Sept. 23, 2012 Pacific Coast - Wonder Cruise

[jetskigrl]

Hello Everyone..
Well, I decided that I needed a little Wonder fix so we drove over to San Pedro last night to wish the Wonder well on her next journey. The wind was blowing the right direction to make it really easy to hear the Sail Away Party and announcements, LOL. And of course, I love the count-down to the horn. They blew the horn once while still docked and again as they headed out the channel. I just love that.


LOL - too cute about the campout. We have tried that a couple of times in the backyard and everyone always ends up back in the house during the night.

Very cool about being paid in full too! I'm hoping it works out that we can rebook this cruise when we are on the ship in April so I'll pay it off right after that. I just upgraded to the new Disney Visa so I want to pay it off while I'm still getting 5% rewards.

 

[glindamood]

Hey Gail!

The boys slept really well despite going down about 90 minutes later than normal as it's mid summer and still light inside the tent. They were too excited about it and all I could hear as I zipped the menfolk in were things like 'is it a bio-hazzard?' (Alex who's obsessed with bio-hazzards and environmental damage at the moment), 'Daddy why do you have a lamp and your computer in the tent?' (Oliver) and Rich replying 'Daddy needs to do some work for the office'. As you predicted the boys fell into a deep sleep and Rich was awake half the night as there were people returning home from Friday night activities until about 1AM in cars. He did FaceBook me to tell me he couldn't sleep and could he have some food at about 10.30, being nice I passed half a box of Butlers chocolates under the tent flap before heading to bed.

The boys liked camping so much they retired to the tent to have an afternoon nap yesterday. I went with them leaving hubby to deal with the 5.5kgs of blackberries I'd picked him, telling him if I couldn't make jam he could make his own wine (thankfully I don't drink so I couldn't care less if it's vinegar in six months time).

I've paid all our accomodation out for the three weeks we are away now. Our exchange rate is so good at the moment it made sense. The cruise was paid off bar the tips in July last year and the airfares paid late last year. Now I just have to save up for food, car rental and activities. I'm not doing a spreadsheet for this trip, Rich would have a coronary if he saw the sum total.

Wow 31 weeks 'til sail date means 29 weeks until we fly into the US I guess. It's 21 days until I fly out on a mummy only trip to Phuket!

Too cute. Our boys were all Boy Scouts (2 out of the 3 are Eagle scouts as is DH) and LOVED the outdoors stuff. What happened with the berries?? Jam/jelly or wine? And Phuket - some pics would be lovely when you get back.

Hello Everyone..
Well, I decided that I needed a little Wonder fix so we drove over to San Pedro last night to wish the Wonder well on her next journey. The wind was blowing the right direction to make it really easy to hear the Sail Away Party and announcements, LOL. And of course, I love the count-down to the horn. They blew the horn once while still docked and again as they headed out the channel. I just love that.


LOL - too cute about the campout. We have tried that a couple of times in the backyard and everyone always ends up back in the house during the night.

Very cool about being paid in full too! I'm hoping it works out that we can rebook this cruise when we are on the ship in April so I'll pay it off right after that. I just upgraded to the new Disney Visa so I want to pay it off while I'm still getting 5% rewards.

I saw yesterday that they have opened the the VGT on our cruise. Sort of annoys me that they put that out there for $1000 less than the current price for a navigator's verandah and the rest of us are still paying full fare. Just not quite right in my book. If they can't fill the ship, why don't they cut all the pricing??? Oh well, I won't do it and will keep my sideways and be happy (well, not so sure on that part, could be that is why I am looking at Celebrity for next year).

Are we doing FE? Has there been any discussion? I will happily participate - that is so much fun.

OK, gotta get back at it - chat later.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Oh Gail, I didn't know what a VGT was then I went and looked... how cheeky not to offer the reduction to the already booked. It's not as if they aren't earning money of the deposits, part or full paid. Grr, it's an extra $210.28 for us and we would have had a verandah. When I rang last week I was told there were only a few verandahs left and the cost difference was $1500 - I've a good mind to ring back and give someone some welly about that. It's probably our only cruise too

The 5.5kg is turning into wine. In theory. Or rather a lot of vinegar. Time will tell. I picked him another 8.5kgs of blackberries yesterday and now he has another lot on the go. Rich thought he'd get about 30 bottles of wine out of it all (maybe I have that wrong). Or 30 bottles of vinegar...

I'll take some pics of Phuket, I'm staying in a quiet area up in the hills above the beaches. I'm supposed to resting and writing but I've managed to book a few trips and a driver who'll take me shopping to any destinations I choose, carry my bags and drive in A/C comfort all for about $50. I've got a premium econ seat on a cheaper carrier, but I get 30kgs of luggage, so I'm looking for presents for the kids - it's not as if the clothes in Thailand are going to fit me - I have enough of an issue with the arm length here.

