**LIVE** From the May 26, 2007 FIRST DCL Cruise in the MED! (5/26/07)

[LegalBriefs]

:welcome: Hello Everyone!:welcome:

This thread is for Trip reports from the FIRST Group party: to cruise through the Mediterranean!pirate:

We will try to bring accurate reviews and impressions for all those that follow us... :thumbsup2

Please feel free to ask the posters any questions you may have! :surfweb:

[winotracy]

:welcome: Hello Everyone!:welcome:

This thread is for Trip reports from the FIRST Group party: to cruise through the Mediterranean!pirate:

We will try to bring accurate reviews and impressions for all those that follow us... :thumbsup2

Please feel free to ask the posters any questions you may have! :surfweb:

Ron you didn't say we had to be accurate :lmao: :lmao:

Can't wait to go!!

[poconoboatniks]

Can't wait to start posting our trip news

[figment52]

I think we jumped the gun a bit on the "LIVE" - but then again no one said we were not anxious.

Two weeks from today it will be us at the port - YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

[ronunc]

Subscribe. Hope CC was great as usual!!!:cool1: :cool1:

[Hygiene99]

OK, not long to go now :goodvibes But, wanted to share this link with others.

blog (http://allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills)

Deb W. will be Blogging her way thru the cruise...
;)

[Jeisur]

We too will be blogging our vacation.

http://breighton.qseg.org

Our blog is through the eyes of a toddler! :) (composed by Mommy and Daddy)

-Laurie, David & Breighton

[icunurse_celeste]

Has Anyone left for Barcelona yet?

I leave on Thursday!

[Scooby3x1y]

Has Anyone left for Barcelona yet?

I leave on Thursday!

We leave Wed. @ 8:00 am.

[jeanneg]

Signing in......we leave on Thursday also.

[renegade7]

Has Anyone left for Barcelona yet?

I leave on Thursday!

I leave Thursday (in 3 days :cool1:) @ 7 am pt and arrive in Barcelona on Friday @ 7:35 am.

[CubCatsK&D]

We leave Chicago-O'Hare Thursday at 5:00; will be in Barcelona Friday afternoon about 2:00. :banana: :banana: :banana:

[winotracy]

We leave Chicago Ohare at 2:45 on Thursday and get in to Barcelona just before 10 am on Friday! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[flrealtorgrl]

:cool1: We leave Orlando Thursday afternoon, connecting through Atlanta and arriving in Barcelona Friday morning around 11am. :cool1:

[cocoswife]

We leave JFK at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, should be in Barcelona by 10 Thursday morning. Tapas anyone?
:dance3:

[memarmay]

Has Anyone left for Barcelona yet?

I leave on Thursday!

We leave LAX on Wed at 1750 on British Airways. Get to Bcn about 1700 on the 24th...I think.
Celeste, I do have your stinky plaster with me from my neighbor Rita. Just hope it makes it thru security....I will put it in a ziploc bag! hehehe!
Mari

[NejTheLion]

We leave tomorrow (Tuesday) around 6 pm, overnight to Heathrow, then to Zurich, and then in Barcelona by Wednesday afternoon. A half day to recover from the flights and then two full days to explore Barcelona before we board. Now off to finish packing and finish up the work I have to do before we leave tomorrow :(

Jen

[icunurse_celeste]

We leave LAX on Wed at 1750 on British Airways. Get to Bcn about 1700 on the 24th...I think.
Celeste, I do have your stinky plaster with me from my neighbor Rita. Just hope it makes it thru security....I will put it in a ziploc bag! hehehe!
Mari

Stinky plaster? Am I getting a cast or are we pretending we are from England and that it is a band-aid? :rotfl: By the way I play on the trip, I will probably need a cast by the end. Esp. if I wear heels! :scared1: Stupid ankle.


Is anyone a physcial therapist, I don't remember- I'm too tired from blogging.


Be ready to see me begging to be put on an earlier flight to Barcelona from Madrid- as I am not checking luggage, I am going to try and go standby. Maybe leg brace will help??

Otherwise I have a 6 hour layover in Madrid.

I need to go to bed.

[jeanneg]

Safe travels to all those heading out today......can't wait to meet everyone!

[icunurse_celeste]

Safe travels to all those heading out today......can't wait to meet everyone!

The half marathon is at 90% capacity....have you decided between the full or the half?

I need to go on the WISH boards and do a belated congrats to Geogia Girl- I volunteered at the Disney 5K while I was in FL, prior to the ankle incident. I kept on running into her and she was SO cute! She was so excited when she finished. It was fun for me because I got to see her before the race, at the start, and I took her timing chip off of her shoe at the finish. If you see her on the threads, tell her the crazy girl with black hair who was helping at the race says hello!

It was really fun to see all of the Wish people at the 5K and 15K.:cheer2:

[jeanneg]

Yes, I've decided to go for the full....and I think Nancy (friend from Cruistoberfest) will be joining me. I plan to sign up tomorrow. I was waiting for my daughter to decide if she wanted to do the Goofy. If she didn't want to I was just going to sign up the regular way and possibly use DVC points for our hotel stay. But since she decided to go for it, I have no choice but to sign up with the Disney marathon package since the Goofy is closed otherwise.

[jlawall]

We can't wait to hear about your journey.........GOOD LUCK FOR SMOOTH SAILING!

[icunurse_celeste]

Yes, I've decided to go for the full....and I think Nancy (friend from Cruistoberfest) will be joining me. I plan to sign up tomorrow. I was waiting for my daughter to decide if she wanted to do the Goofy. If she didn't want to I was just going to sign up the regular way and possibly use DVC points for our hotel stay. But since she decided to go for it, I have no choice but to sign up with the Disney marathon package since the Goofy is closed otherwise.

I didn't know you could get into the Goofy that way....not that I will be doing it. NO WAY, esp. now.

[DebWills]

Linda and I have arrived in our hotel, safe and sound. It's been a long journey here. We arrived to blue skies and a nice breeze. Just got checked into the Hilton Diagonal Mar.. already saw some folks who will be on the cruise... guess it's not hard to spot us. LOL.

A couple pics on my blog.

More later - time for a shower!

Deb
Blogging my way thru the Med
http://allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills

[jlawall]

Great, how was the flight? Any tips?

[OurDogCisco]

Woohoo... I'm so excited for you guys! Thanks for being the guinea pigs. LOL...

[Schiffy]

We too will be blogging our vacation.

http://breighton.qseg.org

Our blog is through the eyes of a toddler! :) (composed by Mommy and Daddy)

-Laurie, David & Breighton

We are algo Blogging our vacation as I was inspired by the Davidson Family on the 14 day Cruise.

http://schiffyinthemed.blogspot.com

[Jeisur]

We are up and running on our blog for the trip:

We sit here in Barcelona and just saw the Magic pulling into port! :)

http://breighton.qseg.org

-Laurie, David and Breighton

[Schiffy]

I thought the Magic was arriving on Friday?

[Tink rules]

Ok everybody....

Don't forget...

Send postcards

& Bring back T shirts (I take an XL!!!)

Oh and if you see Joey Fatone... tell him I said hi! :)

[icunurse_celeste]

I'm sitting on the plane in NYC!

[webray]

Have a great trip everyone!

[J&HSal]

Hurry up and get off! We're next! :banana:

[JeanieP]

Hi everyone,

I know I am a crasher on your thread, since I am on the last Med Head cruise (August 8), but I have enjoyed reading your thread -- one of the more informative ones in the group. I am sooooo excited for you guys! By the way, no pressure, but the rest of us are counting on you for ALL OF THE DETAILS and HELPFUL HINTS!!!!! Ha ha! :yay:

I wanted to hit you with some questions early on, so that you can keep these in mind when checking in tomorrow! Whew, I apologize, I am FULL o QUestions!

1. Did anyone on the thread try to upgrade from a ocean view to verandah? I just asked my travel agent the question, and while she could upgrade our family, the cost was going to be an additional $3,500. Yikes.

2. Did anyone try to get a Palo brunch time on the first day of embarkation -- I think you would have to run to Rockin D Bar. I just want to know if anyone does it succesfully, or if once again, I will miss the famous Palo brunch.

3. Is is true that you can check in, and get off the boat until later in the evening while still docked in Barcelona?

4. Do the official dinner rotations begin on the first day, or do they start the next day? In other words, will their be official dinner schedule for that first night in Barcelona, before you sail away? What about the Oceanner Club's? Can kids spend time there on the first day?

5. For any of you First Med Heads that are doing Rome on your own, and I a mean on your own via the train from port to Rome's main termini -- I would love to know how that adventure goes. I have traveled throughout Europe and used the train systems, but never with two little ones in tow.

