out the list - I will get an updated one out this weekend.

Enjoy and stay cool - or warm, depending on where you are at!

 

[bbangel]

We aren't staying at a Disney hotel (too rich for our blood). Last time we took a Karmel shuttle with a group of DIS folks. Will likely just book a shuttle on our own this time.

 

[AussieMumma]

I'm starting to get concerned about packing our bags! Normally we take three medium suitcases inside three larger suitcases and two of us share each one and it gives us plenty of room for all of our shopping that we bring home. But with the cruise and having to have nice clothes and shoes for dinner, plus pirate night stuff, FE & gifts, etc etc I'm just not sure my usual system is going to work!
Major first world problem I know, but I like my system it has always worked well for us
We've already decided not to go to formal night, so at least that's one less outfit per person to worry about.
See normally the boys and dh would just take one collared shirt and one pair of good pants on a USA holiday as we only go to a restaurant once a week due to the cost, but on the ship they will need at least two sets so I'm not washing everyday and they aren't wearing the same thing to dinner every night Plus we would normally get to the shops and buy new clothes so we don't take as much in the first place, but we are only arriving the day before the cruise and wont have any time!!!!
I might have to resign myself to taking more clothing and using the larger suitcases right from the start

 

[peja]

. @ AUSSIEMOMMA

Oh you must go to formal nite. Many people do not dress up for it and still show up. Its not mandatory that you dress for it. Last cruise we were on my husband wore a casual shirt with beige beach pants...he added an expensive watch just to dress it up...my dtr wore a sundress and my son wore dress pants...I wore a skirt and a nice shirt but dressed it up with stilleto heels and a few accessories...Formal nite and semi formal are only suggestions made by disney .... many many many people do not dress up so you will not feel out of place.

So I hope this encourages you to come.

Renata

 

[AussieMumma]

Renata, thank you, that does make me think twice about going. I thought dh would have to wear a jacket to formal night and there is no way we can bring a jacket bag as well! Should he wear a tie? He only has one lol.

What's the temperature like in the restaurants? Would I be cold in sleeve less?