Wonder in Alaska!!! May 27, 2013

[schmity]

I have added the 2 families to the FE.. sorry it took a little while to reply... volleyball tournament all weekend!! good news is they got 2nd place!!

As far I know there is no official name for our cruise or logo. ( last year we did a cruise the same time and we named it Mickeys Memorial Day Fantasy.)

if anyone wants to design a logo.. I am all for it!! ( I can name things just not make logos!)

Hey there. We have never done a fish exchange, but would like to. I'd like to sign up our family and the family we are traveling with. Can you help us do that and give us all the details?

Thanks

 

[illustratedroomscape]

Hi Beth! I am interested in a tiara for my daughter (8), as she was looking at the ones on a kiosk outside of Pirates.
I am not sure if I will sign up for the Champagne Girls, although I am interested. Is there a time for it yet? I'd hate to say yes & have it conflict w/ something w/ my hubby (hoping for a Palo Brunch). Guess the guys could relax & get a beer... or I could request he go do some laundry during the tasting! LOL

Welcome to Bruce's Family! This seems like it will be quite a Veteran crowd w/ all the B2B & repeat cruisers!

 

[jilljill]

We have shipped a box to the ship and also to the hotel. Both worked fine. On one hand I liked the hotel because we could go through it, add some things to the box, etc. Just confirm with the hotel to expect it and confirm it got there. However, then you have one more thing to get to the ship. If it goes directly to the ship, no worries.

Have you shipped a box to the port in Vancouver or to a hotel in Vancouver? Just thinking the rates would be high shipping a box from the US to Canada.

 

[genequeen19]

We live 20 minutes from the Canadian border and if we ship stuff we are going to drive the box over the border. We thought that way we are not dealing with international rates....

 

[NWmom]

I am almost tempted to offer to allow people to us my address to mail to. We are driving the less than 2 hours to the port. Putting boxes in the car would not be an issue if everyone claimed them for boarding.

Getting through customs at the border with all the boxes is what prevents me.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Have you shipped a box to the port in Vancouver or to a hotel in Vancouver? Just thinking the rates would be high shipping a box from the US to Canada.

Totally forgot it was Canada. No, I absolutely would not ship to Canada. Not only would the rates be high, if you shipped now, you MIGHT get it there in time. My neighbor has family throughout Canada, and for 15 years she has complained about how long it takes every box to get there. Part of it is customs, part of it is Canadian mail system. She has resorted to buying stuff that ships from within Canada. It is a faster, which I realize doesn't apply here, but it can take a bit.

We ship to the Philippines often, and Canada sometimes. FedEx and UPS get through a lot faster, but the cost is at least double. They can give you arrival times though.

I am almost tempted to offer to allow people to us my address to mail to. We are driving the less than 2 hours to the port. Putting boxes in the car would not be an issue if everyone claimed them for boarding.

Getting through customs at the border with all the boxes is what prevents me.

NWmom, it seems like a huge liability. It is a very generous offer. You would be responsible for everything in each box and for whatever reason, if there is a problem, likely you would miss the cruise, not to mention the headache of trying to explain it all.

We had the same problem when we went to the Med. We took an extra suitcase with all the FE stuff (and adapted what we decided to give) and brought back souveniers in the empty suitcase

 

[Magic3forme]

Hey there. We have never done a fish exchange, but would like to. I'd like to sign up our family and the family we are traveling with. Can you help us do that and give us all the details?

Thanks

I sent you a private message!

and the cut off to sign up is April 1st.

 

[Magic3forme]

My biggest tip is to take clothes with you to toss away on the trip... it lightens up the suitcase on the way home..and leaves room for souveneirs etc.

My kids all ready have a pile of clothes that are not returning with us

 

[NWmom]

NWmom, it seems like a huge liability. It is a very generous offer. You would be responsible for everything in each box and for whatever reason, if there is a problem, likely you would miss the cruise, not to mention the headache of trying to explain it all.

We had the same problem when we went to the Med. We took an extra suitcase with all the FE stuff (and adapted what we decided to give) and brought back souveniers in the empty suitcase

The liability is what had me imagining getting locked up at the border when I can't tell them what is in the boxes and someting innocent got me into trouble.

DO NOT want to miss the cruise!!

 

[Scooby3x1y]

My biggest tip is to take clothes with you to toss away on the trip... it lightens up the suitcase on the way home..and leaves room for souveneirs etc.

My kids all ready have a pile of clothes that are not returning with us

We leave some, but the best advice I think I've ever seen posted is pack, then take half out! Truly, you will not wear half of what you think you will. In packing, I think the only thing that has not fluctuated in quantity at all is underwear....

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Has anyone else checked-in?

 

[schmity]

We leave some, but the best advice I think I've ever seen posted is pack, then take half out! Truly, you will not wear half of what you think you will. In packing, I think the only thing that has not fluctuated in quantity at all is underwear....

I may have to try that this trip. I think that is a brilliant idea.

 

[dolphingirl47]

ANYWAY......Hi! We just booked. It's our 8th DCL, and 11th overall. We love cruising!

We're interested in FE's. Can you please tell me what our current counts are for cabins/people? Also, do we have a firm cut off date?

DH (Bruce) and I (Lori) are bringing 3 of our 4 kids (using "kids" loosely) they are DS 22, DS 18, DD 17.