6. I heard that Disney doesn't mind you bringing wine or bottles on the ship after visiting a port, but they won't allow food. Hmmmmm. Is that true, and will I be unable to sneak aboard cheeses and other goodies? This cannot be true!

That's it for now! Have a fabulous time!!!! :cheer2:

[CRSNDSNY]

:goodvibes Thanks for the blog links! I've bookmarked them...can't wait to hear that everyone is onboard and setting sail!

[jns]

Have a great time everyone
looking forward to hearing all about it

[cruiseletters]

Thanks everyone who will be posting. I can't wait for your adventure to begin so that I can go along:rotfl: Robin

[todds34]

Wow you are all so lucky we still have 53 days till the 18/07/07. Have a great trip, looking forward to all the tips you can give us.

[MrsG]

Can't wait to read your trip reports! Have a great time!

[Verandah Man]

Patiently waiting for any updates from the ship............;) ;) ;)

[Barbossa]

Me too! :thumbsup2

[Ski-and-Sea]

Me three......is there going to be a separate thread saying "live" from the first Med cruise?

[winotracy]

this will be the live thread when LegalBrief's changes it.

Met a lot of DISers last night at the Magic Fountains. Barcelona has been great. Saw Joey Fatone this morning. He and Kym both were here dancing when we got onboard.

We boarded on deck 1 and went directly up to deck 9 (no stops allowed). They announced our names as we came out to the pool area and had banners all along the way. Joey and Kym were dancing on the Goofy Pool stage. All guests were on video on the Dumbotron. Free Sangria too!!!

Hi everyone,

I know I am a crasher on your thread, since I am on the last Med Head cruise (August 8), but I have enjoyed reading your thread -- one of the more informative ones in the group. I am sooooo excited for you guys! By the way, no pressure, but the rest of us are counting on you for ALL OF THE DETAILS and HELPFUL HINTS!!!!! Ha ha! :yay:

I wanted to hit you with some questions early on, so that you can keep these in mind when checking in tomorrow! Whew, I apologize, I am FULL o QUestions!

1. Did anyone on the thread try to upgrade from a ocean view to verandah? I just asked my travel agent the question, and while she could upgrade our family, the cost was going to be an additional $3,500. Yikes.

Didn't try. Ship is full.

2. Did anyone try to get a Palo brunch time on the first day of embarkation -- I think you would have to run to Rockin D Bar. I just want to know if anyone does it succesfully, or if once again, I will miss the famous Palo brunch.

Saw a number of people do this. It was happening in Palo.

3. Is is true that you can check in, and get off the boat until later in the evening while still docked in Barcelona?

Yes, but all aboard is at 5:00 pm

4. Do the official dinner rotations begin on the first day, or do they start the next day? In other words, will their be official dinner schedule for that first night in Barcelona, before you sail away? What about the Oceanner Club's? Can kids spend time there on the first day?

Rotational first day. Don't know about kids clubs.

5. For any of you First Med Heads that are doing Rome on your own, and I a mean on your own via the train from port to Rome's main termini -- I would love to know how that adventure goes. I have traveled throughout Europe and used the train systems, but never with two little ones in tow.

We have 40 DISers doing this. More after we do it!

6. I heard that Disney doesn't mind you bringing wine or bottles on the ship after visiting a port, but they won't allow food. Hmmmmm. Is that true, and will I be unable to sneak aboard cheeses and other goodies? This cannot be true!

Don't know.

That's it for now! Have a fabulous time!!!! :cheer2:

Bye from Barcelona!! We leave in less than 3 hours!!

[webray]

Tracy and Bill..Peter and Jenn..have a wonderful trip!

Can't wait to hear all about it and see the pics!

[cmash95]

have a great time. the mediterranean is supposed to be wonderful this time of year, not too hot yet. Hope the weather holds out for you.

[Skallywag]

All of you have a great time and happy sailing - will look forward to reading your reports as we do not leave until the 16th June.
Brenda

[DMMarla07860]

looking foward to read about all the trips since my next cruise isn't till summer of 2008

[CRSNDSNY]

WOW! Thanks for checking in Tracey -- I know you have a gazillion other things you'd rather be doing but we'll be eating up every last report you guys give!

How cool that Joey and Kym were there! Neat! Hope you got lots of pictures!

[taysmom]

Lucky Ducks!
Please pass on that Joey and Kym were the best! We maxed out our voting of them.
Hope you all have a great cruise.
Steph

[eeyorelvr10]

We leave LAX on Wed at 1750 on British Airways. Get to Bcn about 1700 on the 24th...I think.
Celeste, I do have your stinky plaster with me from my neighbor Rita. Just hope it makes it thru security....I will put it in a ziploc bag! hehehe!
Mari


Quick question for you. We are also from your area (well ok- Norwalk but I know where HB is! :laughing: ) Best hard bodies in SoCal! :rotfl:

Anyway, sounds like your flight is going to be ours. Would love to see how you handled it. We leave at 5:50 on 7/25. How long was your layover between L/H airport and Barcelona. I think that we have 1 3/4 hr layover before we have to jump on our next leg. How was that.

Any info you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your comments - you all have no idea how much this is going to mean to all the others following behind you -

Wishing all of you Sunny Skies and :pixiedust: for your cruise!

Wishing I could be there -

[eeyorelvr10]

Hello everybody - we are anxiously awaiting your reports and hope that you all have a fantastic and safe journey. If anyone has time - here are a couple of questions for your perusal:

Are the clothing regulations really strict? I.E.-those going on church excursions - how covered up do you have to be? I know they say shoulders but DD has some short short tops that barely cover the round part of the shoulders and wants to know if these will suffice?

Is there really no one wearing shorts? If we wear a skirt - would a slip underneath (usally polyester type) make the skirt unbearable?

How strict were regulations? Hmmmm....

I have 1 question for Celeste (hi Celeste :wave2:) I will be following your blog faithfully - have you bookmarked already. But how in the world are you traveling w/o luggage? Are you going to buys clothes there? Is this the way to go??? :idea:

Take care - I'm sure I'll come across more ?'s I forgot to ask just as I log off.

Have fun all - :wave:

Oh yeah - :wave2: Tracy - still enjoying my book - its been invaluable! ;)

[Verandah Man]

this will be the live thread when LegalBrief's changes it.

Met a lot of DISers last night at the Magic Fountains. Barcelona has been great. Saw Joey Fatone this morning. He and Kym both were here dancing when we got onboard.

We boarded on deck 1 and went directly up to deck 9 (no stops allowed). They announced our names as we came out to the pool area and had banners all along the way. Joey and Kym were dancing on the Goofy Pool stage. All guests were on video on the Dumbotron. Free Sangria too!!!



Bye from Barcelona!! We leave in less than 3 hours!!



As my niece would say........."Cool Beans":thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Have a Magical cruise!!!

[dreamcometrue]

from one live trip to another...I have a feeling this is what I'll be doing all summer...following the Magic through the Med though the trip reports! Have a safe trip, everyone! Can't wait for the reports and pics to begin!!

[Marypoppinsiam]

Have a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear about your experiences.

[2angelsinheaven]

Jumping in on this thread as well so I can hear all about the Magic's first MED cruise, can't wait to hear all about it.

[fltink]

Yep, I want info too. How were the new shows? New menus? Hopefully someone will bring the menus and Navigators home and post them on here! Have a blast, everyone! Bon voyage!

[bigmoonmullen]

Tracy:

Have a Great Trip. I'll be watching for your updates.... but make sure you have more fun than being worried about too many reports:)

Mark

[jlawall]

Saw Joey Fatone this morning. He and Kym both were here dancing when we got onboard.

Joey and Kym were dancing on the Goofy Pool stage. All guests were on video on the Dumbotron. Free Sangria too!!!

Bye from Barcelona!! We leave in less than 3 hours!!
So jealous!!Have a blast and let us know how it goes!!:banana:

[PURTYPAT1]

looking forward to reading reports!!!! :thumbsup2

[Buckeye Gal]

Just a friendly reminder to some and a new tip for others...

If you would like to subscribe to a thread to keep up with all the excitement going on, you do NOT have to post a "Reply".

Simply go up to the top of the page, and just below the area on the right that says "Page # of #", select the Thread Tools menu. Underneath that, you can select Subscribe to Thread.

By doing this, it will help keep the number of postings and pages down so we can more easily read the reports of the lucky ducks!

Enjoy!!

[Mary Jo]

this will be the live thread when LegalBrief's changes it.

Met a lot of DISers last night at the Magic Fountains. Barcelona has been great. Saw Joey Fatone this morning. He and Kym both were here dancing when we got onboard.

