Repositioning on the Wonder Sept 2014 - Happy Anniversary!!! updated 11/30/14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Repositioning on the Wonder Sept 2014 - Happy Anniversary!!! updated 11/30/14
So, since I have a few months left until my LONG anticipated cruise, and I’ve read all the books cover to cover (TWICE!), and read all the trip reports, and talked my husband’s ear off (and anyone else who will listen), I guess I just can’t put this pre-trip report off any longer. I’ve GOTS to get it out…and it’s a miracle I’ve been able to wait this long!! Hey I know some of you get it…I need an outlet!!!
Introductions first:
Me, Sandra – mid-thirties – homeschooling mom to my 3 little monkeys. Yup, I’m that mom. Always marched to the beat of my own drum
Dh, Louie – slightly older mid-thirties - the lucky duck that gets to put up with me and loves me anyway
Ds1 – EJ – 11 years old, loves to read and anything electronic, smarter than his own good, pretty sure he’ll be a lawyer someday cuz he loves to argue so much
Ds2 – BD – Just turned 8 and is a little firecracker full of energy. Loves sports and anything outdoors. Voted most likely to fall overboard during the cruise
Ds3 – JJ – The stubbornest little 3-year-old you ever met. Also pretty darn sweet and charming.
Yup, that’s right. Three boys. And they (and ALL their activities) keep me crazy busy. I NEED this vacation!!!!
That’s the who, now to the what and where:
Disney Wonder 4 Night Repo Cruise – Vancouver to San Diego – September 8-12, 2014
The hubs and I will be celebrating our 15 year anniversary on September 11, our last night onboard!
Beginnings:
So way back in 2009 (before JJ was even a twinkle in our eye), we took our family of 4 on our dream vacation for our 10th anniversary to WDW, with a 3 day Disney cruise to cap it off. We had the best time, and rebooked while onboard to the Vancouver to San Diego repositioning cruise for the following year! Flash forward about 6 months and I found myself very unexpectedly preggers with our third son. The timing wasn’t going to work with the cruise, nor the finances(!), so we had to cancel. Big bummer, but the bonus baby is worth it. He’s kinda cute
But then last September, around our 14th anniversary, we started thinking family vacations, and why not do something crazy big and fun for the big one-five? So we looked it up, and turns out another repositioning cruise was heading down this way (we live in Los Angeles) exactly during our 15th anniversary. What better way to celebrate? Tons of family fun, plus alone couples time too thanks to the super cool kids programs! It’s the best of both worlds, plus we get to fly to Vancouver and see a bit of Canada. And it turns out the price was right in our budget So come this September, we will be sailing down the west coast verandah style in a category 4 stateroom. Fancy!
Oh, it also happens to be the Wonders 15th anniversary too (just a month before ours). See, it was just meant to be
__________________
Sandra
Last edited by duck addict; 11-30-2014 at 06:33 PM..
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Great start! Repo cruises are such good deals and so much fun. Can't wait to hear what you've got planned.
We are really looking forward to it. I love the fact that it takes us practically back to our home
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Sounds great! I'd love to do a repo cruise, but they just don't fit into my kids' school schedules. But I guess homeschooling helps with that problem!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
It sure does! We usually take our vacations during the off season because we can. We can even bring school with us if we wanted to, but no one wants to, lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great start!
Thanks, hope I can remember to keep it going!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Great start! Looking forward to it.
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by iwonathomas
Great start! I have to ask what is a repo cruise?
They are repositioning cruises, that start in one place and end in another (instead of going back to the original port). For instance, my cruise is on the Wonder right after it finishes up its Alaska cruises. It has to get back to its home port in Florida I guess. The first leg has it going from Vancouver to San Diego (thats the one I'm on!). Then it goes from San Diego through the Panama Canal on its way back to Florida for the winter. That is another repo cruise, and a pretty long one I believe. You can sometimes get great deals on those types of cruises, plus they are a bit of a novelty as they're only offered every so often
The planning began last October. When I get busy and stressed, I start fantasizing about vacations as my escape. I’ll go online, and start looking up places I want to go, things I want to do. Not really with the intention to do them, but just as a distraction when things get hectic. That’s what happened last October. A good friend of mine had just died, school was in full swing, my older boys were in baseball, soccer, and karate; Louie’s work was busy and he was out of town a lot. I was stressed to the max. I found myself on the DCL website, dreaming of a time when I wouldn’t feel pulled in so many different directions . I was really just playing around, checking on prices, wondering if I should start saving up for something a few years from then. I noticed that the repositioning cruise we had to cancel a couple years ago was happening at the same time as our 15th anniversary. Then I noticed that it was still early enough to book a great rate…this time we could even afford concierge! Suddenly I went from “just looking” to seriously interested. Louie and I started planning things out – we could drive our car to San Diego (2 hours south), park in airport lot and fly to Vancouver, then the cruise would deposit us back in San Diego where we could drive back home. Maybe spending a couple nights in San Diego first, if we could swing it. It sounded perfect!!
