March 29, 2013 8 Nights on the Magic

[urbkols]

Thanks Christi! 20 I think is good also that way it's not too overwhelming.

 

[stsomewhere]

We were in a group of 40 cabins. Way too many.

 

[BlueMarlin]

Amy and Annie are in the FE list.

FE Participant Summary
Cabin Count 17
People Count 58
Adult Count 31
Teen Count 16
Child Count 12


Cabin # Name (First) DIS Board Name
1042 Tiffany LuvTheEars
1048 Debbie Nanato2
2085 Michelle urbkols
2639 Erik / Christi BlueMarlin / StSomewhere
5509 Amy huskers
7126 Denise -
7514 Michelle mmaines1
7562 Amy disneymom13176
7620 Misty Mistylynn526
7621 Russell -
7622 Bernie -
7624 Annie Trinity524
6570 Heidi GerrysWifeHlt
8536 Tiffany Agent_Wendy_Pleakley
Gty? Nancy nerick8
Gty? Abby QueenEleanor
7124 Mom DisneyCruising



DIS MEET ONLY
2608 Susan Wife2aBadge
6103 Matt -
6605 Jennifer -

 

[BlueMarlin]

Please let me know if you see a mistake.

Let's close the early bird group (FE#1) at 17 cabins, and start a second list. Any objections?

I will offer to manage list #2 also.

 

[BlueMarlin]

This may be a stupid question, but since this is our first cruise I have no clue. What all do we pay for on the ship and what is included?

Disney is far more generous than other lines from this aspect, or maybe the view is that you pay up front, but get less hassle on board. Some are mentioned already, but I think of the savings on board. You can have a very low on-board charge if you know when it is free.

- Free late night kids club - up to $10 per kid per hour elsewhere.
- Most lines charge for soda everywhere - free in dining room and at fountain machine.
- Hot drinks after dinner are free (hot chocolate, coffee, and coffee drinks), but you have to pay for them in the coffee lounge.
- No casino donations.
- BYOB is OK, but strictly verboten on other lines.

We dont need the babysitting anymore, but we were running up $20 to $40 a night in cash babysitting before Disney.

Between coffee drinks, soda, and the BYOB, I can save several hundred dollars per person.

One item to remember is that when you have to pay for something that a waiter brings you, there is an automatic 15% tip (servis compris) is added to the bill on your Key to the World card. You can add extra if you want, but know that servis compris is already there.

 

[BlueMarlin]

For room service, we bring a stack of singles to tip the delivery person. Delivery time can vary from 5 minutes to 45 minutes on a bell curve. As Christi said, it is all free, except for pop and candy (check the menu for specifics). We really like to get milk and cookies at night, or a cheese and fruit tray.

It is nice to have food in the room, just for icing on the cake. Who knows, you might get hungry on the way to dinner.

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

Looking at booking this cruise for my DDs spring break! With the kids sail free who can resist. We don't have a cabin number yet waiting to hear from TA but would like to join the FE and the meet. In my cabin will be myself, my mom and my DD Madison who is 11. This will be our 2nd Disney cruise so kinda new to the FE thing. Last cruise was a last min booking on a 3 day cruise.

Thanks,
Tanya

 

[BlueMarlin]

Looking at booking this cruise for my DDs spring break! With the kids sail free who can resist. We don't have a cabin number yet waiting to hear from TA but would like to join the FE and the meet. In my cabin will be myself, my mom and my DD Madison who is 11. This will be our 2nd Disney cruise so kinda new to the FE thing. Last cruise was a last min booking on a 3 day cruise.

Thanks,
Tanya

Welcome glad to have you onboard.
You can read the previous posts to get an idea on fish extenders. Will have you starting the second list and we have 5 weeks to fill that up. We will also cap that one between 15 and 20 cabins.

If you have any other questions this group is quite knowledgeable and happy to help. There are some good answers to new questions while you are catching up.

 

[Trinity524]

TA just told me that Disney puts people in the Hotel Galvez the night before. We are staying at the Tremont comes with parking for the 8 days.

 

[TrixieM]

Hi Everyone,

We're excited about going on our first cruise!! We were a bit hesitant about a cruise but the KSF hooked us. We are:
Mary Beth
Nate
Isabelle (15)
Amelia (11)

We are from Cary NC and previously lived in Charlotte NC and Upstate SC. Any other Carolina cruisers on this journey?

We have GTY status so we don't have a room yet. We'd love to attend the meet and participate in the FE. This our first time so we would like to experience lots of new things. I have signed up for a Palo brunch and am thinking about excursions for CC and KW. We are hesitant about signing up for a Palo dinner because we would like to reserve dinner as family time. It seems like everyone goes their own way during the day and a family dinner seems like a great way to catch up with everyone.

Look forward to meeting you!!

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

TA just told me that Disney puts people in the Hotel Galvez the night before. We are staying at the Tremont comes with parking for the 8 days.

That's why it was sold out! I have no idea where we are staying yet. We plan on driving, leaving on Wed when school gets out.

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

Hi Everyone,

We're excited about going on our first cruise!! We were a bit hesitant about a cruise but the KSF hooked us. We are:
Mary Beth
Nate
Isabelle (15)
Amelia (11)

We are from Cary NC and previously lived in Charlotte NC and Upstate SC. Any other Carolina cruisers on this journey?

We have GTY status so we don't have a room yet. We'd love to attend the meet and participate in the FE. This our first time so we would like to experience lots of new things. I have signed up for a Palo brunch and am thinking about excursions for CC and KW. We are hesitant about signing up for a Palo dinner because we would like to reserve dinner as family time. It seems like everyone goes their own way during the day and a family dinner seems like a great way to catch up with everyone.