We boarded on deck 1 and went directly up to deck 9 (no stops allowed). They announced our names as we came out to the pool area and had banners all along the way. Joey and Kym were dancing on the Goofy Pool stage. All guests were on video on the Dumbotron. Free Sangria too!!!

Bye from Barcelona!! We leave in less than 3 hours!!

Thanks for the updates you'll be giving. We're going on 28, July, so I'll be following this & every other cruise up until then. I would have loved to have seen Joey & Kym - I was voting for them during the show.

Have a MAGICal time. España es atope!

[Verandah Man]

According to this map, the Disney Magic is sailing "IN" the middle of Spain tonight(27-May 0200). A little goof up, I'd say..............:laughing:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/MagicINSpain.png

[dreamcometrue]

According to this map, the Disney Magic is sailing "IN" the middle of Spain tonight(27-May 0200). A little goof up, I'd say..............:laughing:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/MagicINSpain.png

well, anything is possible with a little pixie dust, I suppose. Just ask Wendy...she never thought she could fly either! :rotfl:

[DisneyPinDiva]

Hi Everyone.
Tracy, Bill, Peter and Jenn.. and all our other DIS friends... have a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear all about it. Now that the wedding is over things are getting back to almost normal!! :thumbsup2 :banana:
:grouphug: :cheer2: BON VOYAGE!!:cheer2: :grouphug:

[winotracy]

Ok, I’ve got more time now for more of a report.

We have been having a great time. We arrived in Barcelona at about 10 am on Friday. We waited for Jeanneg and Hygiene99 at the airport because we were going to the same hotel and got in 10 minutes apart. Their flight was a bit delayed and they ended up getting in about 1 ½ hours later. Saw a few people that were obviously going on the cruise. Customs was very easy since we flew through another EU country (Germany). If your connection is in a EU country, you will go through customs after your flight from the US. If not you’ll go through customs in Barcelona. If you checked your luggage all the way through to Barcelona, even easier!

We were staying at a hotel on La Ramblas called La Ramblas. It is a Top hotel (brandname). It was very adequate for one night. We basically had a suite and could have slept four people. Our view was not the best (saw a lot of locals and it was laundry day), but we weren’t there much! We walked down La Ramblas and got a bite to eat at a café on the street. We found the prices to be high and the food was just ok. Not bad, but certainly not 20 Euros per person for lunch good. After checking in to our hotel, we all cleaned up and then walked over to Placa Espanya and the Magic Fountain. The weather here seems to be a lot like California and when the sun starts to set, it gets cooler. We weren’t prepared and got quite chilly. We walked up the stairs to the Museum of Art. What spectacular views of the city! Just before 8:00 some other DISers arrived. It was nice to meet so many people before the cruise. Unfortunately we got cold and hungry and left before the fountains started up at 9:30 pm so we only got to meet about 35-45 people. More arrived after for the fountains. A group of us (charwac1, icunurse_celeste, jeanneg, hygiene99, winotracy) went to find dinner. After an unsuccessful attempt to dine at some local’s favorite, we ended up just sitting at the next place and it turns out we had a great deal and great meal! For 7,50 Euros we had a choice of four appetizers, choice of four main dishes, wine or a soft drink, dessert and bread. The wine also wasn’t a glass of wine - for the 10 of us it was 3 bottles.

We got to the port early, but not early enough to see Joey Fatone brought onboard. Another DISer saw him, but had no clue who it was so I asked someone from DCL if it was Joey and they said “you guessed”. About 10:00 am they let us in the building. Security went pretty quick. They checked our ID at the door against the manifest, then we went through screening and on to check in. If you did your documents online, you could proceed to the check in. They made Castaway Club people go to the Castaway Club line. No choice. When we got in there was no line, but also there was no one at first time cruiser check in. The castmembers were very nice, but obviously still learning. I did have to tell ours that we both got lanyards and pins and she needed to keep my credit card authorization. When we checked in, we were told that all aboard was at 5:00 pm. This was different than any of the documents we had gotten or things we had heard. We could go back off the ship (via the aft gangway), but we needed to be aboard for the safety drill.

We were stopped by many from Disney commenting on our great shirt design. Many of us were wearing shirts designed by kpros. Even one of the Disney VP made comments. I couldn’t help but ask him to tell us something we didn’t know about the cruise. He started to tell us about Joey and I said we already knew that. Then he said that Kym was going to be onboard so we let him off the hook LOL. He was not sailing with us, he was going to go on the second sailing. He did say though that a lot of management would be on our sailing, including Tom McAlpin.

While we were waiting to get onboard, they had some local entertainment showing us the Sardana dance and then they recruited people waiting to learn the dance. Captain Mickey came out did pictures with the guests. Around noon, we boarded the ship. We came in on Deck 1 forward and they had two express elevators with a castmember who told us a little bit about where things were on the way up. They had us come out on the starboard side where everyone was on camera at the Dumbotron and they announced our names. There were banners on all the poles and when we reached the Goofy pool there was free sangria and a non-alcoholic beverage.

Changes for dining and Palo ressies were happening in Palo. Lunch was being served in Topsiders and then at 12:30 at Parrot Cay.

We have heard that there are only about 300 children onboard. We have also heard that we are pretty full. We missed the Welcome Aboard show because we were getting gifts ready to go out, but heard that at both shows Rachel said “How many of you are first time cruisers?”, “How many of you are Castaway Club members?” (We have over 1000) and finally “How many of you are DISboarders?”. Everyone was very impressed!

Dinner was the Welcome Aboard menu which was a little different than normal. We unfortunately had to miss dessert to catch the sailaway party. We’d have to say there wasn’t many changes to the party and most of the DISers I spoke to were not impressed. The best part about the party were the glow necklaces and bracelets and flashing pins (provided by a cruiser who did the crossing and this cruise (pins) and Dreams Unlimited Travel (glow necklaces). We did get glove shaped paddles to wave goodbye to Barcelona.

[Verandah Man]

Thanks Tracy, :thumbsup2 looking forward to reading more about the cruise!!! :goodvibes

[auntsue1]

Excellent report! So we DO have to be on board @ 17:00 for the lifeboat drill. We were wondering about that because we are on the June16th med cruise. You must show us a picture of your cuise t-shirts. We must get some glow necklaces. Cute about the gloved paddles. :thumbsup2

[BobandLee]

Great trip report Tracy. I still haven't started mine yet.
The Magic is in great shape right. We 14 day repo folks did a good job of getting her there.:lmao: I think we left some good folks there to help out on your cruise. (check your PM)
Make sure you and Bill do the Vista Spa Villa. Was wonderful.:thumbsup2
Have a great cruise and give out best to Peter and Jenn and everyone else.

[misseulalie]

I'll be the first to post pic's of Joey. (I think, I didn't read all the posts!)

Here's me in the first photo and Kathy (Littleowensmommy) in the second photo.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/jbendriss/DSC01958.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/jbendriss/DSC01957.jpg

His wife and possibly mother is sailing as well.

We are having a great time and will post more later...

Jennifer

[auntsue1]

Great picture, but broke my heart Joey won't be on our cruise!: cool2:

[DisneySpirit]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)

[jns]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)
so glad to hear that this has a happy ending :wizard:

What a nightmare:scared1:

[disneyjunkie]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)


Wow, I'm glad everything worked out.:grouphug: :grouphug:

[jlawall]

What a story Tom & Lynn.............good reminder for all of us who are sailing this summer...........TG you had a early trip scheduled and you can still sail the Med.....join our thread and tell your story there (Rome-ancing the Mouse)

Best wishes!:grouphug:

[DMMarla07860]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)

if that all happened to me I'd be pretty pissed, but at least you get to go in July and now and have more time to plan for the cruise

[disneylover5]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)

OMG you lived my worst nightmare!!

Come join our thread...we will welcome you to our July 28th cruise!!

[kidcoos3]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)
What a story! I'm so glad that it is working for you in the end - please come and join our group: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1064311

[MagicMe]

Must have been such a disappointment but you sure received a lot of pixie dust!!!! So glad you were able to re-book on another cruise and that you found the passport (so you don't have to worry about renewing). I think you'll need to wear those passports around your neck for the next cruise!

[Barbossa]

Wow, what a story. Good news that things turned out OK. Kudos to DCL for their assistance.

FYI, we use an around-the-neck pouch like this one:

http://www.eaglecreek.com/accessories/security_id/UnderCover-Silk-Neck-Pouch-40117/

They're reasonably pickpocket-proof, strong, cool, and comfortable. You can get them at travel stores or REI.

