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

[Disney-ite]

Hello FE participants...

FE update: As of today..July 28, 2012...we have:

15 cabins

29 adults

15 children:
5 boys -ages 5 (2), 8 (1) and 10 (2)
10 girls - ages 4 (1), 7 (1), 9 (2), 10 (1), 11 (2), 12 (2) and 19 (1)


Final date to sign up: 08/19/12

Have a great weekend!

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

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!

How Exciting ... I'm so glad it helped you out. I can't wait to meet everyone

 

[mykitty]

Hi Everyone:
Its been awhile since I have checked in. It is exciting to see how our group has grown. Welcome to all our new arrivals

Disney-ite thank you for adding the list to your first thread.

 

[mykitty]

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

Jodi, thank you and your daughter for offering to make the bracelets. Whatever is easiest for you would be great for us. It is great how creative people can be.

 

[mykitty]

LiseG: The names coming in sound great. Eric and I have voted on SF...and beyond.

 

[LiseG]

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.

Thanks for the great tips... Our last cruise was Oct '09. What is a DCL Wave Phone?


I'd like to add a couple more tips
- Yellow Hilighter. Makes it easier to mark your favorite activities on the Daily Navigator
- Dry eraseboard for your door to leave messages for family and DISfriends.
- Magnetic door decorations are fun too. We collect magnets so some port magnets end up on the inside of our door as well.

 

[LiseG]

Hello...

I did not see a thread started for this cruise...anyone else joining us? We rebooked on our cruise to Alaska in August. The best thing about this cruise...we do not have to fly since it departs from San Pedro.



Who's Cruising...

1. Disney-ite - Deb & Eric
*FE organizer & participants
...

27. Hollywood Glitter - Sigris and mom Shirley
Celebrating her 31st birthday
*FE Participants

This is AWESOME, Deb. Everyone check out the first post and see who's on our cruise ....and maybe let us know some of the names we're missing.

Fish Extender is VERY fun... you just have to think about joining in. It was so fun waking up each morning like it was Christmas with a little something in our FE pockets (or sometimes it was there already when we got back to the cabin in the evening). Many of the items continue to bring a smile 2 years later... others we ate on the spot!

Now we just need some more votes to name our cruise, and Deb will add that too!

 

[Boridiva Belle]

My daughter (Hollywood Glitter) and I will be traveling with you. She talked me into another cruise. My husband and I are cruising to Alaska September 3 - 10. I"ll be home 20 days before I have to ship out again. We are doing the FE. I am doing FE on the Alaska cruise ( 21 cabins possible more) plus 15or more on this cruise. These comming weeks will be crazy busy.
Looking forward to meeting you all.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Hi fellow travelers...A few ???'s

Would anyone happen to know what time boarding begins in LA?

We're arriving around noon on the day before the cruise departs...staying near the port in San Pedro. First time ever to California...looking for recommendations for things to do that afternoon...see attractions near port...take bus tour of LA (although seeing touristy stuff like the Chinese Theater, etc does not interest us too much)...rent car and just drive around...have heard there is interesting drive east out of the city...we're open for suggestions.

Think we're going to do a night visit to Alcatraz.

Also trying to get a feel for the scope of the SF area...is the port in close proximity to fishermans wharf, Alcatraz ferries, etc? Is this walkable?

Thanks for the help.

One more...are most of you planning to return to ship for SF dinner?...is port close enough to "drop in" to eat and go back out?

 

[adnil530]

Hi Everybody!

Hubby and I just booked this cruise. We are so excited. It will be our fist cruise without the girls but hey we will be celebrating our 29th anniversary, they weren't there then so I guess it's okay that they won't be there now.

It will be dh Mike and me Linda.

I'll try to catch up on the posts to see what all is going on.

We would like to sign up for the FE. It wouldn't be the same without hanging out our FE. I'll just have to pin Michelle and Laura's pocket shut.

Can't wait!

Linda

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

So I'm still trying to figure out waht I want to do in San Francisco. I am looking at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Is anyone else going there? I can get a discount on the admission tickets for 4 people. Obviously 2 would be for me and my mom but 2 could go to someone else. I was thinking if there was another 2 people that wanted to go we could split the cost of a taxi to go there. Let me know.

Tickets are normally $20 a person so It would only be $15 with my discount

 

[erk711]

Just found this site...my husband and I will be joining you all on this cruise. Very excited for my first Disney cruise!!

 

[LiseG]

So I'm still trying to figure out waht I want to do in San Francisco. I am looking at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Is anyone else going there? I can get a discount on the admission tickets for 4 people. Obviously 2 would be for me and my mom but 2 could go to someone else. I was thinking if there was another 2 people that wanted to go we could split the cost of a taxi to go there. Let me know.

Tickets are normally $20 a person so It would only be $15 with my discount

I Like the idea of visiting the Disney Museum. I'm not sure what the three of us are going to do yet. In the past we've had a strict family policy to only book excursions thru Disney... I trust I will get a good excursion experience and I will make it back to the ship on time. I'm thinking since we in California I might stray from this policy... just this once

I just found "2-Day Wharf Pass" that include a lot of things along the Pier/Wharf area and more.... 1 or 2-Day Hop on/off Tour Buses, Bay Cruise, Bikes or Cable Car, Aquarium or Ripley's, Wax Museum or Liberty Ship, etc. You get 6 activities... pick one activity from each of the six catagories (sightseeting tour, bay cruise + 4 activity groups).

