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

[CasaMartinez]

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

In 09' you probably got a pager if you checked your kids into the kid clubs so that they could keep in touch with you. Last year DCL started to provide 2 wave phones for each room. The wave phones work all over the ship and allow you to keep in touch with each other, other guests and the kids club. They're very cool.

 

[LiseG]

In 09' you probably got a pager if you checked your kids into the kid clubs so that they could keep in touch with you. Last year DCL started to provide 2 wave phones for each room. The wave phones work all over the ship and allow you to keep in touch with each other, other guests and the kids club. They're very cool.

Cool... thanks

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

Hi Everyone ...

I was looking ot our cruise on the Disney site and saw the logo they have for the pixar cruises. If you want I can design something similiar for our cruise.

 

[silversae]

OMG!

Thanks for posting that logo. I hadn't seen it yet but I love it!

 

[CasaMartinez]

Hi Everyone ...

I was looking ot our cruise on the Disney site and saw the logo they have for the pixar cruises. If you want I can design something similiar for our cruise.

That would be great. We should finish picking our cruise logo so we can add it on the top. As I read through the posts it looked like "To San Fran...and beyond" was the favorite but perhaps we should make an official poll or count?

 

[adnil530]

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/

We were in San Francisco over 4th of July and bought this 2 day pass. We did the Bay Cruise, the Wax Museum and the Aquarium. We had a family emergency that made us leave early on the 5th but we were going to do the Cable car, Bus Tour and the Arcade. I thought the pass had a lot of value for the money. We bought our Wharf Pass at the visitors bureau at Pier 39.

As to Alcatraz, now it might not be the case in early October, but all the Alcatraz tours were sold out for the next 10 days while we were there so it was not possible for us to do the Alacatraz add on. Looking at AlcatrazCruises, they are fully booked through August 14 right now and the passes say that the Alcatraz Upgrade is only available through AlcatrazCruises. I don't think you can book now, buy the pass when you get there, upgrade to the tour and use it for your reservation because you pay when you make your ressie. With all that said, I think that if you want to make sure you are on a tour for Alcatraz, you might want to book well in advance. I've never been there and thought I was going to be going there on July 4 so you can be sure that I will have my ressie in place well beforehand.

 

[1stTimePartyof3]

Let's see... For past cruises, I pre-packed Sabrina daytime clothes in 1 gal Ziplocs. She just grabbed a bag each morning, and I knew she'd look good in the photos. This cruise she'll be 12... not sure who's in charge of her wardrobe

I love that tip!

 

[1stTimePartyof3]

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!

Thanks Helen! These are all great tips! I'll be sure to add these items on my packing list.

 

[Disney-ite]

Boridiva Belle, adnil30 and erk711

Look forward to meeting you.

 

[Disney-ite]

Hi Everyone ...

I was looking ot our cruise on the Disney site and saw the logo they have for the pixar cruises. If you want I can design something similiar for our cruise.

I really like the logo...maybe using the "cruise name" once it is decided upon.

 

[adnil530]

I went up today and did our check in. I was able to schedule our spa also. However, Palo Brunch was all booked up! Palo Brunch is one of our favorites! I guess it is to be expected with only 2 sea days. Any ways, last time we were on the Wonder, my oldest daughter put in a request for our group plus a few other people on the disboards to have brunch in the private room in Palo and her request was granted.

I am willing to make this request if we have a group of 12-14 people who have not signed up for Brunch already and would like to have a group brunch. It's not guaranteed that we will get the private room but hey if we get it, it'll be an excellent meal.What a way to get to know each other!

If you didn't get a Palo Brunch and would like to be signed up for a group Brunch, let me know. You can PM me and I will compile a list. I will need the number of adults, names and ressie numbers. When we hit 12 (the minimum), I will make the request. 14 is the maximum. I would want to make the request as soon as possible!

Bon appetit!

Linda

 

[Hollywood Glitter]

I went up today and did our check in. I was able to schedule our spa also. However, Palo Brunch was all booked up! Palo Brunch is one of our favorites! I guess it is to be expected with only 2 sea days. Any ways, last time we were on the Wonder, my oldest daughter put in a request for our group plus a few other people on the disboards to have brunch in the private room in Palo and her request was granted.

I am willing to make this request if we have a group of 12-14 people who have not signed up for Brunch already and would like to have a group brunch. It's not guaranteed that we will get the private room but hey if we get it, it'll be an excellent meal.What a way to get to know each other!

If you didn't get a Palo Brunch and would like to be signed up for a group Brunch, let me know. You can PM me and I will compile a list. I will need the number of adults, names and ressie numbers. When we hit 12 (the minimum), I will make the request. 14 is the maximum. I would want to make the request as soon as possible!