Have a great cruise in July!

[pppiglet]

That was a nightmare! We just flew recently (which we never do) and as soon as we were done with our passports each time, I'd put everyone's in my purse. It NEVER leaves my shoulder. I would have just died going through what you did! Thank goodness you were able to get another cruise. I'm so happy for you!

[Marypoppinsiam]

I am happy to hear everything turned out ok. I am sure you are still a little disappointed on to be on the ship right now. I am happy to hear that DCL helped you as much as they could. God bless the flight attendent that was trying to help you at the airport. Wishing you a better trip in Julyl.

[Buckeye Gal]

Foremost, Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit), I'm so sorry for what you had to go through and for the change in plans. Let me just say that you truly do have the "Disney Spirit" to be as accepting as you are for the date change and gracious for all the people who helped you and the opportunity to go in July. Good for you!!

ALL...Just wanted to let you know that I created a new thread where we can post questions for the cruisers, allowing them to use this thread as it was intended, which was to share their magical experiences. :)

Here's the link:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1465593

[JDBlair]

We are algo Blogging our vacation as I was inspired by the Davidson Family on the 14 day Cruise.

http://schiffyinthemed.blogspot.com

Read your blog. It's great!!

[auntsue1]

I haven't been so upset, frustrated and then relieved after I read a thread in a long time as I did with yours. I wish we could all give you a two a big hug :grouphug: (granted you need & deserve more that that). You 2 had such compusure through it all! I would have been :eek: :scared1: !!!

It also goes to show that there are a lot of GOOD people in this world. For the most part people will help others, especially if they are treated with respect. My DB also says that this show how I shouldn't go to Starbucks! (Yea right, like that will happen! :sad2: ) It was nice of Starbucks to call back after they found the passport. We are going to make copies of our passports & Driver's licenses (yea, I know you did that & it wouldn't have helpd in your case).

That's real nice of your new fellow cruisers to welcome you with open arms! Enjoy! I know you will have a good time!

Wishing you & your family all the best! :flower3:

[webray]

Tracy..thanks for the great report. Can't wait to hear more!

[lovebeast]

Well, there is good news and bad news.

The bad is we will not be joining you and all our friends on the Magic's first Mediterranean cruise. Words cannot express how sad we are to be missing this trip with all of you. I had ordered Roses and the Bon Voyage chocolate covered strawberries and wine package to surprise Lynn in our cabin to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have both shed a lot of tears these last 2 days. Please tell Shane and Laurie we are so sorry we could not continue our trip with them. Laurie lent us her cell phone as they were boarding the plane in Atlanta and it helped us a lot! (We will get it back to her when they return to Phoenix.)

The good news is we met some of the most wonderful people at the Atlanta airport who helped us cope with this disaster. After we arrived in the Atlanta airport we went to another terminal to wait for our next plane and get something to eat. In front of Arbys I reached in my right front pocket to get my wallet out and felt there was only one passport, mine, in the same pocket where I had put both of our passports after clearing security in Phoenix. Panic set in as I tried to remember all the possible places I had taken out my wallet and could have dropped Lynn's passport. In Phoenix, I had gone to Starbucks before Shane and Laurie met up with us at the gate and had also had taken out my wallet while sitting at the gate area to give Lynn some money to go an get something to eat. The only other time I could remember putting my hand in that pocket was to take some pills I had in a small box while on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta. So, unless someone had picket my pocket while in the Atlanta airport, it seemed the passport must have dropped out of my pocket when I accessed my wallet in Phoenix or on the plane. After carefully going through all our carry on bags multiple times, I rushed back to the gate we had arrived at in Atlanta. I asked the gate attendants if anyone had found a passport and they said no. They said the planes are cleaned between flights so it would have been turned in if it had been found. Also, that plane had already departed for San Francisco, so we could not check our seats again. I returned to the food court with the bad news. Time ran out as I racked my brain on where the missing passport could be. We had a photo copy of the passport in Lynn's wallet but, they would not accept that to board. We watched our friends board the plane without us and I realized I needed to get our 4 suitcases off that plane! The gate attendant told us we would have to go to baggage claim and request them. We ran to the baggage claim service desk where there was a huge line of passengers waiting to be served. I panicked and apologized to everyone as I cut to the head of the line telling the attendant I only had 15 minutes to get our bags off of that plane!. After some confusion, I learned that on international flights, bags are only loaded if the owners are confirmed boarding the plane. I also learned it would take up to 4 hours for the bags to show up at the baggage claim area! The Delta lost and found office was next to the baggage claim service desk so I checked with them and there was nothing. They sent a text message to Delta operations in San Francisco to check our seats again when the plane arrived there. We waited 4 hours the answer which was negative on the plane in SF. Our bags still had not come so this very nice lady from Delta's baggage service desk, (she knew our plight), took our baggage claim stubs and went to track them down. She returned about 45 minutes later with our bags! We thanked her and returned to the ticketing area to decide how to get back to Phoenix. By now, we were both extremely exhausted. We had gotten up at 4am in Phoenix and it was after 12am in Atlanta by now. We talked with 2 ticketing attendants and told them what had happened so far and requested how best to get back to Phoenix. One of the attendants would not let us give up. She was so positive we would find the passport and overcame our doom and gloom attitude. She looked up every conceivable phone number in both the Phoenix and Atlanta airports for Delta Lost & Found, TSA lost & Found, airport Lost & Found, airport operations, even the Starbucks in Phoenix's terminal 3. She tried calling all these numbers but either received automated answer messages or negative answers regarding the passport. She would NOT let us give up! She said we should wait until late morning and try the numbers again. We were so sad & tired and all of the comfy chairs in the airport were taken with the holiday passengers sleeping in them! This incredible lady from Delta ticketing would just not let us give up! Our ticket to Barcelona was not refundable and we did not have travel insurance either. She rebooked us on the next flight to Barcelona and even reserved us a seat on a flight via Rome to Palermo on the next day so we could rejoin the ship if we found the passport and could get it in time. Anyway, she gave us a complimentary hotel voucher and a bunch of complimentary 5 minute phone cards, since we did not have the charger for Laurie's cell phone, and said go get some sleep and try again later in the morning. We went to get the free shuttle to the hotel but the phone number for the shuttle was constantly busy! We talked with the driver of a shuttle for another hotel and after hearing our story, she volunteered to take us to our hotel even though she didn't work for them! WOW!!! She dropped us off near our hotel's lobby so as not to be seen and I gave her a nice tip and thanked her for her trouble. We got to our room by 3am and slept until 7:30am. We returned to the airport and retried all the same numbers to no avail but left messages to call us on Laurie's cell phone regarding the passport. We finally decided to call Disney Cruise Lines to see what our options were. Well, the castmembers we spoke with were incredible!!! We asked if we could possibly rebook one of the later cruises using some of the $12,000 we had spent on this one. We were told there was nothing available at first but then one of the supervisors tried again without entering the air travel add-on and surprise!!! For $435 additional perperson we got booked on the July 28th 11-day Med Cruise in a Cat 6 stateroom with a verandah just as we had booked on our previous reservation!!! She also told us not to book a flight back to Phoenix just yet and to call her back in 30 minutes. We went and got coffee and a Danish and called her back after the 30 minutes as requested. When we called back she gave us a confirmation code for tickets back to Phoenix at 4:30pm!!!! Man somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! First nightmare then WOW! We need to check with Delta but we probably can use our Barcelona tickets on this cruise as well. So, it seems, we will get to the Med after all! We will miss you all terribly but, have a great cruise and we can't wait to hear all about it! While waiting for our flight back to Phoenix we went and had some lunch at the food court. We got a call from Starbucks in Phoenix and they had found Lynn's passport!!! We picked it up when we arrived back last night! So we are ready for July's cruise!

Sorry this was so long, but believe me when I say it was much longer for us!

Tom & Lynn (DisneySpirit)

thank god everything worked out for you. welcome to july 28 cruise!!!!!

[jlawall]

I haven't been so upset, frustrated and then relieved after I read a thread in a long time as I did with yours. I wish we could all give you a two a big hug :grouphug: (granted you need & deserve more that that). You 2 had such compusure through it all! I would have been :eek: :scared1: !!!

It also goes to show that there are a lot of GOOD people in this world. For the most part people will help others, especially if they are treated with respect. My DB also says that this show how I shouldn't go to Starbucks! (Yea right, like that will happen! :sad2: ) It was nice of Starbucks to call back after they found the passport. We are going to make copies of our passports & Driver's licenses (yea, I know you did that & it wouldn't have helpd in your case).

That's real nice of your new fellow cruisers to welcome you with open arms! Enjoy! I know you will have a good time!