I'd like to do a FE, I'm thinking sweets/candies/lollies (UK/US/NZ) from my local region at the moment. I had high hopes of making things but the Kindy Committee is eating up my time.

Jetskigirl - I was amazed the kids stayed in the tent all night too. I was fully expecting the hoards to come in and jump in bed with me at about 10pm.

I don't really understand how you reshop something, but fingers crossed you get the room you are after. The 5% rewards sounds very good!

I wish we could see the Wonder leaving port like you do. We have a cruise ship season here and we get all sorts in during the time but the people that come to NZ tend to be retired and affluent, so most people in NZ used to think until recently that all cruisers were like that. A lot of people get shocked when I say we are going on a cruise, it's not P&O (they are very 3 Star here and party boats) and it's a Disney one. The majority on NZers don't know Disney has a cruise line and get really hyped up when I tell them what's included compared to P&O.

 

[glindamood]

Good day everyone! A bit chillier this morning than it has been but it is only February.

Blackberries - yummo - just in a bowl with milk and that would be wonderful. I love raspberries, blackberries and then strawberries. Hopefully you will not end up with a lot of fancy flavored vinegars!

Well, now I have two reservations for the night before the cruise - both the Queen Mary and Grand Californian. But, since I booked the GC with DVC points I guess I will be cancelling my QM reservation.

Not much else to report from here. So have a good day - great evening and it is Friday somewhere...

 

[katds10]

I saw yesterday that they have opened the the VGT on our cruise. Sort of annoys me that they put that out there for $1000 less than the current price for a navigator's verandah and the rest of us are still paying full fare. Just not quite right in my book. If they can't fill the ship, why don't they cut all the pricing??? Oh well, I won't do it and will keep my sideways and be happy (well, not so sure on that part, could be that is why I am looking at Celebrity for next year).

.

Sorry, I'm confused - are you talking about a different cruise or saying that the VGT is available for the September 16th cruise already?! I checked online but don't see it for that rate...

EDIT: Ooops! Wrong thread for me! I'm sailing sept 16th, no vgt for that date! So strange that it's been released already for your cruise since I was told it's something that isn't discounted until 90 days before sailing at the soonest, if at all! You could always cancel and re-book, right?

 

[jetskigrl]

Sorry, I'm confused - are you talking about a different cruise or saying that the VGT is available for the September 16th cruise already?! I checked online but don't see it for that rate...

EDIT: Ooops! Wrong thread for me! I'm sailing sept 16th, no vgt for that date! So strange that it's been released already for your cruise since I was told it's something that isn't discounted until 90 days before sailing at the soonest, if at all! You could always cancel and re-book, right?

Yep, in order to get the VGT, we would have to cancel and rebook. I have been discussing it with my TA. My only worry is the restriction on not being able to do a name change. But I think if I book with Disney Insurance, anything not covered (which would be the whole thing in this case) can be applied to a future cruise. Since we have a cruise already booked for next year, we should be able to transfer that money to the 2013 cruise (if we had to cancel for some reason).

If I get a confirmation from my TA that the insurance works that way for VGT, I think we will book it. Our intention all along was to try for a port upgrade for a verandah so this will save us from having to get to the port that early. Of course, I'm not sure how I feel about not being able to select our room. But then again, a port upgrade doesn't give me many options for that either

 

[glindamood]

Well, since I am Platinum and this was booked onboard (or with a dummy actually) I don't want to give up my OBC. Yeah, and control - I am a control freak when it comes to vacations - to the point I problably should have put those two sentences in reverse order. I will just stay in my sideways cabin and be a happy cruiser. If I want to see out - the upstairs in the Cove Cafe is an awesome place to do that from.

It's FRIDAY in my side of the world - yehaaaa! Youngest DS will be home this afternoon on spring break so I have a week of Drew to look forward to. He has an interview for grad school on Thursday so it will be interesting to watch that process. Other than that I think he is just going to be relaxing.

Have a great day and a good weekend!

 

[BigDisneyOE]

We've taken the VGT punt, the price difference was neglible for us for a bit of fresh air. Hope it works out for us okay, a nice quiet place at the aft would do us well. We won't get a Navigators Verandah as we've got an extra person - which is a shame as I liked the way they looked. One child is grumbling he's not getting a porthole!

Husband is doing a half marathon tomorrow, so it's an early start for us as it's a 90 -120 min drive to the start line. I hope it's cooler and overcast for Rich, after a couple of days of monsoon rain it's hot and dry here today.

Have fun with your son home on a break Gail. At least spring is nearly on your doorstep to thaw out the ice and snow.

Jetskigirl - if you take the punt on a VGT too we could end up on the same floor!

 

[glindamood]

Happy Saturday here is snowy Michigan. Since my camera is home, I will have to try and post what the yard looks like - suffice it to say that we have snow albeit not as much as they said. 24 F at this point (-4 C) and snowing.

