Turkey Day Gang 2009

[alwayslisad]

Thank you all for the well-wishes and pixie dust - must have worked. I am itchy to get back to work. So I called and begged for a doctors appt today so that I can be released back to work for tomorrow or monday

I just hate sitting and doing nothing - I can do that at work - eheheheh

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Lisa,

I'm glad you are doing better! Keep it up!

Karen

 

[lck33]

Lisa -

Glad to hear you are felling better! But do keep it easy...don't want you to further injure yourself

Elsie

 

[sherreis]

Lisa--

Hope you're feeling better!



It's been awhile since I've posted. What a week. On Monday, the kids missed school because of 6 inches of snow, 2 hr delay on Tuesday for ice and today was 70 degrees.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi all,

Well, I'm giving myself worry lines. Our travel agent (who I adore) emailed me to tell me about OTHER cruise lines that have deeply discounted their Thanksgiving cruises including Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Unfortunately, no discounts at Disney !

Here's the deal. A similar room on Princess is about $1,000 less than Disney; a similar room on Royal Caribbean (on Independence or Freedom) is about $700 less; and a similar room on Carnival is about $1,400 to $1,800 less! ACK!!! What's a girl to do? We love the Turkeys and we love the Disney boats but....I keep looking at the price differences and saying...well I could use that and add this on to our trip to Europe next year!

So, with that said, I'm trying to decide what to do. Has anyone ever cruised Princess before? What can you share?

Mind you, Steve, Andrew and I have cruised three times: once on Royal, once on Carnival and once on Disney. Our experience is:

1. Disney great service, good atmosphere for kids, lovely boats and food that is only so so.
2. Royal also has great service, the atmosphere for kids is OK (but Disney is better) the boat we were on (Explorer) was well laid out, but the food was only so so (about on par with Disney)
3. Carnival has great food (and I mean really great...we never were disappointed and the desserts...YUM!), good service (there is definitely a language issue with some of the stateroom stewards and other crew), the decor is quite loud for our tastes (but fitting for a Carnivale type of theme), some good activities for families (i.e., the whole family can do the galley tour!), the boat we were on (the Glory) was laid out by a drunkard....no matter where you were, you couldn't get there from here (!), but I've heard that the Spirit class boats are better.

So anyway, I'm looking for advice. I'd miss you all horribly...but....sigh....

Sign me struggling with what to do...

Karen

 

[alwayslisad]

$1000 is a huge chunk of change. I just went and played on the two cruise sites that you mentioned. Both of them just do Get me in my tummy like Disney does. I mean cost is a factor. That is why we have all agreed that there will be no more Disney Cruises after this.... ::SIGH:::

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Yep....there's something magical about Disney...but $1,000 or more AND the possibility of better food?


Hmmmm.......

Karen

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Hi all,

Well, I'm giving myself worry lines. Our travel agent (who I adore) emailed me to tell me about OTHER cruise lines that have deeply discounted their Thanksgiving cruises including Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Unfortunately, no discounts at Disney !

Here's the deal. A similar room on Princess is about $1,000 less than Disney; a similar room on Royal Caribbean (on Independence or Freedom) is about $700 less; and a similar room on Carnival is about $1,400 to $1,800 less! ACK!!! What's a girl to do? We love the Turkeys and we love the Disney boats but....I keep looking at the price differences and saying...well I could use that and add this on to our trip to Europe next year!

So, with that said, I'm trying to decide what to do. Has anyone ever cruised Princess before? What can you share?

Mind you, Steve, Andrew and I have cruised three times: once on Royal, once on Carnival and once on Disney. Our experience is:

1. Disney great service, good atmosphere for kids, lovely boats and food that is only so so.
2. Royal also has great service, the atmosphere for kids is OK (but Disney is better) the boat we were on (Explorer) was well laid out, but the food was only so so (about on par with Disney)
3. Carnival has great food (and I mean really great...we never were disappointed and the desserts...YUM!), good service (there is definitely a language issue with some of the stateroom stewards and other crew), the decor is quite loud for our tastes (but fitting for a Carnivale type of theme), some good activities for families (i.e., the whole family can do the galley tour!), the boat we were on (the Glory) was laid out by a drunkard....no matter where you were, you couldn't get there from here (!), but I've heard that the Spirit class boats are better.

So anyway, I'm looking for advice. I'd miss you all horribly...but....sigh....

Sign me struggling with what to do...