Wishing you & your family all the best! :flower3:I always stop at SBs so this story really scared me!!!:scared1:

[Hygiene99]

Hi all!! Jenn and Peter here. We are having a great time so far. A little tired today, it was great to have a sea day to relax before we start going on tons of excursions. Had a great party in the Roy Suite today.. Thanks Ron!! Seas are great tonight, it was a bit rainy and cool this afternoon.
Disney is exchanging Dollars at 1.45 per Euro. Tracy is trying to post some pics, internet is soooo slow here though. We are off to Palermo tomorrow, I will try to post a quick update tomorrow night!!

[dreamcometrue]

omg Disneyspirit, I am so sorry you lost one of your passports! You must have one patient wife because if MY DH lost my passport on the way to a Mediterranien DISNEY cruise, he woudln't sit on the DIS boards to tell about it! :rotfl: Honestly though, this is my worst nightmare everytime we travel where we need a passport. I must check a gazillion times to be SURE I have the passports, and all of them. It drives everyone nuts, but I am soooo afraid that we get to the airline counter, they ask for the passports, and there is one missing! Basically what you just went through! Glad it all worked out and Disney worked some Magic for you!

[CRSNDSNY]

Thanks to all who have checked in!
Can't wait to see pics from Tracy!

[auntsue1]

I can't wait to read more of his experiences, especially when the excursions start.:thumbsup2

[cruiseletters]

Oh my goodness that is my worst fear. I was trying to read your report but I kept getting teary. I'm so glad that it all worked out for you! :flower3: Robin

[winotracy]

Palermo is great! Beautiful weather here.

Here's a picture from the Barcelona DIS meet.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x149/DreamsTracy/HPIM3885.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x149/DreamsTracy/HPIM3881.jpg

[2littlestitches]

I couldn’t help but ask him to tell us something we didn’t know about the cruise. He started to tell us about Joey and I said we already knew that. Then he said that Kym was going to be onboard so we let him off the hook LOL. He was not sailing with us, he was going to go on the second sailing. He did say though that a lot of management would be on our sailing, including Tom McAlpin.


Hi there.........

We are on the second sailing, so I was just wondering if I understood this right....are you saying Joey is on the second sailing, but just danced on the first? Thanks so much, and keep having a magical time!!!!!!!!

[2angelsinheaven]

I think she meant the DCL CM she was speaking with but I could be wrong.

[Jeisur]

We are still blogging...having issues with pictures loading but will re-load when we get home in a few weeks... the text is posting just fine...

http://breighton.qseg.org

thanks for reading! :)

[jlawall]

Thx to the bloggers for sharing their trips!!:grouphug:

[TDC Nala]

Anybody suggest a good place to get lunch in Barcelona on embarkation day -near the port?

[icunurse_celeste]

Wanted to thank those who are following along...

I have answers- I'm just not having much luck with the internet:headache:

Naples is tomorrow!

[taysmom]

Enjoying all the blogs and this website. According to ICUcelesete's blog, joey and his family are on this cruise. I'm sad..but happy for you guys.

Celete..love the podcasts too..it's makes it more real!

Sounds like you are all having a great time. Can't wait to be there in 16 more days!

Steph

[ariellovesthesea]

Enjoying all the blogs and this website. According to ICUcelesete's blog, joey and his family are on this cruise. I'm sad..but happy for you guys.

Celete..love the podcasts too..it's makes it more real!

Sounds like you are all having a great time. Can't wait to be there in 16 more days!

Steph


I think i went to the right blog but didnt find anything about the cruise ICUcelesete is on.

[taysmom]

Go to her last post and click on the BIG BLOG, not the little one. I think it says a nurse travels to the med blog.
Check it out.
S

[BONITATIME]

Anybody suggest a good place to get lunch in Barcelona on embarkation day -near the port?

There is a commercial centre in the pleasure port looking to sea on the left of Christopher columbus's statue. You can eat there or in the Ramblas but the Ramblas is overpriced for my taste.

[Scott H]

Subscribing, Just home.

Looks like ya all are having a great trip, KEWL... sorry missed ya in Barcelona. We did look.

Had dinner Fri night with I guiy I met in a class in CA, before our trip, got a local tour and diner, KEWL.

Best to all of you great folks....

FYI Bob and Lee booked the 5 day LOL.... if they didn't post it.

[MSWint]

Pics pics ... more pics please!!!

We have friends onboard and are hoping to "spy on them" in the background of your pics.pirate:

[icunurse_celeste]

I attempted to update the podcast again, but am having issues with my phone.

I'm posting through dinner right now. I seriously need a sea day to catch up on posts.


I'm in Lumiere's right now.


Diving tomorrow!

[momma4v3]

I can't wait to read more of his experiences, especially when the excursions start.:thumbsup2

Where can I find the Schiffy Blog?

Thanks,
Linda

[kidcoos3]

Where can I find the Schiffy Blog?

Thanks,
Linda

http://schiffyinthemed.blogspot.com/

There are several blogs going:
http://icunurse-celeste-travels.blogspot.com/[/URL]
http://www.allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills/ (http://schiffyinthemed.blogspot.com/)
[URL]http://allearsnet.com/blogs/allearsteam/
http://www.allearsnet.com/blogs/guestblog/
http://breighton.qseg.org/

These are the ones that I've been watching.:surfweb:

[Mmouse1964]

schiffyinthemed.blogspot.com

[momma4v3]

We were wondering if Ronald (from the Netherlands) is still a head server, Emmanuel (from the Phillipines) is a server and Anastacia (I think from Trinidad) is his assistant server. Are they still a team? We had them on the Magic's Holiday Cruise this past year and they were awesome. They said they thought they would be in Mediterranean.
We have requested them for our Mediterranean cruises.

Thanks,
Linda

[BobandLee]

We were wondering if Ronald (from the Netherlands) is still a head server, Emmanuel (from the Phillipines) is a server and Anastacia (I think from Trinidad) is his assistant server. Are they still a team? We had them on the Magic's Holiday Cruise this past year and they were awesome. They said they thought they would be in Mediterranean.
We have requested them for our Mediterranean cruises.

Thanks,
Linda

Yep. He was our head server on the repo. Seemed like a very efficient guy.

[auntsue1]

Where can I find the Schiffy Blog?

Thanks,
Linda

I'm glad other posters gave you the link to the Schiffy blog.

[EpcotKilterFan]

Have a great trip everyone! We stayed as long as we could to see if they would let you to the port early. No luck

:wave: Peter..... did you get your goodies ;) :lmao:

Got home last night so have to catch up on all the blogs.

Debbie

[Worktoplay]

Epcotkilterfan,

I see you are into pin trading. Was there a lot of pintrading on board your cruise? Did they offer a lot of special pins and were they hard to get?

Thanks for the info.

Marie

[CBJHockeyNut]

From the Schiffy Blog:

A special note to this trip for those that will be cruising later on, and I think other trips as well, is to bring toilet paper. You will not find it on these side trips

I can think of many useful tips that I have learned from the DIS Board, but I guess that this would have to find itself near the top of the list!! (Somewhere around the shoe hanger for the back of the door!!!)

[din]

Can someone please provide some feedback about the "Rome on your own" excursion? Really like to know where is the drop off and pcik up point.

[calif disney 1]

I would really like to know about the Rome on your own as well....we have the VIP tour booked, but I just wonder if I will get to see all that I want to, or if it will be run from one place to another with no time to stop..

[earpiemom]

I too am worried about the VIP tour wondering if you will just be so rushed and not really get to observe what you want. I am wondering if the on your own would be better so you could go at your own pace. Any suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated.

[bacadama]

Celeste, I'm very interested in your diving experience. I wish to SCUBA while on the Magic in July. Please post the dive company, lcation, how you traveled to shop, condition of equipment, communication in English, and anything else you'd like to share. Many thanks, bacadama.

[johnnymac1962]

Any feedback on Ultimate Rome from you Med "experts" on the maiden voyage would be appreciated!:idea:

Did anyone do Jump Back to old Rome?:confused3

Thanks

John (sailing the Med on June 6th!!!!)

[johnnymac1962]

Hi Din:

I can get a Maryland soft shell in about 10 minutes!! Which Med cruise are you on? I can pack one on June 6th and bring it to you.:thumbsup2

Only Kidding. But I bet not too many people in the Bay Area know what you are talking about!

John

[jlawall]

Any feedback on Ultimate Rome from you Med "experts" on the maiden voyage would be appreciated!:idea:

Did anyone do Jump Back to old Rome?:confused3

Thanks

John (sailing the Med on June 6th!!!!)

