Should we book?

[saleeb]

Moki'smommy, chance of course. We are now considering the Panama Canal cruise! The airfare doesn't seem so bad. We were really excited to try Castaway Cay, but the Panama cruise doesn't go there. However, 14 days is amazing. There are several days at sea on that cruise. Can you elaborate as to how that was for you? I you enjoy this cruise?

[moki'smommy]

We did this cruise in 2005 when my daughter was 14. At that time, it was the best vacation we'd ever done. (we've since done 24 nights of cruising in Europe, which might top it). We started with 3 days at Disneyland, where we'd never been before. That was fun. The only "not so great" part was that despite an entire year to work out the bugs, they hadn't integrated things well between Disneyland and DCL. But it was all OK in the end. I just had to insist that they WOULD pick us up at our hotel which was what our paperwork said.

 

OK the ship. First, there were a total of 15 teens on the cruise and every one of them was something special--not your run of the mill "bratty" teen. 10 years later, my daughter is still in touch with a couple of them. So, a great bunch of kids. Roy Disney was on the cruise--a lovely gentleman. He was in a cat 3 because by the time he decided he wanted to cruise, the 1s and 2s were sold. The story was that he refused to bump a guest. We saw him posing for pictures with guests, etc. but we took the approach that he was on a family vacation and opted to not bother him in that way. We did have a brief chat by the elevator once, and saw him frequently around the ship. Tom McAlpin (then president of the cruise line) was also on the cruise. Susan Egan (Belle on Broadway) was brought on board for one night only and did a super concert. The recently retired director of the canal visitor's center was on board and did a series of talks on the canal, Panama, the native people of Panama, their art, etc (each of these was a separate talk). She also did one geared just to the teens. There was a lot of "keeping us informed" about going thru the canal, how it worked, etc. People were lined up along the route to see the "Mickey Boat."

 

We were kept plenty busy on the sea days. First, I can be quite happy with a good book and ocean breezes in my hair as long as I have a glass of tea...on top of that, we had a social media group that organized various activities in addition to those DCL had for us.

 

It is the only time I've been to Curacao, where we did a private snorkel excursion. It's a lovely island. Lots of fun. The stops in Mexico were...Mexico. That says it all, and it isn't one of our favorite places. Still, as I pointed out to my daughter's geography teacher (the only teacher who criticized our trip!) that she learned a lot more seeing starving animals than she would have reading that "the per capita income is X." You can read about people digging out the canal by hand, how many died, etc., but when you SEE how big the canal is...it means a whole lot more. We marveled at the chunk of the Magic's hull that had been goughed out when the canal captain rammed her side into the workings of the canal on the westbound earlier that year. (it was later mounted and auctioned off with the proceeds going to a charity). There was a hurricane that altered one of our ports on the West coast--I think we skipped Cabo and went somewhere else.

 

I'm not sure what to tell you. While the ship was "sold out," many cabins were couples only...so the overall number of guests was somewhat lower than typical. We had great service. It was, overall, a very superior trip and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if the dates and situation worked out.

[saleeb]

Moki'smommy, thank you for such a great description of your trip! It sounds amazing! I find it funny that the geography teacher had a problem. Go figure! My one daughter will actually be learning about the canal this year. Perfect timing. Oh, and Roy Disney!!! That is so awesome! He sounds like a fantastic person and I love stories of good people. It sounds like your experience was made extra special with the people that were a part of it all. We will need to make up our mind by Sunday. Thanks for your insight.

[stingfancb]

Moki'smommy - I was on that same cruise. Thanks for bringing back so many wonderful memories. Did you take part in the Murder Mystery? Also, do you happen to remember the Captain announcing all the Brown Boobies on the top deck? He was referring to a type of bird...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moki'smommy]

Moki'smommy - I was on that same cruise. Thanks for bringing back so many wonderful memories. Did you take part in the Murder Mystery? Also, do you happen to remember the Captain announcing all the Brown Boobies on the top deck? He was referring to a type of bird...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes to both of the above! For those who don't know...the murder mystery was a multi-day activity to occupy us on sea days with members of the cruise staff as the actors in the "who done it?"

