Sept. 23, 2012 Pacific Coast - Wonder Cruise

[erbie]

My husband just booked us on this cruise last night. Very excited but feel like I'm way behind on all the social stuff! We did the mexican riviera last sept. & are super excited. Can someone tell me if there is an FE? How many families so far? On our last cruise someone stole our FE so I'll have to have a new one made We have 2 girls, 6 & one will be just 3 weeks shy of 3.

Last we got the list, there were 11 staterooms on it. I think two or three have been added, so we're getting close to 15. Cutoff is August 1. glindamood is also doing the postcard exchange, so PM her to be added to that too. PM me to be added to the scavenger hunt.

What a bummer about your FE being stolen. This will be our first time participating, so I hope ours doesn't get stolen. I bought some zipties at the dollar store, because others have said you can ziptie it to the fish and it at least makes it harder than just grabbing it as someone walks by.

 

[HBmomof2]

Last we got the list, there were 11 staterooms on it. I think two or three have been added, so we're getting close to 15. Cutoff is August 1. glindamood is also doing the postcard exchange, so PM her to be added to that too. PM me to be added to the scavenger hunt.

What a bummer about your FE being stolen. This will be our first time participating, so I hope ours doesn't get stolen. I bought some zipties at the dollar store, because others have said you can ziptie it to the fish and it at least makes it harder than just grabbing it as someone walks by.

Yup, last day I went to pack it & it was gone. Probably kids being kids b/c who would want it when it had our whole family's names on it. Ughh! Good idea, I'll have to try that!

 

[erbie]

I agree! Now I need some 3 year olds for my other little one...hahahaha!

And I need some 10, 11, or 12 year olds for my dd who will be 11 when we go.

 

[HBmomof2]

Is this a new cruise or are there navigators floating around out there somewhere???

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Welcome HBmomof2! I have two nearly five year old boys on this cruise, I know they want to meet all the kids too and one child in particular plays mostly with girls rather than boys at the moment (he has three girlfriends!). It's our first cruise and we are flying over from New Zealand a couple of weeks beforehand to do Legoland and Disneyland as well.

Maybe DCL won't do another Pacific Coast cruise next time. It's obviously not selling at all well. Were the MR cruises full, the AK ones seem to sell well. They also take the Hawaiian cruises out of LA don't they? Maybe they'll stick to those?

 

[HBmomof2]

Welcome HBmomof2! I have two nearly five year old boys on this cruise, I know they want to meet all the kids too and one child in particular plays mostly with girls rather than boys at the moment (he has three girlfriends!). It's our first cruise and we are flying over from New Zealand a couple of weeks beforehand to do Legoland and Disneyland as well.

Maybe DCL won't do another Pacific Coast cruise next time. It's obviously not selling at all well. Were the MR cruises full, the AK ones seem to sell well. They also take the Hawaiian cruises out of LA don't they? Maybe they'll stick to those?

Thank you! Cool. I hope the kids all get to know each other..its so fun for them that way. I have only been on 1 disney cruise so I am by no means an expert but our MR cruise was very full! And I had thought travelling during the school year it'd be much less crowded. I'm wondering if it's the ports....but I am super excited for these ports over Mexico! We didn't even get off the ship but once to swim with dolphins. DH & I are actually going up to San Fran monday....ALONE so I'm anxious to check it out for things to do iwth the kiddos.

I don't know if there is a HI cruise out of here.

 

[jetskigrl]

Does that go for the regular GTY rooms as well? We're on a GTY, but not a IGT/OGT/VGT. I think last time we were assigned some point between 60 and 30 days out. It was definitely by the time we got our docs, because the room we got was on our docs.



I'm so so bummed about this. This will be my 5th DCL cruise, 4th out of LA, so obviously I'm a lot more able to do the LA based ones. I'd even do this same itinerary over and over. I love SF, and what a perfect way to go there. Are they having trouble selling the MR and AK cruises as well?

Oh...see, I'm only thinking VGT Yeah, for the regular GTY, it could be any time. And I'm assuming they would assign the GTY before the OGT/VGT, since the price was higher. They never did offer a IGT for this cruise, did they? Yet it seems like there are still quite a few inside rooms available.

I'm bummed too. I would do another MR cruise (or Pacific Coast cruise) in a heartbeat. I love leaving out of LA....so close to home. I wish they would have tried some 3, 4 or 5 night cruises too.

I think Alaska has sold pretty well but I think they have had to run some promotions (KSF, etc) on the MR cruises due to all the crime being reported there. People are scared to go there. We sailed the MR in April so no need for discounts then. We were on a very full ship thanks to Spring Break crowds.

Is this a new cruise or are there navigators floating around out there somewhere???

This is the first time doing the Pacific Coast so there aren't any navigators. Unfortunately, unless someone from the cruise before ours posts something during the cruise, we won't get much of a heads up on anything.
But someone did call DCL and found out what nights formal, semi-formal and pirates night would be. That is posted a few pages back in this thread.