And...Brumbie!!!! Stop with the pic's of Mickey Bars! Holy cow my mouth is watering!!!!

Welcome on board.

Hi Beth! I am interested in a tiara for my daughter (8), as she was looking at the ones on a kiosk outside of Pirates.
I am not sure if I will sign up for the Champagne Girls, although I am interested. Is there a time for it yet? I'd hate to say yes & have it conflict w/ something w/ my hubby (hoping for a Palo Brunch). Guess the guys could relax & get a beer... or I could request he go do some laundry during the tasting! LOL

Welcome to Bruce's Family! This seems like it will be quite a Veteran crowd w/ all the B2B & repeat cruisers!

DCL will set the time for this and this usually happens about a months ahead of sailing. From past experience, this seems to happen around 2 or 2:30 PM on a sea day. I will contact DCL about this next week.

Has anyone else checked-in?

Not yet. We are doing the Back to Back and don't need to worry about the port arrival time and still don't have our flights booked so I am holding off for now as it is easier to get right first time round rather than having to go back and edit.

Corinna

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Welcome on board.

Not yet. We are doing the Back to Back and don't need to worry about the port arrival time and still don't have our flights booked so I am holding off for now as it is easier to get right first time round rather than having to go back and edit.

Corinna

Thanks Corrina!

Has anyone cruised since October? That was our last cruise and I did not realize that DCL had changed to a check-in time system. Maybe everyone else knows about it, but we would always go early to get on early. However, last time because we booked late, I didn't worry about checking in right away. We could not get on board until our time slot. It totally negated arriving at the port early to get on board earlier.

The CM told us that it is according to when you check-in online.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What the cast member told you is not entirely true. It is correct that the earlier you do your online check in the bigger you chance is that you get the check in time you want. When you do your online check in, you get to select your check in slot. If this is handled right (which often it does not seem to be), your check in slot should then determine your boarding number. So even if you arrive very early and check in straightaway, you should get a boarding number corresponding to your check in time selected when you did your online check in.

The earlier you do your online check in, the more available slots you will have. Having said that, we did a cruise in Mid November and only booked this at the end of August and only the first check in slot had been fully booked.

This new system was introduced roundabout the same time that the Disney Dream was launched. We have had three cruises so far where this applied. Our first cruise with this system was our October 2011 Mexican Riviera Cruise.

Corinna

 

[Scooby3x1y]

What the cast member told you is not entirely true. It is correct that the earlier you do your online check in the bigger you chance is that you get the check in time you want. When you do your online check in, you get to select your check in slot. If this is handled right (which often it does not seem to be), your check in slot should then determine your boarding number. So even if you arrive very early and check in straightaway, you should get a boarding number corresponding to your check in time selected when you did your online check in.

The earlier you do your online check in, the more available slots you will have. Having said that, we did a cruise in Mid November and only booked this at the end of August and only the first check in slot had been fully booked.

This new system was introduced roundabout the same time that the Disney Dream was launched. We have had three cruises so far where this applied. Our first cruise with this system was our October 2011 Mexican Riviera Cruise.

Corinna

I figured it was along those lines. Thanks for the general clarification.

 

[megsablue]

NWMom, where abouts in WA do you live (if you don't mind me asking)? I grew up in the Lynden/Ferndale area before finally moving to the Vancouver area about 10 years ago. We used to borderhop every weekend to go back to see my parents before they moved out of the area

I agree with the others on shipping to Canada - it can take forever. My poor sister sends stuff from CA to us and to my other sister here in Canada (we're both on the West Coast too!) and sometimes it takes a week, sometimes a month. No rhyme or reason for the time differences. If you do want to ship to Canada, I'd give it 3-4 weeks depending on where you are in the US. USPS is usually by far the cheapest and will give you a delivery confirmation after it's delivered up here. DHL is usually the fastest, but is more expensive. (I get a lot of stuff shipped here from the US).

I'd offer to have stuff shipped here, but as we're schlepping a toddler and his various accoutrements (stroller, carseat, etc), our FE exchange stuff and our own luggage, I'm not sure we'll fit in our car ourselves!

Also, does anyone know if the carry-on rules for alcohol are different since we're going from Canadian waters to US waters? I doubt we'll have that much as we have to carry a lot on anyways, but I wanted to know if there's any limits just in case.

 

[jilljill]

Also, does anyone know if the carry-on rules for alcohol are different since we're going from Canadian waters to US waters? I doubt we'll have that much as we have to carry a lot on anyways, but I wanted to know if there's any limits just in case.

There were no rules or limits in 2011. I've never seen DCL alter their alcohol limits based on port of departure. We've sailed out of PC, LA, Vancouver, NYC and Dover, England.

 

[megsablue]

There were no rules or limits in 2011. I've never seen DCL alter their alcohol limits based on port of departure. We've sailed out of PC, LA, Vancouver, NYC and Dover, England.

Great! Thanks! Guess I'm too used to crossing the land/air border

 

[MattFromBuffalo]

There were no rules or limits in 2011. I've never seen DCL alter their alcohol limits based on port of departure. We've sailed out of PC, LA, Vancouver, NYC and Dover, England.

Perfect, thanks for this info! With this being my first cruise not passing through CC (and therefore Ill miss out on my Konk Kooler), I may have to bring some Jim Beam with me...to go with the free Pop ;-)