Look forward to meeting you!!

I'm not from nc but I'm close. I have family that lives in Mooresville, nc and family in Greer, Sc. My dd is also 11.

 

[urbkols]

We were in a group of 40 cabins. Way too many.

40 cabins!!! You need a 1 suitcase for the FEs!!! On our last cruise we only had 13 cabins so not too bad! DH is already unhappy I'm doing another FE on this one but he's not the one who has to pack the suitcases!!

 

[TrixieM]

I'm not from nc but I'm close. I have family that lives in Mooresville, nc and family in Greer, Sc. My dd is also 11.

Hi! Hope our DD's can connect!! My DD is a big pin trader and can't wait for the cruise! We've spent lots of time in downtown Greer. We miss Gerard's which closed soon after we moved to NC!

My sis lives in Atlanta so we get to GA about once a year.

 

[loncon04]

>Is the Palo dinner worth it? I've heard the food on DCL is better than a lot of the other cruise lines... I want to spend time with the kids but I'm beginning to think a night away at the Palo doesn't sound too bad either? Is it like a steakhouse type thing? I guess what I'm getting at is what makes it better than the already paid for food?
>Also Im afraid my kids are going to love the kids clubs and want to be in there a lot if that is the case are there things for adults to do? Dont get me wrong this vacation is definitely for my kids BUT if they ditch us cuz "mickey is way cooler than mom and dad"... what do we do?
>Park hopper tickets... Which parks can you "hop" from and which places would be best for a 6 and 4 year old? Never been to WDW. From AZ so we just go to DL.
>Also I am thinking we need to be part of the meet and greet since we are probably not going to have any other friends end up coming with us... every other time we have cruised we have gone with a group of 50+ other people we knew, and no kids. So this is going to be quite a change for us. Excited though! I hear so much good about DCL!

 

[loncon04]

One item to remember is that when you have to pay for something that a waiter brings you, there is an automatic 15% tip (servis compris) is added to the bill on your Key to the World card. You can add extra if you want, but know that servis compris is already there.

Does this 15% go on there if you order room service as well?

 

[BlueMarlin]

TA just told me that Disney puts people in the Hotel Galvez the night before. We are staying at the Tremont comes with parking for the 8 days.

We're at a hotel by the pier. Did prepaid port parking to avoid the shuttle buses and just walk off.

 

[BlueMarlin]

Does this 15% go on there if you order room service as well?

Room service is cash tip on delivery since the food has no cost to apply the tip against. If you are getting soda or candy that has a cost they might hit you with .25 cent tip on the KTTW card.

 

[stsomewhere]

That's why it was sold out! I have no idea where we are staying yet. We plan on driving, leaving on Wed when school gets out.

We are driving from Michigan. Our plan was to leave right after school on Wed. My son, matt , 14 qualified for dual enrollment and has a college class that night from 7- 10 pm. We will leave later than I thought.

We are staying at country inn and suites in Galveston. We e booked reservations at port for parking.

Christi

 

[BlueMarlin]

>Is the Palo dinner worth it? I've heard the food on DCL is better than a lot of the other cruise lines... I want to spend time with the kids but I'm beginning to think a night away at the Palo doesn't sound too bad either? Is it like a steakhouse type thing? I guess what I'm getting at is what makes it better than the already paid for food?
>Also Im afraid my kids are going to love the kids clubs and want to be in there a lot if that is the case are there things for adults to do? Don't get me wrong this vacation is definitely for my kids BUT if they ditch us cuz "mickey is way cooler than mom and dad"... what do we do?
>Park hopper tickets... Which parks can you "hop" from and which places would be best for a 6 and 4 year old? Never been to WDW. From AZ so we just go to DL.
>Also I am thinking we need to be part of the meet and greet since we are probably not going to have any other friends end up coming with us... every other time we have cruised we have gone with a group of 50+ other people we knew, and no kids. So this is going to be quite a change for us. Excited though! I hear so much good about DCL!

Lots of questions here but let's give this a try. #1 our family considers DCL a five-in one vacation. Each of us gets our own time on the ship, and then we get family time on the excursions and some of the events, and meals. Our kids enjoy cruising quite a bit because we don't make them all go together all as a family all the time and coordinate schedules.
There is plenty for adults to do. DCL has a vacation for everyone policy which enables the aforementioned family policy. They have an adult pool area where those under 18 are banished, and it is policed by the staff. There is an adult lounge area, with the same 18 and over policy at night, but it is all-ages during the day. There is also the family pool and the kiddy pool, and five kids club groups. On the Navigator, you will see the activities for each of the brackets, including a family and adult line. There are cooking things and wine tasting for adults. The movie theater runs continuously. Reading in the coffee bar and sneaking the adult only snacks from their case is yum. So EMBRACE Kids Club. They will even bring the kids food to dinner early, let them eat, and have them back in club by the entree so that you can enjoy your dinner after hanging with the kids for a bit at the start.
Christi and I also try to make friends on the ship. She is not a super-clubber, but I enjoy hanging with the adult party staff and cruise director in the evenings. I can also be found playing Jenga in the sports bar. She can generally be found lazing on the nice padded wooden deck chairs in the adult pool area.

Palo - worth it for Brunch and I enjoy dinner there. I had an interesting experience with the food staff and will post later.

More on the park hopper later, also we had some prior discussions on this being a red-day and less than optimal for hopping if the parks hit capacity.