Karen

Karen-

I would choose Carnival ...we have done the Glory out of PC and loved her food was awesome Both of the RCCL cruises that we did were horrible we will never sail with them again. As I posted earlier we will be doing the new Carnival Dream in July of 2010 so if any one wants to join us jump righ in

Rob

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Karen-

I would choose Carnival ...we have done the Glory out of PC and loved her food was awesome Both of the RCCL cruises that we did were horrible we will never sail with them again. As I posted earlier we will be doing the new Crnival Dream in July of 2010 so if any one wants to join us jump righ in

Rob

Hi Rob,

Andrew is already dreaming of sailing on the Carnival Dream. We love Disney but at $1500 to $1800 cheaper on Carnival...and $1,000 on Princess...my wallet may overtake my heart.

karen

 

[MommyMinnie]

Just checking in to say "Hello". My family finally has all of their reservations settled and are ready to ship out.

I hope Lisa is feeling better today and will be able to recover soon. I have one in the family with happy feet too and hates to sit home.

Hello to our new members! It's great to see some new names.

Is there a head count for Fish extenders? Do we need one?

Take care and I'll check back in shortly.

 

[WMILLER86]

Rob, have you been to Magens Bay? Can you rent chairs? Is there a bar where I can get frosty drinks? If you have pics, please post - would love to see them!

Jodie

Hi Pillow,

I was just lurking in on yall, and saw your question. I was at Magens Bay in 2007 with Rob and Pris. I was am also a former Turkey. (See me n many of Lampy's pics, "Ron Jovi's", etc)

To answer your questions, YES, there are very nice beach chairs to rent, and a great beach bar to buy food and sprits. My DD and I ate there and the food was excellent. It was a little different from other island ports, as it seemed that everyone working there was American. Nice, but a little different from the 5 other ports we had just been to on Adventure of the Seas.

Anyway, Magens Bay is a beautiful beach, and was not crowded the day we were there, but I have heard that if there are alot of ships in port, it can get packed.

Yall have a GREAT CRUISE. I wish I was gonna be there to help carry on the DIS TURKEY TRADITION.

Irie, Mon!

 

[lck33]

Karen - I know it is such a hard decision to make! That being said, I would and have just booked on Carnival for next year. With the economy the way it is, we just felt more comfortable keeping it on the down low... And when we do cruise Disney again, I think it will make it feel that much more special to us.

Best of luck with your decision!

On another note, where do we look at the different excursions that are available to us? and when should we be booking them? Sorry to sound so dumb, but really I don't have a clue. I never did plan a cruise before. Went on a crusie before but never did any excursions.


Elsie

 

[ICEMANPAD]

On another note, where do we look at the different excursions that are available to us? and when should we be booking them? Sorry to sound so dumb, but really I don't have a clue. I never did plan a cruise before. Went on a crusie before but never did any excursions.


Elsie

Elsie-

The excursions are all listed on the official DCL site. However, you cannot book excursions on line until you have paid in full and if a first time cruiser, 90 days before sailing.

Lisa

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Hi all,

Well, I'm giving myself worry lines. Our travel agent (who I adore) emailed me to tell me about OTHER cruise lines that have deeply discounted their Thanksgiving cruises including Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Unfortunately, no discounts at Disney !

Here's the deal. A similar room on Princess is about $1,000 less than Disney; a similar room on Royal Caribbean (on Independence or Freedom) is about $700 less; and a similar room on Carnival is about $1,400 to $1,800 less! ACK!!! What's a girl to do? We love the Turkeys and we love the Disney boats but....I keep looking at the price differences and saying...well I could use that and add this on to our trip to Europe next year!

So, with that said, I'm trying to decide what to do. Has anyone ever cruised Princess before? What can you share?

Mind you, Steve, Andrew and I have cruised three times: once on Royal, once on Carnival and once on Disney. Our experience is:

1. Disney great service, good atmosphere for kids, lovely boats and food that is only so so.
2. Royal also has great service, the atmosphere for kids is OK (but Disney is better) the boat we were on (Explorer) was well laid out, but the food was only so so (about on par with Disney)
3. Carnival has great food (and I mean really great...we never were disappointed and the desserts...YUM!), good service (there is definitely a language issue with some of the stateroom stewards and other crew), the decor is quite loud for our tastes (but fitting for a Carnivale type of theme), some good activities for families (i.e., the whole family can do the galley tour!), the boat we were on (the Glory) was laid out by a drunkard....no matter where you were, you couldn't get there from here (!), but I've heard that the Spirit class boats are better.

