Wonder's EBPC 9/12/14 Who's Going With Us!

[dsnydaddy]

I think it's 10 or 20 for platinum. I know in April when I was talking to this one gal at Castaway Cay about the EBPC she said it was her favorite cruise long story short she said she was a platinum member but "a real one. I go on the 7 day plus cruises. Or the 14 day ones. You're a fake platinum if you go on 4 day ones." I started laughing.

(And in all fairness I go on 7 day plus cruises because I feel like I can't relax on 3-4 day ones and if I'm flying in...)

Crud. I'm fake. I guess I'll have to turn in all those gold gifts and extra OBC that I've received.

 

[mmbl]

DAVIDLS
It is really inexpensive to rent a car, or van, for a day. I'll check my friends plans and if they are flying down, then there is a good chance we'll rent a vehicle. Once we confirm how many we are (2,4,6,8) we can decide on size vehicle. Rates are between '$60-$120.
Have you looked at and/or decided on hotel? Spouse suggested staying on property until I told him how much more the DL hotels were compared to the 'good neighbor' hotels.

 

[mmbl]

DAVIDLS It is really inexpensive to rent a car, or van, for a day. I'll check my friends plans and if they are flying down, then there is a good chance we'll rent a vehicle. Once we confirm how many we are (2,4,6,8) we can decide on size vehicle. Rates are between '$60-$120. Have you looked at and/or decided on hotel? Spouse suggested staying on property until I told him how much more the DL hotels were compared to the 'good neighbor' hotels.[/QUOTE]

 

[Shelljay]

why doesn't Disney offer transportation to the port in CA like they do in FL? We are also trying to decide if we fly into LA and stay a couple of days at DL then figure out how to get to the port or if we just fly into San Diego the day before and figure out how to get to the port. There's 4 of us..really don't want to think about driving in CA from what I hear about it!
We just got back from WDW...drove from Long Island to FL and realized we're getting older and not to thrilled with 18 hours of driving! Stayed at Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge and LOVED it!

 

[mmbl]

why doesn't Disney offer transportation to the port in CA like they do in FL? We are also trying to decide if we fly into LA and stay a couple of days at DL then figure out how to get to the port or if we just fly into San Diego the day before and figure out how to get to the port. There's 4 of us..really don't want to think about driving in CA from what I hear about it!
We just got back from WDW...drove from Long Island to FL and realized we're getting older and not to thrilled with 18 hours of driving! Stayed at Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge and LOVED it!

Shelly, if you're interested in car pooling from DL, just let me know and once we confirm plans, I'll keep you in the loop. BTW- driving in Ca. isn't any worse than most other metro areas/ States. We wouldn't be driving in rush hour to the port.
Maria

 

[Robin"D"]

We have done the Inaugural Cruise to Alaska & Hawaii. Everyone we met told us that we had to do the Panama Cruise.....Now I know why....
Not only going through the locks was amazing, just being on the longer cruises is great. Loved the port of calls....Cabo & Puerto Vallarta are so beautiful....looking forward to going back & bring the Wonder home!

any questions, be happy to answer....

Besides, the Wonder is our home away from home. I was great to see "our extended Family, cruisers & CM alike!

not to mention some of the entertainment/ Mike Super/ Good Friend!

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[mmbl]

DL TO PORT OF SAN DIEGO: Just an FYI
( I can't find where I posted this yesterday): it's only $60-120. To rent a car for a day, one way from Anaheim to San Diego or about the same RT to San Diego for 3 days , which we may do if we end up flying into SD. We may very likely rent a car if our friends aren't driving down from N. Ca. through Anaheim. If you're interested in car pooling from DL area hotels, I'll keep track and we can make more definitive plans as we get closer.
Maria

 

[davidls]

DAVIDLS
It is really inexpensive to rent a car, or van, for a day. I'll check my friends plans and if they are flying down, then there is a good chance we'll rent a vehicle. Once we confirm how many we are (2,4,6,8) we can decide on size vehicle. Rates are between '$60-$120.
Have you looked at and/or decided on hotel? Spouse suggested staying on property until I told him how much more the DL hotels were compared to the 'good neighbor' hotels.

Maria, Call me David - my wife has a few other names she calls me. (But I can't mention them on here though!!!) Count Donna and I in on your car/van pooling. We would enjoy the ride with everyone. Thanks Maria for doing the checking on this for us. We appreciate your help.