So we got to booking, but by then the concierge rooms were sold out. No worries, we’ve never done concierge before anyway so it’s not like we know what we’re missing. We were able to book a fab verandah room (last time we cruised was inside) and were totally stoked about that! I started pouring over the latest copy of Passporters DCL guide, and realized that we could score some deals if we used a travel agent. I’ve never used a travel agent before. To be honest, I still don’t see the point. I like planning it all and putting it together myself. But I wasn’t going to say no to some extra onboard credit (beyond what we already get using our Disney Visa), so we rebooked using a travel agent. Now I had almost a full year to just wait and plan and wait some more! It might be a while, but there was a light at the end of this crazy stress tunnel. I had an actual date I could look forward to, when I could finally get a break and catch my breath for a minute!
October through January is pretty hectic around here. We have about eleventy billion birthdays in between all the holidays and events (more like 6, but it feels like more). My ds3 JJ and I even share the same birthday (which happens to be the day after Christmas). Then February through June all we do is little league. Two boys on different teams times two to three practices per week plus one or two games per week leaves us with little time to think about anything else. Add our potty-training three-year-old to the mix, and the fact that Louie and I run the snack bar and serve on the board for LL, and it’s like another full time job! But I managed to sneak in some planning time here and there. First, we changed our initial travel plans. Flights are cheaper out of LAX, and since we live only 10 minutes away its way more convenient. When we get to San Diego, we’ll just rent a car for the drive back. We are also going to forgo the extra days in San Diego in favor of a super posh pre-cruise stay in Vancouver. We booked a suite at the Pan Pacific!!! Swanky and expensive, but it’s actually CHEAPER than booking two rooms at any of the area hotels (which most hotels require us to do since we are a party of 5). In fact, I couldn’t find a more affordable option in the area that we wanted, so fancy schmancy it is! The Pan Pacific is literally above the cruise terminal. We should be able to have a view of our cruise ship, and the whole harbor! It does not get more convenient than that! And being in an unfamiliar city with 3 young ones, I really don’t want to be carting our stuff all around looking lost and vulnerable. Plus, it’s our big anniversary trip, gotta splurge a little!!
So that is how the first part of our planning came together…slowly but surely we were getting our plans in order. One thing was looming over me though, we had yet to book our flight, and until we did I just knew it wouldn’t feel official. More on that next time.
Oh my goodness, you and I are so alike - when I get stressed, I also start looking at vacations, and sometimes I don't plan on anything specific, but then I find a good deal, and suddenly it's all steam ahead!
I love how these trips come about. First just a glimmer of an idea, a dream, and then suddenly you're booking hotels and researching flights. I love it! I remember reading about the Pan Pacific in trip reports for the Alaska cruises and it sounds wonderful.
Great way to celebrate your 15th wedding anniversary!
As a mother of 3 boys, I can totally relate to you. This summer, all three are playing in a basketball tournament (different categories I must add). This week there are games every day. Some of the days have 2 kids playing at the same time in different basketball courts. I may go crazy.
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So come this September, we will be sailing down the west coast verandah style in a category 4 stateroom. Fancy!
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Melanie
Not really with the intention to do them, but just as a distraction when things get hectic. That’s what happened last October. A good friend of mine had just died, school was in full swing, my older boys were in baseball, soccer, and karate; Louie’s work was busy and he was out of town a lot. I was stressed to the max. I found myself on the DCL website, dreaming of a time when I wouldn’t feel pulled in so many different directions 
. I was really just playing around, checking on prices, wondering if I should start saving up for something a few years from then. I noticed that the repositioning cruise we had to cancel a couple years ago was happening at the same time as our 15th anniversary. Then I noticed that it was still early enough to book a great rate…this time we could even afford concierge! 
Suddenly I went from “just looking” to seriously interested. Louie and I started planning things out – we could drive our car to San Diego (2 hours south), park in airport lot and fly to Vancouver, then the cruise would deposit us back in San Diego where we could drive back home. Maybe spending a couple nights in San Diego first, if we could swing it. It sounded perfect!!
I started pouring over the latest copy of Passporters DCL guide, and realized that we could score some deals if we used a travel agent. I’ve never used a travel agent before. To be honest, I still don’t see the point. I like planning it all and putting it together myself. But I wasn’t going to say no to some extra onboard credit (beyond what we already get using our Disney Visa), so we rebooked using a travel agent. Now I had almost a full year to just wait and plan and wait some more! It might be a while, but there was a light at the end of this crazy stress tunnel. I had an actual date I could look forward to, when I could finally get a break and catch my breath for a minute! 
First, we changed our initial travel plans. Flights are cheaper out of LAX, and since we live only 10 minutes away its way more convenient. When we get to San Diego, we’ll just rent a car for the drive back. We are also going to forgo the extra days in San Diego in favor of a super posh pre-cruise stay in Vancouver. We booked a suite at the Pan Pacific!!! Swanky and expensive, but it’s actually CHEAPER than booking two rooms at any of the area hotels (which most hotels require us to do since we are a party of 5). In fact, I couldn’t find a more affordable option in the area that we wanted, so fancy schmancy it is! The Pan Pacific is literally above the cruise terminal. We should be able to have a view of our cruise ship, and the whole harbor! It does not get more convenient than that! And being in an unfamiliar city with 3 young ones, I really don’t want to be carting our stuff all around looking lost and vulnerable. 
Plus, it’s our big anniversary trip, gotta splurge a little!!
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