I have a hair appointment this afternoon (hairdresser had the flu when I should have gone Wed) and then back for chili supper - w/cornbread. I could make cheesecake but I forgot to get the graham crackers for the crust so guess maybe tomorrow.

Not much else new here, still need to cancel our Queen Mary reservation. I also need airfare for our Fantasy cruise in December - what in the world happened to the price of airfare??? I am getting nervous that I will be able to afford cruising but not the airfare to get to the ports.

Have a grand day everyone!

 

[amysings]

Ok- I'm feeling dumb. What is VGT???

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Ok- I'm feeling dumb. What is VGT???

A g'ted verandah. But with steep conditions, once you've booked you can't cancel (if you do you lose all your money), you must pay the full price on booking, there are no date or name changes. If you look on the DCL website for our cruise and go to the verandah option you'll see the price for the VGT. You will get assigned a verandah, generally before port day you'll know which cabin. You get no choice over which cabin, you have to take what's given. We know we weren't going to get a Navigators Verandah as they take only three people and we have a booking for four. For us it's a no brainer, we are on this cruise and not changing and we we'll now get a verandah for a great price. We lost our OBC of $25 as we did it over the phone with DCL (we couldn't do it on the website) but if you do it with your TA you should retain your OBC, if you have any. Thanks to Gail for letting everyone know and spreading the pixie dust around -she's enhanced our lives no end.

 

[glindamood]

A g'ted verandah. But with steep conditions, once you've booked you can't cancel (if you do you lose all your money), you must pay the full price on booking, there are no date or name changes. If you look on the DCL website for our cruise and go to the verandah option you'll see the price for the VGT. You will get assigned a verandah, generally before port day you'll know which cabin. You get no choice over which cabin, you have to take what's given. We know we weren't going to get a Navigators Verandah as they take only three people and we have a booking for four. For us it's a no brainer, we are on this cruise and not changing and we we'll now get a verandah for a great price. We lost our OBC of $25 as we did it over the phone with DCL (we couldn't do it on the website) but if you do it with your TA you should retain your OBC, if you have any. Thanks to Gail for letting everyone know and spreading the pixie dust around -she's enhanced our lives no end.

Absolutely no problem - that is what DISer's do.

It was a nippy 10 degrees this morning (that is a -12C) - brrrrrr cold. And it is supposed to rain tonight - I am thinking it must be going to get quite a bit warmer. I would rather it just be snow, much easier to handle than water that turns to ice. Not such a good thing.

Well, a topic on our Fantasy cruise - got our airfare for that yesterday and a deal to boot, we just have to fly out of Lansing. It will be quite the travel day but that is OK.

Everyone have a great day - the sun is out here and that always brightens the spirits.

 

[jetskigrl]

Thanks for the update on the VGT from us too!! We took the plunge and changed our reservation also. I'm still a little nervous to find out what room we get assigned but we had planned to try to upgrade to a Navigator's verandah at the port anyway. So we will be fine if we end up with a navigators and even more pleased if we get a regular verandah

 

[BigDisneyOE]

I'm still skipping around over the VGT. Of course I've done no work on getting anything ready to Thailand next week. I spent Friday lunchtime running around with the kids getting a few things but I still need basic stuff like cash. Oops, work on it next week I guess.

Well we've just had a great start to the weekend, the entire North Island of NZ has been hit by a 'weather bomb' in the last 24 hours. Winds have been gusting up to 150 kmph, widespread flooding, trees down blocking roads, one town has had the roofs ripped of over 30 homes with the wind. We live in an older farmhouse on a sandhill in a high wind corridor, so the last few hours looked a little like th‎is : 0230 high winds arrive, 0500 power cut, 0530 Oli screaming in the dark so put in our bed, 0600 Alex in our room crying and put in our bed, 0630 garden furniture hitting the house & fence blown out in the driveway, 0650 everyone in lounge in the dark playing with Lego, 0800 piklets off the gas hob, 0950 Rich spots arcing on a nearby powerpole, 1045 confused home alone teen from next door pops over, 1115 power finally back on (6.15 hours), 1200 wind dropped a bit but power cables still down all along the road up from ours and trees down everywhere. Roll on bedtime when we can get the kids back to sleep as they are very tired and ratty after all the fun.

 

[jetskigrl]

I'm still skipping around over the VGT. Of course I've done no work on getting anything ready to Thailand next week. I spent Friday lunchtime running around with the kids getting a few things but I still need basic stuff like cash. Oops, work on it next week I guess.