Yes we have looked and pretty much decided we are going to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We like staying on property for easier access to the parks. We are WDW Annual Pass holders, and always stay on property there. (We're spoiled I know!!!) Our TA will be making the reservations at the Disneyland Hotel for us as soon as Disney opens up the dates for 2014.

 

[davidls]

I think it's 10 or 20 for platinum. I know in April when I was talking to this one gal at Castaway Cay about the EBPC she said it was her favorite cruise long story short she said she was a platinum member but "a real one. I go on the 7 day plus cruises. Or the 14 day ones. You're a fake platinum if you go on 4 day ones." I started laughing.

(And in all fairness I go on 7 day plus cruises because I feel like I can't relax on 3-4 day ones and if I'm flying in...)

Crud. I'm fake. I guess I'll have to turn in all those gold gifts and extra OBC that I've received.

Looks like we are a fake as well Steve!!! We took one 3 day cruise on the Wonder, and a B2B 4 day and 3 day on the Dream!!! The main reason we did the B2B on the Dream, after doing the 3 day on the Wonder we knew just 3 or 4 days by their selves was not long enough to truly unwind for a vacation. We have even talked about doing a B2B2B on the Dream, or a B2B on the Fantasy. We are really looking forward to this 14 day Panama Canal Cruise on the Wonder. Gotta love those sea days!!!! Our next plan, sometime in the future, is to do the last 7 day Med cruise and stay on board for the Transatlantic cruise bringing the ship back home to the states. Making that one a total of 21 day cruise!!!

 

[davidls]

why doesn't Disney offer transportation to the port in CA like they do in FL? We are also trying to decide if we fly into LA and stay a couple of days at DL then figure out how to get to the port or if we just fly into San Diego the day before and figure out how to get to the port. There's 4 of us..really don't want to think about driving in CA from what I hear about it!
We just got back from WDW...drove from Long Island to FL and realized we're getting older and not to thrilled with 18 hours of driving! Stayed at Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge and LOVED it!

Shelljay, I emailed DCL and asked them if they plan to offer transfers from the Disneyland hotels to the San Diego Port for the East Bound Panama Canal cruise in 2014. Their reply was they have no plans right now to offer any transfers to the San Diego Port. Maybe if they get enough requests they may offer transfers.......................who knows.

 

[davidls]

We have done the Inaugural Cruise to Alaska & Hawaii. Everyone we met told us that we had to do the Panama Cruise.....Now I know why....
Not only going through the locks was amazing, just being on the longer cruises is great. Loved the port of calls....Cabo & Puerto Vallarta are so beautiful....looking forward to going back & bring the Wonder home!

any questions, be happy to answer....

Besides, the Wonder is our home away from home. I was great to see "our extended Family, cruisers & CM alike!

not to mention some of the entertainment/ Mike Super/ Good Friend!

Robin & Angel "D"

to Robin "D" (Robin & Angel "D") to the cruise. So glad ya'll are joining us on the cruise. We are really looking forward going thru the Panama Canal locks, and for this longer cruise. Thanks for offering to answer our questions. I'm sure there will be some questions for you as we go along here. To start things off here, question wise, how early did you get up the day of the crossing to get a good spot up on the top deck for a good view? And, do you have a pics you wouldn't mind sharing of your crossing?

 

[mmbl]

David, we have premium annual passes in Fl. and will likely renew before the cruise. I'm considering the pass that covers both Ca. and Fl. assuming there is a good likelihood of getting the hotel discount on property. In Fl. we never have a problem but there are so many hotels on property. Do you find you can easily get a Passholder rate at the Ca. properties? Which of them are we most likely to get the discount? Which of the hotels would you recommend and why? Thanks!
Maria

 

[kdeans1010]

(I didn't want to bash anyone who does 3-4 days. It was just funny that this woman was going on and on....)


Driving through California isn't as bad as you'd think. If you're from the east coast it's not as scary. I grew up in So Cal and it was fine. Now I'm in upstate Washington and relish when my drive is 30 minutes behind a tractor. Although I'm irked now it's taking me over an hour to drive to school (I don't know if any of you read the news about the bridge collapse in Washington. That was right near me. It's right before I take the exit to school).