Yes! Tell us what you think about this one!

[kugalbelle]

Celeste, I'm very interested in your diving experience. I wish to SCUBA while on the Magic in July. Please post the dive company, lcation, how you traveled to shop, condition of equipment, communication in English, and anything else you'd like to share. Many thanks, bacadama.

We are also very interested in SCUBA diving during our Med cruises in July/August. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks
Charmaine

[J&HSal]

ME three! I wrote a company in Marseille about accompanied dives as we are not certified. Looking forward to hearing back!

[RJAYL]

Can anyone compare or give feedback on the 2 different beach breaks at Sardinia?:goodvibes :confused:

[din]

Hi Din:

I can get a Maryland soft shell in about 10 minutes!! Which Med cruise are you on? I can pack one on June 6th and bring it to you.:thumbsup2

Only Kidding. But I bet not too many people in the Bay Area know what you are talking about!

John

:rotfl: :rotfl: Only a few places in the bay area serves softshell crab. I can only find frozen ones and not fresh crabs. There is a place in Napa valley, Taylor Refresher (features in food network a few times) that has soft shell tacos!!

We are on the 7/7/07 cruise!

[Mmouse1964]

just had soft shell crab last weekend, yummy :thumbsup2 Ever have it in a spider roll? delicious!

[kidcoos3]

Hi Din:

I can get a Maryland soft shell in about 10 minutes!! Which Med cruise are you on? I can pack one on June 6th and bring it to you.:thumbsup2

Only Kidding. But I bet not too many people in the Bay Area know what you are talking about!

John
I am so jealous about the crab - but there are restaurants in SF that serve them, I've had them there - but, definitely not the same - need white bread and butter!

[funnybunny921]

Hi everyone on the cruise!! :yay: We have been faithfully reading ther reorts and the blogs, but it seems that either the connection isn't good enough or people are pooped from Rome, but I know there are some 6/6ers that are looking forward to heard reviews of the disney trips to rome.

Have a safe and fun second leg of the trip and I'll probably pass you in the terminal.

A special hello to Tracy. Thank you for all your help. It sounds like you are having a good time. it was fun to hear nurse celest's podcast about your trip to naples together.

Sarah

[#1Fan]

Does anyone have any input on the Jumping back into Eternal Rome OR Highlights of Rome and Vatican Museums OR Ultimate Rome Experience? The descriptions of these tours make it sound like long lines at the Vatican (1-2 hr) and St. Peter's....wondered if this was true? Thought as a tour group you could get in quicker?

Thanks, Lisa

[PURTYPAT1]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1471231

[buck4568]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1471231

Thanks for the link Purtypat1! Sounds like Misseulalie may have been better off with private tours. Can't please all the people all the time and hopefully 27 days from now Disney will have tweaked the excursions a bit. I will be happy just to be in Europe!

[nzdisneymom]

Does anyone have any input on the Jumping back into Eternal Rome OR Highlights of Rome and Vatican Museums OR Ultimate Rome Experience? The descriptions of these tours make it sound like long lines at the Vatican (1-2 hr) and St. Peter's....wondered if this was true? Thought as a tour group you could get in quicker?

Thanks, Lisa

Deb Wills posted a write up about jumping Back into Eternal Rome on her blog (http://allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills/). We're doing this excursion when we go so I was glad to see a report about it.

[Andrew DEREK UK]

OK guys gatecrashing this thread for something a bit special for me.

I went to Majorca last week and flew out on Saturday 26th, the Captain of our plane made an annoucement that we were starting our decent into Palma and were just going over Barcelona.

I got a great view from my seat of Barcelona and a couple of cruise ships in port, one of which was the DISNEY MAGIC.

Now working ot the time, I was flying overhead as the first cruisers were going onboard!!

I will be on land the next time I see the Magic in Barcelona to get on in July.

[BobandLee]

Subscribing, Just home.

Looks like ya all are having a great trip, KEWL... sorry missed ya in Barcelona. We did look.

Had dinner Fri night with I guiy I met in a class in CA, before our trip, got a local tour and diner, KEWL.

Best to all of you great folks....

FYI Bob and Lee booked the 5 day LOL.... if they didn't post it.

Awwww. I wanted it to be a surprise.
Hey Peter! Are you on this cruise or not.:confused3
I warned some of the back to backers about you.:lmao:

[birkner]

Hi Din:

I can get a Maryland soft shell in about 10 minutes!! Which Med cruise are you on? I can pack one on June 6th and bring it to you.:thumbsup2

Only Kidding. But I bet not too many people in the Bay Area know what you are talking about!

John

I am also in Bay Area but find the best soft shelled crabs on West Coast at the Palace Restaurant in Santa Barbara.

http://www.palacegrill.com/

[thefourhills]

If you bring US cash on board the ship, does Disney charge a fee to exchange it for Euros??? If so, how much?

[thefourhills]

Could someone find out for me if Ronald from the Phillipines is onboard the Magic ??? He has been our server for the past 2 years, and we are looking forward to seeing him...hoping he is on. If someone would be kind enough to find out for me...it would much appreciated. That way we can request him again.
THANKS!!:)

[winotracy]

If you bring US cash on board the ship, does Disney charge a fee to exchange it for Euros??? If so, how much?

No fee but the exchange rate is high. $1.45 as compared to the $1.34 that I got at an ATM.

[eeyorelvr10]

Can anyone tell me if you are tipping the tour guides on these excursions?

I know that someone mentioned that tipping is not customary but what about on the tours? Since I have been cruising - I've always tipped but then AGAIN - the excursions were never this expensive.

Any ideas from you out there?

[winotracy]

Can anyone tell me if you are tipping the tour guides on these excursions?

I know that someone mentioned that tipping is not customary but what about on the tours? Since I have been cruising - I've always tipped but then AGAIN - the excursions were never this expensive.

Any ideas from you out there?

We have been tipping and many others have. Personally, I think the guides have been great! The excursion we did yesterday was not but the guide invited us all to come visit her. We had bad weather and a couple other glitches, but it is to be expected.

Today was phenomenal!!! Chateauneuf du Pape and Avignon!!! I highly recommend this excursion!

[NejTheLion]

SCAVENGER HUNT UPDATE

For anyone onboard, I was asked if more time could be given for the scavenger hunt since excursions have been so time consuming in the ports. So, I'm going to give everyone until Tuesday, June 5 (the last sea day) at 4:00 pm. It may take me some time to look over the entries, but I want to make sure everyone has time to hunt around the ship.

Remember there's a $25 Disney gift certificate up for grabs!

Final Deadline: TUESDAY JUNE 5 at 4:00 PM to room 8028!!!!


Jen

[momma4v3]

Can anyone tell me if you are tipping the tour guides on these excursions?

I know that someone mentioned that tipping is not customary but what about on the tours? Since I have been cruising - I've always tipped but then AGAIN - the excursions were never this expensive.

Any ideas from you out there?

When we were in Europe last year, our Globus guide informed us it is customary to tip the local guides.
We have always tipped the Caribbean guides and will just budget the tips into what cash is needed in Europe, too.

Linda

[mostyn17]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at the Grand Marina Hotel in Barcelona before the cruise.

We want to stay there before our cruise.

Thanks,
Travis

[kugalbelle]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at the Grand Marina Hotel in Barcelona before the cruise.

We want to stay there before our cruise.

Thanks,
Travis
Hi,
We will be staying at the Grand Marina Hotel with DCL and were wondering what the situation is regarding luggage and Disney transportation.
How are bags handled on DCL transportation from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship?
Are bags placed outside in the hotel passage?
How early or late do you leave the hotel for the ship?
Is the hotel located as close to the ship as showen on maps?
Thank you
Charmaine

[kugalbelle]

Hi,
We are wondering if two of the very best servers we've had are still on the Magic.
Their full names from our gratuity stubs are:
Ritesh Biraswardas Mehra
and
Thiomir Vorgic
Thank you
Charmaine

[tupperny]

I would like add that we are looking for Jesse as a server.

Is he still there?

Thanks

Bill

[seaulater]

I would like add that we are looking for Jesse as a server.

Is he still there?

Thanks

Bill

There are so many changes happening with CM getting on and off the ship, my recommendation would be that if you are looking for a specific server or want to have that server that the easiest way to find out is to wait until you are on board. Go directly to Rockin Bar D and go to the dining room table (not the Palo's line) and ask. If you want that server and they are on the ship the dining room manager will change your rotation for you and get them for you if that is possible.

That is the easiest way to do that.

[eeyorelvr10]

Today was phenomenal!!! Chateauneuf du Pape and Avignon!!! I highly recommend this excursion!

