September 29, 2007 - Magic

[JDBlair]

As for the Sunny Liston tours - I know people on the board rave about it but really, they're just driving you to the beach and to a main shopping area? From previous cruise experiences (non-DCL) you can do that on your own easily and cheaper. Then again, my dh doens't plan on getting off the boat at all and I may at St. Thomas for a couple of hours, but that's it.

Honestly i thought the website looked pretty good. But i have to say that as 1st time cruisers Dh and I would not feel comfortable trying to find our way around on our own, small as the island may be. So for us a tour like this is perfect. And the price is terrific i think. So i think we may go in for this tour.


As for the idea i love the thought of 2 meets. More of a chance to meet everybody i think. A sea day meet sounds like a great idea JD. BTW did you get the passporter?

No! Stupid Barnes and Noble had the Passporter for Walt Disney World and Disneyland but not the Disney Cruise. So, looks like I'll have to make purchase through Amazon or something.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

I just bought it through their (passporters) online site. It was cheaper then Amazon with their discount from the newsletter.

 

[JDBlair]

For those of you that have showed interest in the Sunny Liston tour would you prefer a private tour or do you just want to do the regular tour? If you want to do the regular one will each person just book their own or do we want to book it as one reservation? I would like to get this done sometime soon because this seems like a pretty popular tour.

I"m up for whichever. I don't have a preference, really. I'll be on vacation so going with the flow works for me!

 

[Zane_Anthony]

I"m up for whichever. I don't have a preference, really. I'll be on vacation so going with the flow works for me!

Me either! They both sound great. I am sure we can all be on the same truck either way and with this being my first visit to the island I am not sure that I know enough to be able to "personalize" a tour however if there is enough interest I am sure they can give us ideas. The only good thing in my opinion with the private tour is that we can leave from shopping earlier then noon so we can get back to the ship a little earlier. I think the regular tour says if you do the 2 hours at the beach you get back around 4:00 or 4:30 and that's cutting it really close.

 

[jajomo0118]

My local mall book store only had the wdw "passporter" too....they ordered it for me and told me if its not what i wanted i don't have to take it...and it saved on shipping...the total was 18.99 and it will be here Thursday..... i never check the price online so let me know how i made out......

 

[JDBlair]

My local mall book store only had the wdw "passporter" too....they ordered it for me and told me if its not what i wanted i don't have to take it...and it saved on shipping...the total was 18.99 and it will be here Thursday..... i never check the price online so let me know how i made out......

I ordered the deluxe version through the Passporter web site for $42.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

My local mall book store only had the wdw "passporter" too....they ordered it for me and told me if its not what i wanted i don't have to take it...and it saved on shipping...the total was 18.99 and it will be here Thursday..... i never check the price online so let me know how i made out......

Not too bad..I just ordered mine on the passporter website and it came out to 16.88 total. I had a discount code from the newsletter and they have free media mail shipping right now. I doubt if I will have mine by Thursday though.

 

[ibela]

I thought about my post yesterday and wanted to get online to say I RECALL! On vacation who wants to bother? What I was referring to previously was when the cruise line offered transportation to the city center but me and dh got off the boat, no kids yet so easy, talked to the tourist center which was right at the dock and they told us we could take a bus to town for like $2 and we'd be in the heart of everything. (We got some amazing pics, people from the tour had their bus break down and they couldn't believe all the things we ended up seeing.) Also, that was France and not the Caribbean so maybe that made a difference in terms of organization once docked?

Anyway . . . the Passporter has a whole bunch of tips, right? Maybe I should look into this too, it'll help with my obsessing. Hey, while on this topic of special tips - does anyone know how to get to the secret deck on 7?

 

[ibela]

I think I'm now officially guilty of serial posting! See what happens when I make the password something I can easily remember??

Anyway - discount from the newsletter (disney one?) can you please post it? I get it too but usually just glance so didn't notice it and, of course, it goes to my home e-mail account!

Thank you!

 

[Zane_Anthony]

No problem about the tour...if you decide you want to go let me know...right now we have about 4 families that are interested..you can use the discount code " ilovenews" for 20% off on the passporter website and right now they have free shipping too!