Bon appetit!

Linda

I'm game. I'll pm you my res. # when I get home but it will be me and my mom

 

[erk711]

Boridiva Belle, adnil30 and erk711

Look forward to meeting you.

Thank you! A little bit more about us....

Liz (erk711) and Vern
Travelling without kids to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
First time Disney cruisers! VERY excited!! Okay, that's mostly me but my husband is a good sport
I spent hours checking out different board threads after joining yesterday and learned lots of great stuff. I think it is wonderful that we have this oppurtunity to chat and share ideas.

That being said, I've been inspired to do the FE, so count us in!

Looking forward to meeting you all.

 

[erk711]

I really like the logo...maybe using the "cruise name" once it is decided upon.

I like the logo too and the idea of using it with "our" cruise name. I'm hoping we can decide on it soon (?) as I have an idea for my FE that requires the name

 

[erk711]

I went up today and did our check in. I was able to schedule our spa also. However, Palo Brunch was all booked up! Palo Brunch is one of our favorites! I guess it is to be expected with only 2 sea days. Any ways, last time we were on the Wonder, my oldest daughter put in a request for our group plus a few other people on the disboards to have brunch in the private room in Palo and her request was granted.

I am willing to make this request if we have a group of 12-14 people who have not signed up for Brunch already and would like to have a group brunch. It's not guaranteed that we will get the private room but hey if we get it, it'll be an excellent meal.What a way to get to know each other!

If you didn't get a Palo Brunch and would like to be signed up for a group Brunch, let me know. You can PM me and I will compile a list. I will need the number of adults, names and ressie numbers. When we hit 12 (the minimum), I will make the request. 14 is the maximum. I would want to make the request as soon as possible!

Bon appetit!

Linda

That sounds like a lovely idea. Count myself and my DH in. If we get the numbers I'll send you our info (...I still need to figure out how to PM )

 

[adnil530]

That sounds like a lovely idea. Count myself and my DH in. If we get the numbers I'll send you our info (...I still need to figure out how to PM )

Welcome aboard! We are travelling without our kids for the first time and we will be celebrating our 29th anniversary.

And thanks for signing up for the group Palo Brunch. You will love your first cruise and I can pretty much say that you will love Palo Brunch.

We are up to 6 people:

adnil530: 2
Hollywood_Glitter: 2
erk711: 2

It's easy to PM someone. Click on their name and a drop down screen appears. You can then select "send a private message..."

I too am looking forward to meeting everyone.

Linda

 

[erk711]

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/

Thanks for the link to wharfpass. It definitely looks like the way to go so I bought ours online. I think we will still do the Chinatown/night tour through Disney as well though.

 

[MomofM&M]

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.

Since you live near beaches already, I would suggest visiting the USS Midway museum. It is within easy walking distance from where the ship docks. San Diego is a big Navy town and the ship is amazing. I had just finished reading the book Unbroken when I first visited the museum. It is awe inspiring how much history is steeped in that vessel. You can walk to Horton Plaza if you are up for some shopping. Seaport Village is a bit farther but there are usually plenty of pedicabs that will take you. More shopping and seafood restaurants there. Anthony's seafood restaurant has a fast food counter next to their dining room and it's a nice place to get some fish and chips. Definitely, something unique that you won't see are the pandas at SD Zoo. The safari park is also very unique but that is much farther away in Escondido. Theoretically you could walk to the bus stop and take the bus to SD Zoo. We will be visiting SD during the off season so not likely to have long lines to see the pandas but if you go visit, I would do that first if that's a priority. Since we live in SD, we will probably eat on the ship to save money. My husband has plans of dropping off all our luggage so that we can walk off when we disembark. We will see if we really are that organized!

 

[Disney-ite]

2 months to go...


Hello FE participants...

FE update: As of today..July 30, 2012...we have:

17 cabins

33 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 week!

 

[LiseG]

The whole FE thing is new to me....what types of things are usually left?

FE items vary a lot and that makes it fun. I'm thinking of what we received... some things were purchased, others homemade, some practical, others silly, some gifts represented the town, state or country cruisers were from.

There was a homemade cookie cutely wrapped and labeled, Kirkland trail mix singles and Jerky (for the flights home), magnets, postcards, homemade Disney favorites CDs (one per cabin), mini kid crafts, water bottles, lots of things with the DISboards cruise name (what will it be??), crazy sun glasses, sun screen, lip balm, candy, toys… and lots more. It was so fun each day to see what would be there.

Our FE was actually made of 3 mini tote bags hung below each other. Putting names on each pocket lets everyone know where the grown up gifts go vs. ones for the little 'uns