PopFla

I totally missed that. My old eyes ain't what they used to be. :o Good catch, moki'smommy. (y)

The list of prohibited items includes the below. Whether DCL would consider a wagon to be a "transport device" is not clear. Personally, I think you'd find it rather cumbersome in the narrow hallways and on the small elevators. And on Castaway Cay I would think the skinny tires would tend to bog down in the sand.

• Wheeled transport devices other than those required by Guests with disabilities
  

The light thing is on the Dream and Fantasy. It is common in many European hotels. On the ships.....I don't mind the light bit' date=' but it also controls the AC. If you remove the card when you leave, you'll come back to a hot room. That's no fun. As a result, we use a card other than a KTTW card and leave the lights and AC on. I'd happily turn off the lights and leave the AC on, but that's not an option.[/quote']

 

We also use an old KTTW card and leave it in place when we leave the room. However, on a few of our cruises we have returned to the room to find that the room steward had lifted the card high enough to turn off the lights and the A/C. :( They subsequently honored our request to leave the card in place.

Is the light thing certain ships?

 

We didn't need a card to turn on the lights in our room on the Magic.

Only on the two newer ships, Dream and Fantasy.

The owner has been found by the Shutters folks thanks to the number printed in tiny numbers at the bottom of the photos. USB drive is being reunited with the couple.

PopFla - I see you have sailed many times on DCL. Have you ever booked a Concierge cabin? If so, have you done it on the ships with the lounge and without the lounge (suite room instead)? Looking at booking and definitely want Concierge but can't decide on the best option. Thanks!

Yes. We did a concierge cruise on Magic in 2009, before the lounge was added. We had suite 8102, which was wonderful ! Despite the lack of a lounge, the on board concierges were great and were able to accommodate every request we had. Go for it !

The issue of liquids in checked bags is not one for a vote or a recommendation. It is a violation of DCL policy. You are permitted to bring in any beverages you wish in your carry on luggage' date=' subject to the restrictions on alcohol. DCL is quite generous in this regard--any sodas, water, or whatever is permitted, provided it is in your carry on. No, you cannot check it and have it delivered, whether in or out of a piece of luggage. The porters will often take and tag it--they don't work for DCL and they do want your tip.

 

If you violate DCL policy in this regard, your beverages may be removed from your luggage and you're able to claim them after the cruise. If they are not removed and a bottle, can, or whatever leaks and does damage to the property of another, DCL will charge you for cleaning, repair, or replacement of the property of another guest.[/quote']

 

The policy referred to pertains specifically only to alcoholic beverages in your checked baggage. No mention is made in that policy regarding water/soda/juice, etc. The only liquid that you are required to bring in carry on baggage is the permitted quantities of wine and/or beer.

 

When I said "recommended" it was my personal recommendation based on prior soggy experience caused by other people's baggage.:eek:

There's no way to know your assigned rotation before embarkation day. Changes can be made once you board the ship. The CM who checks you in can tell you where to go on the ship to make changes, and the info should also be listed on the daily Navigator you receive at check in.

Also, bear in mind that if you want to skip Carioca's for the entire 7 nights, it's going to throw off your ability to have the same servers during the cruise.

It is strongly recommended that you NOT pack bulk liquids in your checked bags. There have been a lot of incidents in which bottles, both glass and plastic, have been broken resulting in soaked luggage that soaks everything below it. In the case of glass bottles, it also results in shattered glass throughout your baggage.

The Dream class can go though the new locks....Since the 3 new vessels will only be about 5' date='000 m/t bigger.........They should also be able to go though the new locks.

 

AKK[/quote']

 

Since the "ducktails" have been added to both Magic and Wonder, they no longer fit in the old locks. Wonder was the first cruise ship to use the new locks when headed to the west coast this year. The new locks can handle ships up to 1,200 feet long.

He's the gold standard for me. CD on my first cruise and now when I hear the chime I think "That's not Brent!".

Same - he was our first CD and we had him on three subsequent cruises. I do the same thing with the chimes. A very distinct voice.

Brent Davies, one of DCL's first Cruise Directors, left the cruise line about a year ago and is now happily ensconced in a new role at Disneyland.

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/watch/35368313/the-aussie-boss-of-disneyland/#page1

Alex Ocampo. He was our server on our very first DCL cruise in 2005, which was on the Magic. We have seen him on several subsequent trips, most recently on the Dream in December 2016. Great guy, experienced, knows the menus inside out and backwards, known to perform tricks and practical jokes, like when he slipped a "whoopie cushion" onto my chair as I was sitting down. He was due for a new contract, and might end up on Magic again.

They've also rescued someone from RCCL... 5 hours later! [emoji33]https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2015/01/13/us/man-overboard-cruise-rescue/index.html

It would be interesting to see just how many rescues DCL has made.

DCL has changed the "benefits" of Castaway Club membership effective this month. I put the word benefits in quotes because I see very little that make these changes beneficial to members. :(

For example, the reception with the Captain and Officers will now only be held on sailings of 8 nights or longer. This amounts to a minuscule percentage of DCL sailings.

The changes are listed at https://secure.cdn1.wdpromedia.com/media/wdpro-assets/dcl/castaway-club/disney-cruise-line-castaway-club-benefits.pdf

Am I alone in thinking that these changes are hardly an improvement ?

I don't know the link' date=' but there is a webcam so you can watch the ship go thru the canal...at least some parts of it.[/quote']

 

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

 

There are tabs on that page for several different PC webcams.

Fantasy is scheduled to go into dry dock on Saturday, April 29.

We were on Wonder right after it came out of dry dock a few years ago (when they enclosed the area above Cove Cafe) and they were still finishing up work throughout the ship all during our cruise - - grinding, sanding, painting, varnishing, etc.

Has to be more than just painting. I've seen them touching up paint on the stern art while at Castaway Cay. Those items are welded in place. They must have needed some repair work that couldn't be done in place.

....from the stern of Disney Dream. It's rumored he's been abducted by those nefarious dolls from iasw. DCL has not commented, and it's unknown if a reward has been offered. Details on the 11 o'clock news.

I haven't been to Antigua in a long while, so I really can't help with specific suggestions. Just be aware that many beaches on Antigua are "clothing optional" and many others allow/encourage topless bathing and sunbathing.

...and passengers were not able to disembark because U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents had already gone home for the evening.

That part I really don't understand. The ship had never left the pier, much less the country, so why would CBP even be involved ?

On our first DCL cruise in Feb '05, Magic made three attempts over about an hour and a half, but the combined wind and currents kept pushing the ship away from the dredged channel that leads to the dock. We ended up spending the day at sea slowly cruising toward Port Canaveral.

We had a similar problem on the Magic (essentially a twin of Wonder) on the transatlantic cruise last May. Fairly rough seas hitting the ship almost broadside caused a lot of creaking and an incredibly loud banging, which Engineering insisted was caused by the waves hitting the hull. That noise kept up for about a day and a half until we were in calmer waters. Our stateroom was on the 7th deck, starboard side, very close to the stern.

Just make sure your wife has your required travel documents - - passport or birth certificate, etc. -- while you go drop off the car.

EPCOT used to sell name badges made to look very like the name badges CMs wear in the parks. True' date=' they were not identical, but they were close.[/quote']

 

I wouldn't say they look "very like" CM's badges. I have one from many years ago. It is dark green with white lettering, says "Guest of Honor" over the name, Walt Disney World below, and has an image of Tigger to the left of the name. The only semblance to a standard CM name tag is the shape. Our grandsons had similar ones that were bright red with white lettering. True CM badges are white with dark lettering, or blue with white lettering.