September 30, 2012 - "To San Francisco and Beyond"

[stevenpensacola]

Hi All,

My wife and I will be on this cruise, celebrating our 20th anniversary!

This will be our 4th Disney Cruise...having sailed on a 4 "nighter" on the Wonder, a 7 night on the Magic, and a 5 nighter on the Dream.

We live in northwest Florida...neither of us has ever been to the west coast, so we're looking forward to this trip, but have been preoccupied with other events (now completed) which has prevented us from making detailed plans.

As we're totally unfamiliar with California...what's your advice on things to do in SD and SF (won't have much time to explore LA...just the afternoon/morning prior to the sailing). Did I read correctly that boarding begins in late afternoon?

Must see things we've been told to do in SF include Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf (chowder) and Ghiradelli Factory/thingy...

Are most of you planning on taking the Disney excursions or just setting out on your own. Have been told SF is very pedestrian friendly...and I see where some of the Disney excursions go to some of these places and some go by these places. We prefer to get out among folks and visit real area of cities as opposed to tourist traps...(love just walking NYC neighborhoods).

Same questions as far as SD?

We live near beautiful beaches (Pensacola Beach) so visiting a beach is not that big a deal to us. Would like to see things unique to the area.

Are most folks planning to return to the boat for lunch or dinner...or eating in town?

Thanks for all of your help. See you soon.

Interesting to see the Pixar theme (did not know about this when we booked on the Dream last summer)...as I'm a big fan of their movies.

PS...Please forgive me if you've already answered some of these questions...just have not had time to peruse all the posts on this thread.

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

I bet my DD12 Sabrina will be excited to hear you have TWO DD's that are 11... DISbuddies

They will love the company!!

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

Hi All!
I was just going to make the bracelets with my DD's so there won't be any cost. We also could look into silicone ones. I'm fine either way, so just advise your preference and start sending me the addresses!!

Jodi

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

Eric likes "Woody's West Coast Round Up"...decisions, decisions

I like it!! My thought was "Super Cali-Fragilistic Disney Cruise"

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

Hi All,

My wife and I will be on this cruise, celebrating our 20th anniversary!

This will be our 4th Disney Cruise...having sailed on a 4 "nighter" on the Wonder, a 7 night on the Magic, and a 5 nighter on the Dream.

We live in northwest Florida...neither of us has ever been to the west coast, so we're looking forward to this trip, but have been preoccupied with other events (now completed) which has prevented us from making detailed plans.

As we're totally unfamiliar with California...what's your advice on things to do in SD and SF (won't have much time to explore LA...just the afternoon/morning prior to the sailing). Did I read correctly that boarding begins in late afternoon?

Must see things we've been told to do in SF include Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf (chowder) and Ghiradelli Factory/thingy...

Are most of you planning on taking the Disney excursions or just setting out on your own. Have been told SF is very pedestrian friendly...and I see where some of the Disney excursions go to some of these places and some go by these places. We prefer to get out among folks and visit real area of cities as opposed to tourist traps...(love just walking NYC neighborhoods).

Same questions as far as SD?

We live near beautiful beaches (Pensacola Beach) so visiting a beach is not that big a deal to us. Would like to see things unique to the area.

Are most folks planning to return to the boat for lunch or dinner...or eating in town?

Thanks for all of your help. See you soon.

Interesting to see the Pixar theme (did not know about this when we booked on the Dream last summer)...as I'm a big fan of their movies.

PS...Please forgive me if you've already answered some of these questions...just have not had time to peruse all the posts on this thread.

Congrats! We are celebrating 20 too!! Will look forward to hearing any thoughts as well. I have heard that you can book some of the same port adventures for a fraction of the price.

 

[CasaMartinez]

This is going to be our first cruise, me, my husband, and 6 year old son. I've been on a few cruises before with Carnival, but this is our first on Disney and we're are very excited. Are there any tips or secrets from past cruisers that you might want to share with a newbie? Thank you all for any advice!

Also, even though we're new we would love to join the FE. I tried to PM Disney-ite, but it said I had to have at least 10 posts. Would we be able to join?

Here's a few tips I've read and learned along the way.

-bring an extension cord or extension with extra outlets. Plugs might be hard to access or 2 few. Nowadays with phones, cameras, and the wave phones DCL provides there just aren't enough outlets.

-bring some air fresher for the bathroom. I suggest the ones you plug in with the night light that way if anyone little ones has to go to the bathroom at night there's some light along the way.

-bring some Clorox disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer. I usually do a full pass of the room and bathroom with the wipes as soon as I get into the room the first time. I'm not a germaphobe and I know Disney does a good job with cleanliness but cruise ships are some of the places where germs spread the quickest. If you get sick DCL will quarantine you. To me it was worth taking the extra steps to make sure non of us got sick and the stuck in our rooms for the cruise.

-should you need to do a load of wash bring some color catcher sheets. This will allow you to mix the color loads as it catches any bleeding dies from the clothes.

- bring a cheap shoe organizer for the outside of your bathroom door. I use ours for all the shoes so there not scattered all over the place. Others use them for some of their toiletry stuff. It has many uses and will help with the limited space on board.

- for those of you with views, bring some clips to hold your curtains shut against the light in the mornings.

-I cruised the Magic last year and the blow dryer DCL provided was very weak. For you ladies or girls that depend on a blow dryer, you may want to bring your own.

Hope this helps!