 

[jetskigrl]

Welcome HBmomof2! I have two nearly five year old boys on this cruise, I know they want to meet all the kids too and one child in particular plays mostly with girls rather than boys at the moment (he has three girlfriends!). It's our first cruise and we are flying over from New Zealand a couple of weeks beforehand to do Legoland and Disneyland as well.

Maybe DCL won't do another Pacific Coast cruise next time. It's obviously not selling at all well. Were the MR cruises full, the AK ones seem to sell well. They also take the Hawaiian cruises out of LA don't they? Maybe they'll stick to those?

Yes, the HI cruises sail out of LA too. The first HI cruise (in April this year) sold out in record time, I think but it was like 50%+ plantnum cruisers. I think it was the novelty of a new itinerary. But from what I hear, the upcoming October HI cruise is not selling as well. They have these great itineraries but they are during the school year and I don't know many people that will take their kids out for two weeks for a cruise in the middle of the year.

I know that has to be part of the problem with the Pacific Coast Cruises. The kids are just going back to school so it hard to have them miss a week.

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

Computer Magic and I had a discussion about staying at LAX Marriott and going with Disney to the port...
I said... "my TA told me that the only package transfers were from 3 Disneyland hotels only"

So I had booked the Double tree at San Pedro and was trying to find some "comfortable for these old knees" transportation from LAX to the Doubletree on Sept 22.

After reading Computer Magic's comment about LAX Marriott being Disney's official hotel... I emailed my TA.
In the meantime, I called Disney and asked.
TWO different agents on TWO different days told me the same thing my TA did... No package/transfers except from Disneyland hotels.
So, I talked to my TA today, since he hadn't responded to my email about it yet. I kept insisting people were telling me they were using the LAX Marriott/transfers.

I'm pretty persistent...so...he said hold on and I'll check with a Disney Supervisor. When he finally got to a Supervisor they said "YES, we have a pkg for LAX Marriott and transfers to the ship"

My TA said the Supervisor was SHOCKED that he had been told they didn't and that I had been told they didn't twice.
The Supervisor is sending out a memo now to make sure everyone knows.

I cancelled my Doubletree ressie and booked at the LAX Marriott and transfers to the ship the next morning.
The transfer part was 30.00.

And same thing like similar ones...
Check in, get your letter telling you what time to have your luggage ready and what time to meet for the Disney bus.
Luggage will be handled and I'll see it in my stateroom.

So a BIG THANK YOU to COMPUTER MAGIC

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Yes, the HI cruises sail out of LA too. The first HI cruise (in April this year) sold out in record time, I think but it was like 50%+ plantnum cruisers. I think it was the novelty of a new itinerary. But from what I hear, the upcoming October HI cruise is not selling as well. They have these great itineraries but they are during the school year and I don't know many people that will take their kids out for two weeks for a cruise in the middle of the year.

I know that has to be part of the problem with the Pacific Coast Cruises. The kids are just going back to school so it hard to have them miss a week.

I guess it comes down to who DCL sees as being the customers on longer cruises. Is it DINKIES or families? Probably most people crusing by the sounds of it are DINKIES. Shame as DCL are missing the family market by positioning the cruises at the wrong time of the calendar.

DH has said this will be our first and last DCL cruise as there are other places and things he wants to see.

 

[socababy]

I'm so so bummed about this. This will be my 5th DCL cruise, 4th out of LA, so obviously I'm a lot more able to do the LA based ones. I'd even do this same itinerary over and over. I love SF, and what a perfect way to go there. Are they having trouble selling the MR and AK cruises as well?

I am bummed as well. I did my part in trying to keep DCL here on the west coast. With the addition of this cruise, I will have 5 cruises in just 2012, 4 of them being on the Wonder. I am going to have withdrawals in the future!

 

[glindamood]

My husband just booked us on this cruise last night. Very excited but feel like I'm way behind on all the social stuff! We did the mexican riviera last sept. & are super excited. Can someone tell me if there is an FE? How many families so far? On our last cruise someone stole our FE so I'll have to have a new one made We have 2 girls, 6 & one will be just 3 weeks shy of 3.

Alicia and family! I will get you on the FE list and get it sent out either yet tonight or tomorrow at some point.

More discounts? Just amazes me that they can't be bothered to offer discounts on upgrades to those of us that are already booked. Must be the NYC/Canadian trips are not fairing well either as I read they are offering DVC members a discount there. If we were not booked here, I might consider but alas, NOT going to happen.

Not much else to report - hot here, just sort of takes the wind right out of my sails.

So, take care and have a great evening.

 

[atmail35]

Now that they are offering more discounts, do you ever cut off the FE list before the deadline or break into 2 groups? (newbie here, please excuse the lack of knowledge) While it is fun to have more participants, I'm getting nervous that i'll need way more supplies and my luggage will be overweight!

 

[erbie]

They have these great itineraries but they are during the school year and I don't know many people that will take their kids out for two weeks for a cruise in the middle of the year.

I know that has to be part of the problem with the Pacific Coast Cruises. The kids are just going back to school so it hard to have them miss a week.