Cool! I'm booked on this one. You did DCL right? Was clothing also strict here? I was going to take capris but am wondering if skirts and long cotten dresses would be best. Lots of walking? Should I bring hiking/walking boots or are tennis shoes/sandals work?

On that note - listened to Celeste's Podcasts and took her advice about FLorence and Pisa - I am in the processing of booking the company she used to get to the Leaning Tower there.
If you can get a message or answer this - GREAT!

How did you talk the driver or the guide to get the tickets ahead of time? Did you need to ask? Or was it done upon request?

DH is extremely heat conscious so I think I need to go this route - especially in August! Or he and DD and BFF and DH would do this: :faint:

[eeyorelvr10]

Hey guys - someone asked this on another thread - can you guys provide any info on this:

Thanks!

Can you wear open toed shoes in the cathedrals? How strict are the rules about shoulders and knees being covered? I assume this is strongly enforced at the Vatican, but what about in Palermo or at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and other places with cathedrals we might be tempted to stop at while walking around?

Thanks, Lisa

[ga9497]

Hey guys - someone asked this on another thread - can you guys provide any info on this:

Thanks!

Can you wear open toed shoes in the cathedrals? How strict are the rules about shoulders and knees being covered? I assume this is strongly enforced at the Vatican, but what about in Palermo or at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and other places with cathedrals we might be tempted to stop at while walking around?

Thanks, Lisa

Why take the change, plan on having your knees and shoulders covered for all church visits. It is the right thing to do when visiting other countries, respecting their rules. I do know for sure that the Vatican and La Sagrada do check to make sure you are dressed properly

[ga9497]

On that note - listened to Celeste's Podcasts and took her advice about FLorence and Pisa - I am in the processing of booking the company she used to get to the Leaning Tower there.
If you can get a message or answer this - GREAT!



Can you direct me to the podcast?
Thanks

[bengals01]

ritesh is suppose to be coming back i think this week

[Jeff Spencer]

Celeste's blog is at the link below. Her podcasts (audio) are linked from there.

http://icunurse-celeste-travels.blogspot.com/

[#1Fan]

I am so confused....in Rome do I do a DCL tour or do I attempt the train or bus and go in on my own? I am signed up for the Highlights of Rome and the Vatican tour....seems on first med cruise they didn't get the morning guided tour in Rome that was mentioned in the description, but got great Vatican tours in the afternoon. They were just dropped off for the morning. If I am going to end up doing it on my own, I would just like to plan ahead and do it....any tips?

Lisa

[Jeff Spencer]

I would be wary of doing Rome on my own, especially since I've seen reports of a planned rail strike on June 21-22.

[seaulater]

We have cruised with Celeste and she thoroughly checks everything out before she goes. I am going to look into some of the tours the group did while out on the 11 night and possibly change from DCL to private tours also.

[danfromca]

I am so confused....in Rome do I do a DCL tour or do I attempt the train or bus and go in on my own? I am signed up for the Highlights of Rome and the Vatican tour....seems on first med cruise they didn't get the morning guided tour in Rome that was mentioned in the description, but got great Vatican tours in the afternoon. They were just dropped off for the morning. If I am going to end up doing it on my own, I would just like to plan ahead and do it....any tips?

Lisa

Actually, I don't think the description was that far off. A lot of "make your way past" and "stand in the shadow of" and "experience the grandeur of" which is tour speak for "we're going to drive by and let you walk around a bit"

This one looks like a really good Vatican tour. I picked the "Ultimate Rome Experience" because I'm not as interested in the Vatican. On that one it's the Vatican language that is vague, and the Rome language that is more specific "narrated tour", "colloseum includes inside and outside visit", etc.

[icunurse_celeste]

I am so confused....in Rome do I do a DCL tour or do I attempt the train or bus and go in on my own? I am signed up for the Highlights of Rome and the Vatican tour....seems on first med cruise they didn't get the morning guided tour in Rome that was mentioned in the description, but got great Vatican tours in the afternoon. They were just dropped off for the morning. If I am going to end up doing it on my own, I would just like to plan ahead and do it....any tips?

Lisa


I would plan on doing the trqin-unless they are on strike. If I can get to Andy's computer, i will do some digging for you.

[JeanieP]

Celeste -- I truly enjoyed your blog and taking the time to provide us later Med Headers with such valuable inside information. :thumbsup2 I enjoyed your blogs becuase my DH and I like to visit ports on our own, so it was nice to hear about a fellow traveler doing so much on her own. Did you take the Express Train into Rome and hopped off at the Vatican? Is it possible to take a different train directly into the main termini? Did you buy your train tickets to Rome in advance or when you arrived in Port? Thanks also for the awesome info regarding locating the train in Naples -- super important.

Your Palermo guide was a land tour, or was that a dive as well? My husband and I don't dive, but we are avid snorkelers.

I am curious -- you don't need to answer this question -- what is your overall impression of Disney's first Med cruise? :rolleyes1 SO many folks respect your opinion, I was curious about your overall thoughts -- likes and dislikes. There has been much talk about the "premium" we all pay for a Disney cruise. As a Castaway Club member and Disneymaniac, perhaps my expectations are a little unreasonable. So, overall, how would you have rated Disney's Med Adventure? Perhaps not fair to ask you, but heck, I had to try!

[jlawall]

Great question!!

[figment52]

It's over. And it was wonderful!!. It went fast but as I sit and think about day one it seems so long ago. I promise I'll help with recaps later.

I'm reached home last night at 8pm local time - 2am Barcelona time. I will log on again later today and try and answer all the questions I can. I would try now but my niece graduation party is Saturday and I am dessert chef so I have a very busy couple days. Once I have that under control I'll be back.

I do have to say that the DISboarders are great. Thank you to everyone I met and especially those that left me. This was my first DIS cruise and I was unprepared for the great group of people I met. There was such an oputpouring of kindness and friendship.

[icunurse_celeste]

My honest impression is that this would have been a much better cruise, had the trip been done over 14 days. I am TIRED!!! I am sitting here in Paris and Andy and I are plugging along on the computers- he is on the sucky French keyboard that has all of the keys in weird spots and I am on his laptop....:rotfl2:

First of all, I loved the cruise- but I think that people who go on this cruise with the expectation of actually "seeing" Europe will be disappointed. Or those who have the expection of having a relaxing cruise and seeing Europe will REALLY be disappointed. I know that it is hard for individuals to get 14 + days off for the cruise- but I think they should have done one or two cruises in the med that were that length, that would have also allowed for more rest and relaxation between ports. I seriously don't how to 10 day people are going to do it.


In Palermo, I did a land tour. The guy who was our tour guide was AWESOME. I did some more updates last night and I posted my top 3 favorite things. I had a really hard time deciding between Florence and Palermo- but it was the fact that our guide in Palermo took more time to tell us the history of the area and was also willing to schedule our trip according to our needs. We stopped for bathrooms, we stopped for gelato, we stopped to look at huge cows with bells, and I probably saw one of the coolest churches I have ever seen. It was also like we did all or most of everything DCL offered in their other excursions: we saw the chruches,history, beaches, etc. It was just great.

However, I still think a private tour for Florence is a MUST- unless you're fine with getting there and not seeing much. My room mate and friends took the DCL bus into town- got on the first bus and didn't get off of the bus until around 11AM. By that point, we had already made three stops and were entering the David. It also took them well over two hours- almost three to get back to the ship and they left Florence before we started Pisa.


For Rome- you just have to accept that all you are going to get is a brief overview. For that, I really liked the way we did it. We booked our train tickets in advance, which was no problem, but not necessary. We took the train to the LAST stop, which was 3 or 4 after the ST. Peter's stop and got on the open bus tour from the beginning. We then got off at one point and walked to the Spanish steps and did the Trevi fountain. If you are with little kids- skip the steps as it isn't overly magnificent and hit the fountian- it it a must do. We than ate lunch and hoofed it back to the bus and went to the Vatican. We walked through St. Peters, which was free- so that was a bonus.

I also liked the idea of doing some trips via train- so that if you were with your kids and they had a melt down- you're not freaking out because you are holding up others. You can take the time to sit in a park, eat more ice cream, or just go back early- because you want to. That is a major plus for me.


Someone also asked about tickets for Pisa, while on the Florence tour that I did. The company made reservations for us for the David and gave me a link, which is on their website, to make reservations for Pisa. It was really easy and I did it all online and paid via credit card.