So anyway, I'm looking for advice. I'd miss you all horribly...but....sigh....

Sign me struggling with what to do...

Karen

Karen-

We understand your struggle!!! We love DCL and feel that it's worth the extra cost for our Thanksgiving tradition!!! However, that being said, we are trying out the RCCL Liberty of the Seas this summer. I priced DCL for the same week and there was about a $2000 price difference for the same cabin category.

Carnival is one cruise line that we will never sail. We know ya'all have had good experiences. However, my father literally almost died after sailing on the Carnival Liberty Thanksgiving 2006. He was in intensive care, on a ventilator, with double viral pneumonia for a few weeks after that cruise. 2 other passengers did end up passing away. As it turns out, Carnival knew that there was a group of seriously ill passengers who boarded the cruise and rather than return to port and cancel the cruise, they continued sailing on a transatlantic voyage wherein most of the crew and most of the passengers were taken ill. There were no precautions on board by way of wipes, food handling, etc. It was a very scary time for us!!!

Chuck and I spoke to one of the DCL nurses last Thanksgiving and so far, knock on wood, DCL has not had any fatalities to date. Also, one of my sisters had been dealing w/ a ship safety inspector who advised her that DCL is far above any other cruse line!!

Lisa

 

[The LK 4]

Patsy - do you want to be the official keeper of the Fish Extender list? I know my group will probably have three of them between our four cabins.

 

[MommyMinnie]

On another note, where do we look at the different excursions that are available to us? and when should we be booking them? Sorry to sound so dumb, but really I don't have a clue. I never did plan a cruise before. Went on a crusie before but never did any excursions.


Elsie

Elsie,
Have you cruised w/DCL before? If you have not then you can make excursion and Palo reservations 75 days before embarkation. The cruise must be paid to reserve excursions.

If you have sailed with DCL before then you can make these reservations 90 days before embarkation. Again, you must also have the cruise paid off at that time.

There are exceptions to the advance days if you have concierge level service (1-3) or if you book a special "romance" package that I forget the name of.

Reservations can be made online at Disneycruise.com. I think they open at 3am on the day you can reserve but I've never been one to stay up for something like that.

There are brief descriptions of the excursions on the DCL website. But, for real deal indepth information you need a guidebook called "Passporter's Disney Cruise Line". The 2009 edition is coming out soon. If you want an older version to tide you over PM me and I can send you one of mine (I have 4) or visit their website and you might be able to order an older one for cheap.

Have fun.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi all,

Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear about the cruise your dad went on. That's absolutely awful and if I had that experience, I'd never do it again either. I agree completely about the cleanliness of the ship. Disney routinely gets 98 to 100s on the CDC scores. I will say, however, that every cruise I've ever taken has had the hand sanitizers on board and it has been a requirement that you sanitize prior to entering the buffet. (Call me weird but we usually also use a hand sanitizer before we eat!)

I think we're gonna "bite the bullet" and just stay. In part because we'd really miss all the Turkeys and in part because Andrew (my resident Disney nut) really, really wants to go on the Disney cruise. He has said, and I agree, that there is just something special about Disney. Now, I just have to convince Steve (which I'm thinking won't be too hard...I hope!).

Now, on to other topics...namely Fish Extenders! We have got the neatest idea for a family Fish Extender item! I'm not going to tell you what it is...but we really like the idea a lot. Does anyone have any idea how many families will be doing the Fish Extender thing? Is everyone on the Board doing it? If not, I may just have to do it for the whole board rather than those with Fish Extenders! It's not much...but Andrew and I really like it and it's something he and I can make together!

Sign me...eagerly awaiting the cruise!

Karen

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

One other idea about the excursions is to go to cruisecritic.com and look at their advice for the various ports. We've done that before and have booked on our own and had a great time. (Note, I won't do it for really long shore excursions that put me on too tight a time table since I don't want to risk missing the boat!)

Hope that helps too.

Karen

 

[pillow]

Karen, I'm so happy that you've decided to stay with us. I am really looking forward to meeting you!

Regarding other cruise lines, I know this has come up before and that I've posted this link previously, but here it is again -

www.cruisebruise.com

I don't like to be a downer, but I think its good to have the facts before picking a cruise line. In addition to all the great things about cruising Disney, I like their record.

Jodie

 

[alwayslisad]

YAHOOOO Karen is stayin!!!!

Two rooms for FE's here I am in room 2122 + 2124

I need to know the count so I can make my special FE token...not sure what my sister will do - sometimes she is creative..