 

They hysterical thing was that the Captain Tom had no idea what he was saying when he made the announcement about the birds as part of his normal noon update. However, several of the comedy acts picked up on it (yeah, Alfred and Seymour discussing Brown Boobies), and it became rather the joke of the cruise.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

Don't give up entirely on being able to snag a military rate for the September date. I know from experience that it's difficult to be quite so flexible when in uniform but if you can wait out sometimes in August they release Military (and FLR) rates. We have snagged a couple of last minute deals this way as like you we can drive to the port so don't have to figure in flights etc.

 

Good luck.

[moki'smommy]

Don't give up entirely on being able to snag a military rate for the September date. I know from experience that it's difficult to be quite so flexible when in uniform but if you can wait out sometimes in August they release Military (and FLR) rates. We have snagged a couple of last minute deals this way as like you we can drive to the port so don't have to figure in flights etc.

 

Good luck.

 

There is no way to know if or when FLR and/or military rates might become available. You can get an idea by looking to see which dates have cabin categories available. Example, Sept 5 and 12 are showing almost no availability, but Sept 19 has a lot. That doesn't tell me how many cabins are open in each category, but if there are only 3 categories open, that tells me that they are nearly full. Seeing 10 categories open tells me that something might happen.

 

FYI, a 4 night in August just announced VGT rates.

[chictravel227]

I am on the EBPC coming up this October, and we have a fabulous group going. There are at least a few parents who are taking their kids out of school and have it approved because it is a learning experience.

 

It is a great value right now! 14 days of Disney taking care of me. How could this possibly be bad?

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

There is no way to know if or when FLR and/or military rates might become available. You can get an idea by looking to see which dates have cabin categories available. Example' date=' Sept 5 and 12 are showing almost no availability, but Sept 19 has a lot. That doesn't tell me how many cabins are open in each category, but if there are only 3 categories open, that tells me that they are nearly full. Seeing 10 categories open tells me that something might happen.

 

FYI, a 4 night in August just announced VGT rates.[/quote']

 

I can only speak from my own experience of Miltary/FLR rates and from that experience we have secured a sailing for the past three years when the dates were released in August/September and then last year we got another one in November so there is always a chance but of course it is a waiting game but living in Central Florida we can go at the drop of a hat.

 

I will book this years trip when the rates come out and would bet my house on getting one.

[saleeb]

Ok, so we have to make a decision today because the MTO rate for the Panama sailing has to be booked by today. This is what I posted on another site and since I am too lazy to re-type--I am copy/pasting. :)

Hello all. I have a dilemma that I am hoping you all could give insight to. We have been holding out for a year hoping for an MTO on the Sept 5 or Sept 19 sailing of the Fantasy to the Caribean. It will be a surprise for our kiddos, who have fantasized about a Disney Cruise for years. We have 5 kids so we would need 2 rooms. This would be a first cruise. Anyhow, as you know, there hasn't been an MTO listed for those sailings and we aren't sure what to do. Keep waiting and hoping and lose our chance? Go crazy and spend $9,000 and just do it!? Or take advantage of the MTO rate for the October 23 sailing for the Panama Cruise, which would basically cost us the same amount of money but for a vacation that is twice as long? That might seem like a no brainer thing to do. Same price for 2 times the amount of cruise! Here are our hesitations....(1) the ship. My one daughter got us all excited about the Fantasy ship. (2) the ports of call. We really wanted to experience Castaway Cay or Key (not sure of the name). (3) Wifi being reliable. We homeschool our kids but they do an online school that requires use of the internet. For a 7 day cruise we could adjust their schedule so that they can just kick back and not do school for those 7 days. However, for a 14 day cruise plus a day earlier for travel etc. I'm not sure if we can not do school work for that amount of time. If my high school aged son could do at least a couple of hours of online work while on the boat, that would make it doable. I know that you have to pay for the wifi but does anyone know how reliable it is?

