Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Itineraries for Disney Cruise Line 2013 Announced

http://liveyourtraveldreams.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/2013-itineraries-on-disney-cruise-line/

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Trip Report Day 1 Disney Dream Cruise

Key to the World Card

Day one of our cruise. We get to the port a little before 11 AM and go quickly through check-in. Most of our paperwork was done online at home before we left.
I would advise you to wait to get a bracelet for your children for the clubs after you get on board. The lines are normally much shorter.

When you arrive at the terminal you are given a boarding group number. When your group number is called you can board the ship. One of the fun things about boarding the Disney ships is they announce your family to everyone as you get on the ship.

The cabins are not available until around 1:30 PM. When you get on the ship you can go to the buffet by the pool, grab a burger, pizza or sandwich, or go down to the Enchanted Garden on Deck 2. We opted for the Enchanted Garden since we had such a big group and had no problem finding seating for all 20 of us together. The buffet was nice and the Enchanted Garden is away from the chaos of everyone eating at once.

This is the ticket in your cabin that will tell you about your dining rotation.

After a nice lunch it was time to go to our cabin and get unpacked. Since we parked on level 3 of the garage and didn't check our bags we had everything with us. It didn't take that long to get everything ready for the four night cruise - a much different experience from our eleven night cruise last Christmas.

In our stateroom we had a ticket with our dining information on it and a Personal Navigator for the day. As you can see, there is more to do than there is time, so pick out a few 'must do's' and make sure you plan a bit of relaxation too!

The ship was decorated for Christmas. There was a large, great smelling gingerbread house in the main lobby.

The lifeboat drill was the nicest we have ever had. On the Dream you do not need to take/wear your life jacket. Our group met in the Walt Disney Theatre and it was quite comfortable to go through what to do in case of emergency.

After the drill it was time for the sail away party. This is another way Disney sets the mood for a great cruise. There are streamers, dancing, and a family friendly party atmosphere. The characters make their appearance in the show and a good time is had by all. We ran into the characters in the hallway on the way to the party - I love starting out the cruise with character encounters!

We enjoyed exploring the ship. The children's areas were amazing! I have included videos of the hand washing stations. I need these at home! There was a mini golf area, ping pong, shuffle board, a video interactive sports simulator, and all kinds of other fun things to do. By the way, all of those things are free!

We had late seating for dinner, which means we get to see the shows earlier. My kids LOVE the shows on the Disney ships so it is nice for them to still be awake during our show time. The other great thing about late seating is Dine and Play where the youth workers come and get your kids halfway through dinner so they can go play while you have a nice adult dinner after a bit of family time.

I was really looking forward to the new Animator's Palate. Although I enjoy the one on the Magic, the Dream has an interactive show with Nemo and friends. It was a lot of fun to watch and incredible technology. During your meal different characters swim by and the school of fish have a guess the formation game going periodically. Crush was very cute and funny.

We really enjoyed the experience and had a great wait staff! I really enjoyed my first day and night on the Dream. It was as wonderful as I anticipated it to be!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Trip Report Port Canaveral Parking and Terminal

Parking is only $5.95/dayDay of arrival through day of departure at the Radisson Hotel. I would recommend this option if you are going for a longer cruise or are in an RV. The Radisson does not charge more for RVs and all Credit Cards Accepted.

Parking at the port has gotten a whole lot better with the new parking garage. This is a great option for the shorter cruises! Whether you park in the terminal lots or parking garages, the rate* for the following cruises are: 3-day, $60; 4-day, $75; 5-day, $90, and 7-day, $120 for vehicles up to 20 feet in length. For vehicles longer than 20 feet, the rates are $104, $130, $156 and $208 respectively.

Preferred Parking is offered at Cruise Terminal 8 and is located right next to the terminal, the rate is $20.00 more than the standard parking rates, regardless of cruise length.

*Rates are subject to change without notice. Contact the Canaveral Port Authority at 321-783-7831 for the latest information.

DISABLED PARKING spaces are available and the fee is waived for vehicles that have special equipment, such as ramps, lifts, foot or hand controls; or display the Florida Toll Exemption permit. Call 800-983-2435, extension 2 to apply for an exemption form.

I would also recommend that you drop off your luggage before parking or park on the 1st level if you have luggage you want to have brought to your cabin. We parked on the 3rd level and had a very easy time with checking in and security, but had to keep up with all our bags until our cabin was ready.