 

[CasaMartinez]

Hi All,

My wife and I will be on this cruise, celebrating our 20th anniversary!

This will be our 4th Disney Cruise...having sailed on a 4 "nighter" on the Wonder, a 7 night on the Magic, and a 5 nighter on the Dream.

We live in northwest Florida...neither of us has ever been to the west coast, so we're looking forward to this trip, but have been preoccupied with other events (now completed) which has prevented us from making detailed plans.

As we're totally unfamiliar with California...what's your advice on things to do in SD and SF (won't have much time to explore LA...just the afternoon/morning prior to the sailing). Did I read correctly that boarding begins in late afternoon?

Must see things we've been told to do in SF include Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf (chowder) and Ghiradelli Factory/thingy...

Are most of you planning on taking the Disney excursions or just setting out on your own. Have been told SF is very pedestrian friendly...and I see where some of the Disney excursions go to some of these places and some go by these places. We prefer to get out among folks and visit real area of cities as opposed to tourist traps...(love just walking NYC neighborhoods).

Same questions as far as SD?

We live near beautiful beaches (Pensacola Beach) so visiting a beach is not that big a deal to us. Would like to see things unique to the area.

Are most folks planning to return to the boat for lunch or dinner...or eating in town?

Thanks for all of your help. See you soon.

Interesting to see the Pixar theme (did not know about this when we booked on the Dream last summer)...as I'm a big fan of their movies.

PS...Please forgive me if you've already answered some of these questions...just have not had time to peruse all the posts on this thread.

I live in LA and there isn't much in near the port. LA is so spread out and you basically need a car to get around. If your pretty much going to be staying near the port and don't have a rental car, I would probably suggest you not try to cram something in LA. Of course I don't know what the boarding times so you may have extra time.

Ive been to San Francisco and San Diego but am not as familiar with them as perhaps some of the locals. Personally I do not plan to use DCL for any of the excursions. I know they tend to be higher priced and it seems like we could get around on our own. I know San Fran has decent public transportation.

 

[CasaMartinez]

Hi All!
I was just going to make the bracelets with my DD's so there won't be any cost. We also could look into silicone ones. I'm fine either way, so just advise your preference and start sending me the addresses!!

Jodi

Wow, your going to make the bracelets, are they like woven ones? I always enjoy anything handmade so if you and your DD are up for the task, it sounds good to me.

 

[LiseG]

Cruise name ideas...

Pixar-Perfect California Port-Hoppers

Super Cali-Fragilistic Disney Cruise

Woody's West Coast Round Up

To SF and Beyond

The INCREDIBLE California Coasters

Any other ideas out there??

 

[CasaMartinez]

Ok, so I'm a bit of a night owl. THis is the last one for the night.

Below are the available rotations for our cruise:

Rotation 1 - TAPAPTA

Rotation 2 - APTPTAP

Rotation 3 – PTATAPT


T = Tritons

P = Parrot Cay

A = Animators Palate

 

[LiseG]

Ok, so I'm a bit of a night owl. THis is the last one for the night.

Below are the available rotations for our cruise:

Rotation 1 - TAPAPTA

Rotation 2 - APTPTAP

Rotation 3 – PTATAPT


T = Tritons

P = Parrot Cay

A = Animators Palate

Awesome info... thank you. If you haven't booked Palo yet check it out! It's a don't miss part of any Disney Cruise. There were still lots of day/time options when I booked last night. I was amazed I could get my choices for both dinner and brunch!

Lise

 

[silversae]

The bracelets sound great....are you sure you're up to making them all?

 

[silversae]

Cruise name ideas...

Woody's West Coast Round Up

To SF and Beyond

Those two are my favorite, though the others are pretty good

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

The bracelets sound great....are you sure you're up to making them all?

Yes, no problem! They look very easy to do... It will keep us all busy for the rest of summer vacation!!

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

Cruise name ideas...

Pixar-Perfect California Port-Hoppers

Super Cali-Fragilistic Disney Cruise

Woody's West Coast Round Up

To SF and Beyond

The INCREDIBLE California Coasters

Any other ideas out there??

I think I like Woody's West Coast Roundup best too!

 

[Disney-ite]

Welcome stevenpensacola and wife to the cruise!

Looking forward to meeting you both.

 

[Meganyvemarie]

My favorite is To SF... and Beyond

My sister and I love the idea of the bracelets but because we live so far away were afraid they wont get here in time and shipping is very expensive. Is there any way we could collect ours from the meet up at 3PM on the Sunday? If not then don't worry about us

61 Days until we leave New Zealand!!

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

Hi Everyone!

We just booked our cruise today. I am so excited. I still have to read all the pages in this thread but woohoo

 

[Meganyvemarie]

Hi Everyone!

We just booked our cruise today. I am so excited. I still have to read all the pages in this thread but woohoo

Hi Everyone!

We just booked our cruise today. I am so excited. I still have to read all the pages in this thread but woohoo

Welcome aboard!

I knew your name sounded familiar! I followed your Mickey's Mexican Fiesta 2011 thread! It really helped build excitement for our January 2012 Mexican Riviera on the Wonder

That was an awesome TR can't wait to meet you and everyone else on this thread!

 

[Disney-ite]

Hi Everyone!

We just booked our cruise today. I am so excited. I still have to read all the pages in this thread but woohoo

Welcome to the cruise thread! I have added you to the FE list also.