 

Any insights are appreciated.

[saleeb]

I should also clarify that we thought we would only be bringing 4 of our 5 kids but now we know that we would be bringing all 5 and guess what? So, the pricing I detailed includes all 7 of us.

[moki'smommy]

OK, I trust that you have compared the military rates to the *GT rates and that the MTO is better?

 

As to the internet on board, we've had no reliability issues in the last couple of years. The cost of the internet is based on how much you use. On our last 14 night cruise, I bought the 1 gig package for $89 and we used about half of it. Also, check on embarkation day to sign up for 50 mb free IF that is available on your cruise.

 

The ship--we honestly prefer the smaller ships.

Castaway--a lovely beach day....but still, it is a beach. Yes, it had everything you might want in a beach, but it is still a beach.

 

You can also do internet while in port. Many of the ports will have a McDonald's or Starbucks where the purchase of a soft drink will get you a code that is good for the entire day...alternatively, there are places where you can get internet for $3 for the day. The crew will know where most of these places are, or look them up on line before you go!

[saleeb]

Thank you all for your tips, replies, and insight! Moki'smommy, we did look and the MTO is the cheaper deal by about $600 for both rooms total. We are nervous because it is still a lot of money for us but twice the number of days convinced us and we called tonight to book. I was set to pay but they put a courtesy hold for us instead while we decide whether or not to include the insurance. Either way, we are paying for it tomorrow (unless some amazing new sale comes out)! We are very excited!!! The only thing is that they didn't have adjoining rooms but the rooms are side by side. That is no biggie but that does mean that my husband and I will be sleeping separately. :( Thank you all so much for all of your help! You have all really helped a bunch.

[moki'smommy]

Thank you all for your tips, replies, and insight! Moki'smommy, we did look and the MTO is the cheaper deal by about $600 for both rooms total. We are nervous because it is still a lot of money for us but twice the number of days convinced us and we called tonight to book. I was set to pay but they put a courtesy hold for us instead while we decide whether or not to include the insurance. Either way, we are paying for it tomorrow (unless some amazing new sale comes out)! We are very excited!!! The only thing is that they didn't have adjoining rooms but the rooms are side by side. That is no biggie but that does mean that my husband and I will be sleeping separately. :( Thank you all so much for all of your help! You have all really helped a bunch.

 

You are most welcome. Have a great cruise.

 

OK, I'm not going to resolve your "buy it or not?" question, but.....

 

DO NOT purchase the DCL insurance. Go to "insure my trip.com" where you can find several good companies who will provide pre-existing condition coverage at no added charge if you purchase within 14 or 21 days of cruise booking, provide one free child plan with each adult covered, etc. The DCL insurance is some of the worst insurance out there. It offers exactly ONE good point which is that if you file a claim and it is rejected for any reason, DCL will apply a percentage of your cruise cost toward another cruise within a short time frame. (I think it is a year). There are lots of better companies out there. TravelGuard and WorldWide trip protector are two that my TA has recommended. Most major companies offer a very low end plan, and then for a very few dollars more offer a much better plan--again, compare, but going one notch up from the basic offers a lot of additional coverage for almost no additional money.

Edited August 3, 2015 by moki'smommy

[saleeb]

Thank you for the great advice, Moki'smommy. I will be sure to NOT book the insurance with DCL and I will certainly check out the other companies you mention. I have learned so much from you. In fact, I never considered the 14 day Panama Canal cruise until you mentioned it. So, do you have any insight into our rooms? We are on the Wonder and are in two side by side rooms 6103 and 6105. I don't expect much and will be happy to just be on the ship, but do you know if they offer a pull down bunk? One of the rooms will have 4 of us while the other will have 3.

[moki'smommy]

They will have the pull down bunk. They are obviously on deck 6, midship but toward the aft. This is a good location. They are cat 11, which means single bath rather than split bath. If running that many people thru the shower gets to be an issue, anyone 18 or older can shower in the locker room for the fitness center/spa. They are next to each other, but not connected with an interior door.