Well we've just had a great start to the weekend, the entire North Island of NZ has been hit by a 'weather bomb' in the last 24 hours. Winds have been gusting up to 150 kmph, widespread flooding, trees down blocking roads, one town has had the roofs ripped of over 30 homes with the wind. We live in an older farmhouse on a sandhill in a high wind corridor, so the last few hours looked a little like th‎is : 0230 high winds arrive, 0500 power cut, 0530 Oli screaming in the dark so put in our bed, 0600 Alex in our room crying and put in our bed, 0630 garden furniture hitting the house & fence blown out in the driveway, 0650 everyone in lounge in the dark playing with Lego, 0800 piklets off the gas hob, 0950 Rich spots arcing on a nearby powerpole, 1045 confused home alone teen from next door pops over, 1115 power finally back on (6.15 hours), 1200 wind dropped a bit but power cables still down all along the road up from ours and trees down everywhere. Roll on bedtime when we can get the kids back to sleep as they are very tired and ratty after all the fun.

Oh wow, I think I would be as scared as the boys, LOL. I hope that you don't have any damage to your house and that the weather calms down very soon!!

 

[glindamood]

I'm still skipping around over the VGT. Of course I've done no work on getting anything ready to Thailand next week. I spent Friday lunchtime running around with the kids getting a few things but I still need basic stuff like cash. Oops, work on it next week I guess.

Well we've just had a great start to the weekend, the entire North Island of NZ has been hit by a 'weather bomb' in the last 24 hours. Winds have been gusting up to 150 kmph, widespread flooding, trees down blocking roads, one town has had the roofs ripped of over 30 homes with the wind. We live in an older farmhouse on a sandhill in a high wind corridor, so the last few hours looked a little like th‎is : 0230 high winds arrive, 0500 power cut, 0530 Oli screaming in the dark so put in our bed, 0600 Alex in our room crying and put in our bed, 0630 garden furniture hitting the house & fence blown out in the driveway, 0650 everyone in lounge in the dark playing with Lego, 0800 piklets off the gas hob, 0950 Rich spots arcing on a nearby powerpole, 1045 confused home alone teen from next door pops over, 1115 power finally back on (6.15 hours), 1200 wind dropped a bit but power cables still down all along the road up from ours and trees down everywhere. Roll on bedtime when we can get the kids back to sleep as they are very tired and ratty after all the fun.

Mother Nature must have her panties in a twist - she dropped about a foot of snow on us and sent tornadoes through Indiana and Kentucky. Between the wind you had and the tornadoes here, I will take my foot of snow. I did my grocery shopping last night so I am good to be in all weekend if need be - other than someone needs to take Drew back to school tomorrow.

Nothing new to report from here. Since we made ressies at GC for the night before the cruise, today I will need to cancel what I had at the Queen Mary and figure out how to get from LAX to GC, from GC to the ship and then back to the airport when we get off the ship. We will probably take DCL transportation back to the ship, just easier and I don't have to worry about any timing issues. We don't fly until 1:15PM on Sunday so there should not be any issues.

Once it gets a bit lighter, I will snap a few more pictures and get them posted.

Have a good one!

 

[glindamood]

My back yard this morning - care to join me for a swing??

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Oh wow Gail. The kids are just having breakfast and we've just looked at the pictures - we've never seen snow like that before. Even when I lived in the UK it didn't get that thick, it got close in Ankara though but it's a huge city - not a lovely garden. The kids are absolutely entranced. I just explained about ice fishing and they accused me of telling fibs.

It's still raining here but no wind. The kids were pretty uptight about the posssiblity of another powercut last night but we explained it wasn't an every day thing.

We got off lightly, I saw the coverage from the US of tornados. We've just started having small ones in the last few years, very isolated and nowhere near the size of the ones that seem to occur with frightening regularity in places across the States. Unfortunately when they do, rarely, it's so random and rare that people actually go outside to film it for the TV news (lots of people, not just storm chasers).

It's supposed to be the working bee in the garden at Kindy this morning. I'll have to ring the head teacher to see if it's going ahead. It shouldn't as the weather is miserable. And it's Children's Day here in NZ, so lots of free events for kiddies - better than removing very wet branches from overgrown shurbs.

Argh - head teacher reckons we can still do the working bee in the rain. I'm not having the kids come down in this weather and if I get a cold it's not going to be fun flying.

 

[glindamood]

For the doubters of ice fishing - I will see what I can do about getting you some pictures. I will say, it isn't my cup of tea but my oldest DS does it.

 

[BigDisneyOE]

Would you believe I've pinched a set of nerves in my back lifting a memorial bench during the kindy clean-up? I spent the rest of the day flat on my back with shooting electrical pains and the doctor thinks it's doubtful I'll be going to Thailand on Saturday. I'm doing everything I know to try and fix the back - today taking the kids to kindy wasn't a barrel of laughs with me bent double. Then the doctor tells me not to drive or carry a handbag... what sort of mum of small people doesn't carry a handbag (mine is full of emergency stuff for kids like mini salami sticks). Argh.