I was very happy with the ease of parking at the port. It is a great time saver and worth the extra money for the shorter voyages. For longer voyages or for RV parking the Radisson is the better way to go.

You can also save money by booking a cruise room package at the Radisson. They have two packages:

Park, Cruise & Breakfast includes
- Breakfast for two
- Shuttle service for up to two people per room to and from your cruise terminal
- Parking for one car during your cruise - complimentary
Park & Cruise includes
- Shuttle service for up to two people per room to and from your cruise terminal
- Parking for one car during your cruise - complimentary

Additional people for shuttles:$4.00 per person one way
$8.00 per person round trip

Non Package Rates
If you didn’t know that the Radisson Resort at the Port offers Park and Cruise packages and you have booked a different rate, don’t worry. You can add parking and shuttle to your reservation at check-in.
Three-Day Cruises: $25.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.

Four-Day/Five-Day Cruises: $30.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.
Seven-Day Cruises: $35.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Trip Report Cape Canaveral

After spending the night at the Howard Johnson in Ocala and a nice breakfast there we went on to Cape Canaveral to the Radisson Hotel. We always stay at this hotel. The rooms are clean and the location is close to the port. Up until this last year it was free to park and ride to the cruise ship. This has now changed and you either have to purchase the cruise package room or add it on to your stay. Parking here is still less expensive than at the port - especially if you are in an RV - the price is the same as it is for a car. I would recommend this if your cruise is 5+ days as well. For the shorter cruises the new parking garage at the port is a very nice option. I will tell you more about this tomorrow.

The rooms at the Radisson are very spacious and clean. I have noticed that they do look used. We have always had missing knobs or little things that were not a big deal, but do distract from the hotel. We usually get the king suite which has a seperate room for the kids with a couch that becomes a bed. I always enjoy the space after a long drive or getting off a ship. The shuttle service to the ship is very efficiently run and the parking lot is secure.

The pool at the Radisson is beautiful and there are also tennis courts available. There was live music by the pool and it was a great atmosphere. We walked next door for dinner at a Greek restaurant that was reasonably priced and had good food. We have also walked to the other side to a nice little Itallian place and enjoyed the meal there as well. There is also a mini golf in walking distance of this hotel.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Disney Trip Report Driving to Florida

Over the next couple weeks I wanted to give a detailed trip report from our recent cruise on the Dream and week at Disney World. I know many of you plan the same type trips and I always enjoy hearing the good, the bad and the ugly so I know how to better plan my trips, as well as helping you plan the magic.
We did something new for us this year - we drove our car to Cape Canaveral. Typically we have either flown or driven our RV but this year we decided the kids are a bit older and finances are a bit tighter so loading up my gas efficient car was the best solution.

Since it is a 20 hour drive, we thought it would be best to drive through the night so that we would have at least 9 or so hours of sleeping children. This worked wonderfully on our way down! We left when my husband got home from work and drove all night to Ocala, FL.

Ocala is less than an hour from Orlando and under two hours from the port. I found a Howard Johnson hotel that was very inexpensive and right off our route on 75. At $59 per night including a breakfast buffet with fresh waffles I would highly recommend this stop. They have a hot tub we used after our long car ride and a pool (it was a bit chilly to swim, but the hot tub was perfect). Also for a slight fee there is a little miniature golf course. We ate at the hotel that night and had some fried fish with free soft serve ice cream for a very reasonable price. This was not the best food we had on the trip, but the price was right and it was very convenient after a long drive.

We went to bed early and slept for about 12 hours and woke up ready to get to Cape Canaveral.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Disney, GM renew agreement, Test Track to get makeover

Thursday, January 5, 2012

January 5, 2003 - Magical Moments in History

Cinderella's Gala Feast, a character buffet at the Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare (located in Walt Disney World) officially welcomes guests. This is one of my favorite character meals. Another wonderful meal is the breakfast here with the Mad Hatter. Both have the best character interaction and entertainment along with great food! It is easy access on a Magic Kingdom day since the Grand Floridian is on the Monorail.

On the same day one of my favorite non-Disney series, television's animated family The Simpsons visit a Florida theme park called EFCOT.

Also, today is Chet's birthday - he is the owner of Off to Neverland Travel - Happy Birthday Chet!