 

Want a trick? Do you have an old baby monitor? If you want to know what is happening in the kid cabin, place the monitor in there and you can listen in. Also, DCL will issue you a "mom key" so that you can open the door of the other cabin. It won't be good for getting on or off the ship, charging, or anything other than door opening.

 

Last time I knew, Christiaan was the Cruise Director on the Wonder--he is our all time favorite CD, so hope he is on for your trip. The long cruises are totally amazing. You will love it.

 

Do remember that tips are not included in your cruise fare. Standard tips are $12 per night of cruise X number of guests in cabin. On a 14 night cruise, that is $168 per person. Yes, adds up fast. Money saving tricks--DCL photos are very costly. Carry your camera everywhere. The character attendants (NOT the ship photogs) are happy to take your family photos with your camera. If they are offering the 50kb free internet deal on your cruise, each cabin can get it--go to the internet cafe before midnight on embarkation day to sign up. You can have a great time on the ship without spending much at all beyond the cruise fare and tips. You don't need the overpriced spa. EVERYTHING in the kid programming is "free," including things that have a cost if done outside the program. For example, if they do "Invade the Arr-cade," the games are all set to free play for that hour. If they do "Make a t-shirt," everyone gets a free shirt to decorate. If they do "smoothie party," every kid there at that time gets a free smoothie. There is typically a deal where if you have the embarkation photo done, you get a coupon that can be dropped off at Shutters on the first day for a chance to win a free photo. Remember to return the kid wrist bands or you will be charged for them--they cannot be used at WDW or elsewhere. If you go up to the spa on embarkation day, there is a drawing at 3 pm where you can win a free spa service.

 

Soft drinks are free at the beverage station and in the dining rooms. From a bar or roaming server, they cost almost $3 each--my kiddo was threatened that if I ever saw a soda charge, it would be her last cruise. Laundry--$2 to wash, $2 to dry. Bring your own laundry products and save buying them on the ship. Tide Pods work well, but so do other varieties. Yeah, on a 14 nighter, you'll be doing laundry.

Ask away for any other questions.

[ljandgb]

I'm not mokismommy, but I can say that if DCL booked you in a room that sleeps 4, then there is a bed that drops out of the ceiling over the sofa bed. The room for your 3 may or may not have it.

 

We were on that deck on the Magic. It was a great place to be. I'm jealous of the PC cruise. I'd love that, but we don't homeschool, and the thought of taking 4 older kids out of school that long gives me hives. I'd probably have to disenroll them!

[saleeb]

Moki'smommy, thank you so much for the great tips! I will issue the same threat to my kids about the soda! You have been so incredibly helpful. Thanks again! ljandgb, thanks for your input and I understand about pulling the kids out of school. We have only begun homeschooling really and only have one year under our belt, but it does have great advantages for travel. Thanks again!

[chictravel227]

Saleeb - welcome! Excited that y'all will be joining us crazies for this trip (crazy in a good way)!

 

Check out the cruise meets here and elsewhere to find out everything that is going on.

[saleeb]

Thank you Chictravel227, I just made it official and paid for the cruise. I'm locked in now! And moki'smommy, thanks for the info on paying tips...we went ahead and prepaid. I can't believe we actually booked! Thanks everyone.

[browns3030]

I just saw that you went ahead and booked...Congratulations!

 

I was going to tell you before I saw that... Don't lose hope!! We sailed in Nov 2013 on a Military rate. It was not even offered as a special until about a month before sail date. I booked 27 days before sail date. We went on the 5 day Magic out of Miami. Had a balcony room for 4 of us and only paid $1492! It is a great saving if you can get the military rate.

 

They generally do not offer many military rates during the busy summer months. My guess is that we will start to see them popping sooner rather than later...

 

Have a wonderful time!!

Edited August 7, 2015 by browns3030
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