I am looking at being a quarter way paid for on my end. My friends have yet to pay, but I'm near there and yay! Cozumel with a margarita in my hand.... that's what I'm looking forward to as I'm doing biology homework.

 

[davidls]

David, we have premium annual passes in Fl. and will likely renew before the cruise. I'm considering the pass that covers both Ca. and Fl. assuming there is a good likelihood of getting the hotel discount on property. In Fl. we never have a problem but there are so many hotels on property. Do you find you can easily get a Passholder rate at the Ca. properties? Which of them are we most likely to get the discount? Which of the hotels would you recommend and why? Thanks!
Maria

Maria, I'm sorry if I misled you. We live in Florida and have annual passes at Walt Disney World. We have never been to Disneyland. But, it is up on the top of our bucket list. We saw that Disney had this Panama Canal Cruise for 2014 and since it is up on the top of the ol' bucket list as well, we thought this would be a good opportunity to do both together. I'm sorry I can't answer your questions about a passholder rate on any of the hotels at Disneyland. Way back when this thread first started, I met Steve, (aka dsnydaddy), who lives in CA. He told me about the different hotels at Disneyland. If I remember correctly, I believe he said he has stayed at all of them. He likes the Disneyland Hotel best. It is the hotel that Disney built when they first built Disneyland. Of course it has been up dated over the years but it is the original hotel, and you can see some of the original areas and furnishings. A bit of nostalgia of the early years of Disneyland. It is in the middle range, pricing wise, of the three hotels at Disneyland. Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is the most expensive, then it is the Disneyland Hotel, and then Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. I hope this info helps some Maria.

 

[dsnydaddy]

(I didn't want to bash anyone who does 3-4 days. It was just funny that this woman was going on and on....)


Driving through California isn't as bad as you'd think. If you're from the east coast it's not as scary. I grew up in So Cal and it was fine. Now I'm in upstate Washington and relish when my drive is 30 minutes behind a tractor. Although I'm irked now it's taking me over an hour to drive to school (I don't know if any of you read the news about the bridge collapse in Washington. That was right near me. It's right before I take the exit to school).

I am looking at being a quarter way paid for on my end. My friends have yet to pay, but I'm near there and yay! Cozumel with a margarita in my hand.... that's what I'm looking forward to as I'm doing biology homework.

No offense taken! I think it's funny too! People say the darnest things. I heard about that bridge. And in pretty bummed, I have to go that direction on our way to our Alaskan cruise.

 

[spacecanada]

We are now booked on this cruise. We are hoping that we will both be able to get the time off work but it is too early to make the requests. Fingers crossed that it all works out. We have been wanting to do a Disney cruise again and the Panama Canal so this will be perfect. This will be our fourth Disney cruise and second on the Wonder.

I have not read the previous 38 pages in this thread yet. Any word on whether or not there will be a FE exchange on this cruise?

 

[dsnydaddy]

I'm not sure about Florida AP rates at the CA properties. Couldn't hurt to ask. They do have AP rates for DL AP's and during off season (which September would certainly qualify) and sometimes the savings can be substantial. During peak times though, I don't think that the savings is more than 10%. I've never stayed at the Grand Californian but I've walked through it often and it is a magnificent Hotel. Rooms are small than the DL Hotel though. As far as Paradise Peir goes... I'd rather stay at a good neighbor hotel. Cheaper with better quality.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Good to have you! Spacecanada.

 

[kdeans1010]

No offense taken! I think it's funny too! People say the darnest things. I heard about that bridge. And in pretty bummed, I have to go that direction on our way to our Alaskan cruise.

We get a temp bridge in mid-June. I can't wait. The big rigs are tushy holes and the little tiny cars that like to cut off the big rigs are even bigger tushy holes.


Welcome Space Canada! Yep there's a FE list.

 

[Shelljay]

I know I saw it somewhere in one of these pages how far it is from DL to San Diego but I can't find it anywhere now. Trying also to determine whether to fly from NY to San Diego directly and whether it's better to do it early in the day or in the evening, so as to not have as much jet lag. Anyone flying from NY to San Diego? Are there multiple airport choices in San Diego? Advice please
Also trying to figure out if I should rebook the cruise through DVC using my vacation points or leave it as a "cash cruise"