It looks like the Alcatraz is sold out thru Disney so this might be a good option. You can upgrade the Wharf Pass "Bay Cruise" to the "Alcatraz Island Ferry & Audio Tour." It's about $15 extra for adults and only $5 extra for kiddos.

Has anyone use the Wharf Pass or done any of these activitied? https://www.wharfpass.com/

 

[LiseG]

Just found this site...my husband and I will be joining you all on this cruise. Very excited for my first Disney cruise!!

WELCOME

You are going to have a fantastic time. Disney does it right and PIXAR will make it even more fun!

You're lucky; we didn't find the DISboards until our 4th Cruise. You’ll see some great tips posted. Ask all the questions you want. Doing the Fish Extender (FE) is very fun. You should definitely join in!

Lise

 

[erk711]

Hi everyone, I'm on the Sept 16th sailing and someone from your sailing may have already shared this info but in case they hadn't -

I emailed DCL and asked which nights were planned for pirate, semi-formal and formal night on our cruise before I booked Palo & nursery time and got this reply. Thought I'd share with anyone else interested!

"7-Night Pacific Coast Cruise
*Nights 1, 3, 4, 7: cruise casual
*Night 2: "semi-formal night" - semi-formal wear for men: suit/jacket;
for women: dress or pantsuit.
*Night 5: "formal night" - formal wear for men: tuxedo or suit; for
women: gown or dress
*Night 6: pirate night with deck party - cruise casual or bring your
best pirate outfit!
"

Thanks for the info....I was wondering about the timing myself so I know when is best to book everything else.

 

[erk711]

Hi, and welcome! This will be my third cruise out of L.A. with DCL. I like the San Pedro Inn and Suites. They offer free breakfast and transportation to the port. I'm not positive about the park and cruise, however, as we've always flown down the night before, but it seems to me they might. Here's their direct number:310 514 -1414. I booked them through priceline for $89.

We're also staying at the San Pedro Flying in the day before to make sure that we've got plenty of time in case of delays. I'm happy to see that others have stayed there before. Was a little concerned but i'm feeling better about it now.

Thanks for the info on San Pedro Inn....I was trying to decide which hotel to choose and this helped! I just booked for the night before as well as we get in Saturday evening.

 

[erk711]

WELCOME

You are going to have a fantastic time. Disney does it right and PIXAR will make it even more fun!

You're lucky; we didn't find the DISboards until our 4th Cruise. You’ll see some great tips posted. Ask all the questions you want. Doing the Fish Extender (FE) is very fun. You should definitely join in!

Lise

Thanks! Finally made it through all the posts and have learned quite a few great things already. The whole FE thing is new to me....what types of things are usually left? As the list grows I'm wondering about the monetary commitment.

 

[LiseG]

Hi fellow travelers...A few ???'s

Would anyone happen to know what time boarding begins in LA?

We're arriving around noon on the day before the cruise departs...staying near the port in San Pedro. First time ever to California...looking for recommendations for things to do that afternoon...see attractions near port...take bus tour of LA (although seeing touristy stuff like the Chinese Theater, etc does not interest us too much)...rent car and just drive around...have heard there is interesting drive east out of the city...we're open for suggestions.

Think we're going to do a night visit to Alcatraz.

Also trying to get a feel for the scope of the SF area...is the port in close proximity to fishermans wharf, Alcatraz ferries, etc? Is this walkable?

Thanks for the help.

One more...are most of you planning to return to ship for SF dinner?...is port close enough to "drop in" to eat and go back out?

I was wondering about the check-in and boarding start times as well. Other cruise boarding times are on DCL site but nothing regarding the West Coast. I just emailed DCL and will post what I find out.

When we lived near San Pedro 15+ years, we enjoyed going to Ports O' Call Village in San Pedro to stroll the little shops and grab a bite.

If you rent a car at LAX, drive down the coast along "The Strand" (where the bike path is on the beach) and around Palos Verdes on you way to San Pedro. Make sure you stop to see Wayfarers Chapel (it's glass).

If you get the car in LGB, head out to the coast from there then go north on PCH. I'd still go out around Palos Verdes a bit. Did I mention Wayfarers Chapel (we got married there ).

If you're coming into SNA, I'd head down to Newport Beach and the Balboa Peninsula. Maybe go down to Laguna Beach... lots of art galleries.

We're flying into LGB and I'm trying to figure out the best way deal with getting a rent a car. I hear the drop fees are high to San Pedro, I think we'll return the car to LGB or LAX Sunday morning then shuttle to the ship. Any ideas?

If you want to "do something" not far from the ship, check out the Aquarium of the Pacific or Queen Mary

It looks like there are a lot of options along the Wharf in SF. (see post #253 I posted a little while ago). We will likely dine shipboard.

Lise

 

[erk711]

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

We are in for the meet and greet and look forward to our bracelets. Thanks for offering to make them!!

DH likes Pixar-Perfect, I like To SF and Beyond

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

LA boarding began around 12. On the Mexican Riviera cruise we were in group 3 and were on board by 12:30