The HI cruises were also really expensive right out of the gate. I'd have loved to have done that, but the cost and the two-week during school year thing combined to make it not possible. I'll take the kids out of school for a week (especially since we have a holiday that week anyway, so it's only four days they're missing) but I own't take them out for two weeks in one school year, especially not in a row. If the HI cruises had been during our spring break or winter break or summer, I'd have tried really hard to make it work.

 

[glindamood]

Now that they are offering more discounts, do you ever cut off the FE list before the deadline or break into 2 groups? (newbie here, please excuse the lack of knowledge) While it is fun to have more participants, I'm getting nervous that i'll need way more supplies and my luggage will be overweight!

We can do whatever we decide as a group. I seem to generally end up with between 25 and 30 cabins (first time out of the gate we had over 100 ). Do we want to back it up another week or leave it at the current 2 weeks? If we get more, the newcomers can start their own group. Thoughts? Just remember - this is supposed to be FUN and stressing about getting things made, having the time or getting things there (and remember - you also have to get things home) negates all that fun.

 

[Computer Magic]

Computer Magic and I had a discussion about staying at LAX Marriott and going with Disney to the port...
I said... "my TA told me that the only package transfers were from 3 Disneyland hotels only"

So I had booked the Double tree at San Pedro and was trying to find some "comfortable for these old knees" transportation from LAX to the Doubletree on Sept 22.

After reading Computer Magic's comment about LAX Marriott being Disney's official hotel... I emailed my TA.
In the meantime, I called Disney and asked.
TWO different agents on TWO different days told me the same thing my TA did... No package/transfers except from Disneyland hotels.
So, I talked to my TA today, since he hadn't responded to my email about it yet. I kept insisting people were telling me they were using the LAX Marriott/transfers.

I'm pretty persistent...so...he said hold on and I'll check with a Disney Supervisor. When he finally got to a Supervisor they said "YES, we have a pkg for LAX Marriott and transfers to the ship"

My TA said the Supervisor was SHOCKED that he had been told they didn't and that I had been told they didn't twice.
The Supervisor is sending out a memo now to make sure everyone knows.

I cancelled my Doubletree ressie and booked at the LAX Marriott and transfers to the ship the next morning.
The transfer part was 30.00.

And same thing like similar ones...
Check in, get your letter telling you what time to have your luggage ready and what time to meet for the Disney bus.
Luggage will be handled and I'll see it in my stateroom.

So a BIG THANK YOU to COMPUTER MAGIC

You had me thinking my TA was nuts for a minute



I hate that the Disney CM get this wrong so many times. What happens when people can't take advantage of what Disney offers? Will Disney think people are not interested and stop offering when the fact is CM don't understand what's available.

I have a great TA

 

[BlondeJungleBookFan]

You had me thinking my TA was nuts for a minute



I hate that the Disney CM get this wrong so many times. What happens when people can't take advantage of what Disney offers? Will Disney think people are not interested and stop offering when the fact is CM don't understand what's available.

I have a great TA

Good point-many might not know they have that option.
Maybe I'll see you at LAX Marriott or on the bus!
Thanks again.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

We can do whatever we decide as a group. I seem to generally end up with between 25 and 30 cabins (first time out of the gate we had over 100 ). Do we want to back it up another week or leave it at the current 2 weeks? If we get more, the newcomers can start their own group. Thoughts? Just remember - this is supposed to be FUN and stressing about getting things made, having the time or getting things there (and remember - you also have to get things home) negates all that fun.

100 would have been insane Gail. I'm happy to cut off on 23rd July, two months out. Your last sentence sort of sums it up a bit here at the moment.

 

[bbangel]

Grrrrr, the AP discount is better than the CDN discount I got! I hate knowing that I paid more than someone else for the same thing!

On the FE front my mom and I have completed 8 of our stateroom gifts so we are doing well. We should have time to get everything done

 

[GromMom]

We can do whatever we decide as a group. I seem to generally end up with between 25 and 30 cabins (first time out of the gate we had over 100 ). Do we want to back it up another week or leave it at the current 2 weeks? If we get more, the newcomers can start their own group. Thoughts? Just remember - this is supposed to be FUN and stressing about getting things made, having the time or getting things there (and remember - you also have to get things home) negates all that fun.

since it sounds like many are hand making items, i'd recommend having a max like 20 cabins and if it goes above that, split into 2 groups. That way even if there are only 25 cabins, everyone can still have about 12 cabins to do versus having one group of 20 & one group of 5. I also am new at this so I don't know how many folks sign up at the end of the deadline. This way if someone is making an item, they know at max they will make 20, but may have extra depending on if we get split. I'm also happy to cut off and let a new group form, but I don't know if that will mean we have a huge group and the second group will be small. I think it is just hard for those that are making items, I know personally I wasn't even able to get enough supplies to give everyone the same exact thing, but I convinced myself that variety is the spice of life
My other thought was to make a set amount and anyone added later just gets something not hand made, but it doesn't seem fair that way...but I suppose like you said, it is all in good fun!