 

[ibela]

I sent dh an e-mail about the tour although I doubt it, he seriously has no intentions of leaving the boat.

Thanks for the code!

 

[Moosysmom]

I love the Passporter. Used it my first Disney cruise in 2003. I bought the new deluxe version--Definitely a very good read

Lynn

 

[jajomo0118]

Just wondering what the crowds are going to be on the ship since it is the slow season...... i was wondering if it won't be super crowded...or is it pretty steady all year long......DH can get a little cranky when he feels like a sardine.......


ps. Does any one eles have major guilt for leaving a pet at home?

 

[MiaSRN62]

[ps. Does any one eles have major guilt for leaving a pet at home?
/QUOTE]
This will be the first vacation in 15 years that we will not feel guilty. The reason being, my 20 yo ds is staying home because he cannot miss his college classes (and wasn't interested in going anyway)--- so the pets won't be alone or in the kennel. So knowing they're home with him softens it a bit.......

 

[Shannon1984]

I also am very worried about leaving my animals home. I don't know who I can have watch them because everyone is coming with us. I also refuse to put them in a kennel, I've heard too many horror stories. I'm also worried about my saltwater fish tank and coming home to everything dead. I hope to figure something out soon!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I also refuse to put them in a kennel, I've heard too many horror stories. I'm also worried about my saltwater fish tank and coming home to everything dead. I hope to figure something out soon!

Shannon,
I actually toured and interviewed about 5 kennels before we boarded our Rottie for the first time. Now she loves it there and the staff know her well. They play with her while we're gone and take her for walks. The kennel I use was referred by my vet as well so we felt confident leaving her there. I didn't have a choice of refusing to leave her in a kennel. So I did the next best thing and just thoroughly checked out all the kennels on my list. Try and suprise them too and show up when they're not expecting you.
Your vet also probably know of people/organizations that will housesit pets. If I were you, I'd start with your vet, then call/interview/tour the facilities you've narrowed down and word-of-mouth from trusted neighbors is good as well. Good luck.

 

[Shannon1984]

Shannon,
I actually toured and interviewed about 5 kennels before we boarded our Rottie for the first time. Now she loves it there and the staff know her well. They play with her while we're gone and take her for walks. The kennel I use was referred by my vet as well so we felt confident leaving her there. I didn't have a choice of refusing to leave her in a kennel. So I did the next best thing and just thoroughly checked out all the kennels on my list. Try and suprise them too and show up when they're not expecting you.
Your vet also probably know of people/organizations that will housesit pets. If I were you, I'd start with your vet, then call/interview/tour the facilities you've narrowed down and word-of-mouth from trusted neighbors is good as well. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to try to find a neighbor to keep my dog for the week. But if I can't then I'll have to find a kennel. I am going to try to find someone at work to come take care of the cats, gecko and fish tank. I hope I can otherwise I may not even be able to go That we be so upsetting.

 

[ragdoll]

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to try to find a neighbor to keep my dog for the week. But if I can't then I'll have to find a kennel. I am going to try to find someone at work to come take care of the cats, gecko and fish tank. I hope I can otherwise I may not even be able to go That we be so upsetting.

I think somebody has too many pets!

You all wouldn't believe some of the creatures this girl brought home when she lived with us!

Wait until your little ones start collecting living creatures Shannon. It will be payback time...

 

[ragdoll]

Hmm, come to think of it, three of the four critters that I need to find a sitter for were originally Shannon's!

 

[ibela]

We brought our dog with us to each one we visited before deciding on one, I figured I wanted her to stay somewhere she felt comfortable. It'll be a long week if your dog gets nervous/aggressive everytime the kennel watchers come by . . . out of 10 we found 1 she nuzzled when they went to pet her so our decision was easy. Also, not all of them walk the dogs so make sure to ask. For us it was really important to find one that would walk her as opposed to wait for her to go in the kennel/cage. I told 1 we visited that she won't go when she's in a cage and they said "eventually they all do"??!!?? Not sure how long "eventually" is but we weren't willing to find out.