Update 1/4/2009; Going Home? Sunday 10/26/2008
I got up about 6am. We wanted to be out of the room by 10am because the only info we had was that DME was supposed to pick us up 3 hours before our flight time, which was 1:30pm. I had to try to find something to fix a broken wheel on a suitcase that had been broken mostly off on the ride from the Port. (didn’t find anything, but somehow it made it home OK.) I decided to check with the Airline Check-In desk and make sure of our plan. They did not have us down to leave today! Huh? The nice CM said I should check with the Registration Desk, so I went over there. The CM at Registration listened as I explained that we had gotten off the Magic yesterday, came back to French Quarter for one night, and DME was supposed to pick us up today for our 1:30pm Delta flight. She, kindly, said that I should check with DCL, then. I said no, DCL got us here yesterday, DME was supposed to get us to the airport today. She said, “Oh yes, I see that now, let me call Magical Express. She picked up the phone and called DME and in a few moments hung up, looked at me and said,” They have no record of you and they are full to capacity today, so you will have to find your own way to the airport.” (She did say that quite pleasantly, I might add! LOL.) She asked if we had paid for DME. Now folks, I had kept my cool up to this point and was trying to stay calm, cool, and collected (it’s vacation after all!), and I knew it wasn’t this person’s fault. So, with a torchered smile on my face, I explained that we booked and paid for DCL to transport us to the Port from POFQ, and from the Port back to POFQ. We asked for Disney’s Magical Express to take us from here at POFQ to the airport, which is supposed to be free (included in the room charges)! I added,” I don’t think we should have to pay for a ride to the airport!” (By now I was getting pretty hot under the collar, but I was still keeping my cool!!) She said, “No, you shouldn’t, wait right here!” She disappeared into the office for a few minutes and when she came out, she asked if we were packed and that everything would be taken care of. I had to go back to the room to check with DW to see if things were ready to go. Brenda was just finishing up so we called Bell Services to come get our bags and please hurry if possible. They had a cart there within 10 minutes and took us to Bell Services, where a DME bus had just arrived. I told the CM we had to check our bags yet so she loaded them on a hand cart and we went in to the Airline Check-in Desk. The CMs there, said one of our bags was over the 50# limit (by just a couple of pounds), to which I said that the limit was 70#s for first class, then they thought our big bag was oversized, and I told them Delta had brought it down here, I was sure they would take it back. One of the CMs said to go ahead and they checked our bags and gave us our boarding passes. I had a DME ticket with today’s date on it, so that was all we needed to get on the bus! When the bus stopped at a couple more Resorts, we were afraid we might get kicked off as the bus filled up, but they had enough room after all and we made it to the airport and had a good flight back to Cincinnati. Our “Cool Vanilla” PT Cruiser was right where we left it at the hotel, and our drive home was uneventful. All too soon we were back to real life. But we have pictures to prove it wasn’t just a Magic-al Dream!
Final Thoughts And Assessments
There were 3, no, 4.... well, maybe 5 times in our vacation that lacked that “Disney Magic”:
1)Disney’s Magical Express. We got our luggage tags and packet from DME 3-4 weeks from our cruise date, and they were all wrong. A phone call or two and in a week, we got a new packet with corrected tags, etc. (Minor problem corrected, right? Wait for #5!)
2) Shutters. I think they should be more accommodating with the photo packages as to sizes and numbers. Even Dolphinaris gave us the option of putting our pictures on a CD. Shutters should, at least, offer the option of a CD, but I don’t see why they can’t do a PhotoPass type option, too
3) Debarkation. From Baggage Claim to Customs to Transportation could be handled better, IMO. (Something where Kenny won’t get in trouble! LOL)
4) Checking into a Disney Resort after a DCL cruise. Renting a car would help with this one. At least you could keep control of your belongings. You are forced into 5+ hours in limbo now, if you go back to WDW. They co-ordinate millions of vacations every year, but they can’t have a room ready for you when you come off a DCL cruise?
5) DME again. We thought they had everything corrected since we had to call them before the trip and get their part straightened out. I think the confusion was with the “one night” stays at the Resort and the “one way” tickets to the airport, but I wouldn’t have thought it would have been that complicated.
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea; the cruise was Magic-ally wonderful! And so was the vacation overall. There were a few minor problems that I wanted to explain so that someone else doing the same type of vacation wouldn’t get blindsided. If we didn’t have the pictures, I would be afraid that it was all just a dream; because that’s the feeling I have of the whole thing! I would, very, very much recommend a Disney Cruise vacation to anyone, and do! I actually think that, if you add up all the costs, a DCL cruise could be cheaper than a land based vacation. And if money is an issue, then the cruise is the way to go, because, once it’s paid off, you really have no more expenses.
Thank You for coming along for the ride!! I have really enjoyed reliving our” Magic-al Dream that came True” with you! Maybe I will be finishing up again in about a year! Same time, same station!