I will also update my podcast tonight after dinner, from the Eiffel Tower...:woohoo:

[konslerg]

Hi,
We will be staying at the Grand Marina Hotel with DCL and were wondering what the situation is regarding luggage and Disney transportation.
How are bags handled on DCL transportation from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship?
Are bags placed outside in the hotel passage?
How early or late do you leave the hotel for the ship?
Is the hotel located as close to the ship as showen on maps?
Thank you
Charmaine

Once you claim your bags at the airport, you (or a porter) take them to the waiting Disney bus where they are loaded and transported (along with you LOL) to your hotel.

We arrived at the Grand Marina about noon and our room was ready, so the bell staff brought our bags to the room for us.

The morning you embark, you put your luggage in the hallway by 8 AM. (At other "Disney" hotels, they were picked up IN your room, but not at the Grand Marina.)

We were on the first bus to the port at about 12:15-12:30 PM. Bags arrived in our stateroom around 4 PM. Lots of folks got theirs earlier. Disney would like for them to be in your stateroom when you embark, but that didn't happen.

The Grand Marina is VERY close to the ship "as the crow flies," but it's way to far away to walk because you have to travel to the "circle" at the end of the hotel plaza, around that circle, along the roadway maybe a mile or so and then drive along a LONG, curved causeway to where the ship is docked. You will be able to catch a glimpse of the ship on your way in from the airport.

Re: Grand Marina ...I wasn't impressed with the rooms for the big bucks it costs, but the location is perfect!! ...and on Saturday morning, there was a little "flea market" near the GM where you could have fun discovering that "antique" flea markets are the same the world over LOL

Note: You will be able to do all your embarkation paperwork right at the hotel and will receive your Key/Card there, so the embarkation process at the ship/terminal consists of showing your identification and walking right on the ship. Wonderful!!

Gloria in Miami

[miclen]

However, I still think a private tour for Florence is a MUST- unless you're fine with getting there and not seeing much. My room mate and friends took the DCL bus into town- got on the first bus and didn't get off of the bus until around 11AM. By that point, we had already made three stops and were entering the David. It also took them well over two hours- almost three to get back to the ship and they left Florence before we started Pisa.





ICUNURSE Celeste -

Based on your advice and thoughts, we booked a private tour in Florence using the same company you did. I had one question for you regarding this....someone else posted that there were some groups in Florence that were on private tours and almost missed the last tender to the ship. DId you have any issues with this?

Thanks so much for all your reports. It has helped so much as we finalized our plans. We even decided to fly into Rome and see that for a few days instead of trying to do an excursion. We are on the 10 day (Aug 8th) so I think we can use the extra day on the ship to relax!

[konslerg]

First off, I want to apologize to all the DISers here. I had such a great time "meeting" you all before the cruise on the Board, but I couldn't drag my husband to any of the DIS meets :-( ...and because he has anxiety problems, he didn't want to be left alone on the ship those first couple of days.

Second, I want to thank you all for the gifts! As a new DIS Boards cruiser, I had no idea how many gifts and what wonderfully generous people you all are. I loved the magnets! the candies, the anchor necklace, the coin purse and everything else! You all rock!

The cruise was wonderful. It met every one of our expectations and, like others have said, it was pretty "port intensive!" ...but unpacking (which I've been doing all day) is not nearly as much fun as packing was ;-)

I was surprised that more "hoopla" wasn't made about it being the FIRST Med cruise and was also surprised that there wasn't more hoopla about the premier of Pirated III on board. Yes, it was shown, but no big "premier" celebration on anything.

I blogged (briefly!) the trip at http://ggkons.blogspot.com and you'll find info on the excursions we did there. Please PM me if you have any specific questions about the ones we did.

The excursions are VERY well-organized and the guides are very good, very knowledgeable. I felt a couple were a bit over-priced for what you got, but others seemed under-priced so it all evened out in the end.

If you have lunches included in any of the excursions you booked, prepare to be fed VERY well (and don't hesitate to ask for another bottle of wine LOL)

Now, back to the unpacking and the laundry ;-)

[konslerg]

I have great walking maps for three cities. I'll be glad to send them to the first person who requests them. E-mail me at ggkons@gmail.com

Maps have been claimed.

[faireygod mother]

I was wondering if anyone of you can describe or post a picture of the backdrop for the embarkation photo?

[kugalbelle]

Once you claim your bags at the airport, you (or a porter) take them to the waiting Disney bus where they are loaded and transported (along with you LOL) to your hotel.

Note: You will be able to do all your embarkation paperwork right at the hotel and will receive your Key/Card there, so the embarkation process at the ship/terminal consists of showing your identification and walking right on the ship. Wonderful!!

Gloria in Miami

Gloria,
Thanks a million for taking the time to answer all my questions.
:thanks:

[kugalbelle]

ritesh is suppose to be coming back i think this week
Thanks for the info.
:thanks:

[jeanneg]

We're home safe and sound, but I am swamped! I have to go out of town again next Tuesday and don't know how I am going to get everything done.
The cruise was great, but exhausting. With so little ship time, it hardly felt like a cruise at all. I can't imagine how the 10-day sailers are going to feel. Without that middle sea day to relax and regroup, I'd be completely wiped.

I need to post some tips on the excursion board as soon as I get the time. It's hard being the guinea pigs, but at least some others can benefit from our experience.

[AnnaS]

We're home safe and sound, but I am swamped! I have to go out of town again next Tuesday and don't know how I am going to get everything done.
The cruise was great, but exhausting. With so little ship time, it hardly felt like a cruise at all. I can't imagine how the 10-day sailers are going to feel. Without that middle sea day to relax and regroup, I'd be completely wiped.

I need to post some tips on the excursion board as soon as I get the time. It's hard being the guinea pigs, but at least some others can benefit from our experience.


Hi Jeanne, - Anna from NY :)

Welcome back. Ours will be here before we know it.

First I would like to know do the tour busses have restrooms? I know it is not anyones first choice - but just in case - since some excursions are 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from port.

Were many people on your cruise wearing open toe shoes/sandals? Shorts? I am sure it will/should be much warmer for our cruise.

Did you need to purchase water anywhere? If so, how much? Just wondering if we should buy a case from DCL (even though they are overpriced).

I am sure I will have some more.

Thanks.

[DebWills]

I need to catch up on all the posts but wanted to say THANK YOU to all the awesome folks we met on the cruise. It was great to connect names and faces.

So many ppl to thank, especially Ron and Monica for hosting the Toga Party.

Thank you everyone for the great cabin gifts. It was such a treat to return to the cabin and find little goodies in the fish extender. Some of you are quite creative! We always smiled. Also, the cabin door decorations were awesome! Loved stopping at a cabin to see all the cool pics and artwork.

Got in very late last night and at work today, so will take some time to catch up.

Deb - Blogged my way thru the Med http://allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills

[DebWills]

Hi Jeanne, - Anna from NY :)

Welcome back. Ours will be here before we know it.

First I would like to know do the tour busses have restrooms? I know it is not anyones first choice - but just in case - since some excursions are 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from port.

None of the buses I was on had bathrooms. They did make a stop about 1 hour into a long ride. The train we took to Rome did have bathroom on it.

Be aware that there are basically no public restrooms as we Americans know them. Almost all are in cafes, and of course, for their patrons only. Also, no paper towels in restrooms, all hand dryers. Sinks have all kinds of ways to have water come out from foot pedals to faucets.




Did you need to purchase water anywhere? If so, how much? Just wondering if we should buy a case from DCL (even though they are overpriced).


It was rare to have water offered on any of the excursions except during meals. We just opted for the Disney water package to make sure we stayed hydrated. They are doing the water a bit different now and there are forms in the cabins.

Deb
Blogged my way thru the Med http://allearsnet.com/blogs/debwills

[flrealtorgrl]

Can anyone compare or give feedback on the 2 different beach breaks at Sardinia?:goodvibes :confused:

:sad2: I just returned from 5/26 cruise. One of my favorite excursions was the "La Cinta" beach break on Sardinia. It was heaven! I didn't want to leave and made a comment on my end of cruise survey that they should offer a full day at such a wonderful paradise! :beach: Hope that helps!

[jeanneg]

Hi Jeanne, - Anna from NY :)

Welcome back. Ours will be here before we know it.

First I would like to know do the tour busses have restrooms? I know it is not anyones first choice - but just in case - since some excursions are 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from port.

Were many people on your cruise wearing open toe shoes/sandals? Shorts? I am sure it will/should be much warmer for our cruise.

Did you need to purchase water anywhere? If so, how much? Just wondering if we should buy a case from DCL (even though they are overpriced).

I am sure I will have some more.

Thanks.

Hi Anna,
No restrooms on any of the busses. We actually were given water on some of our excursions, but it was usually during the ride home. Generally, the bathrooms were fairly decent as long as you carry your own tissues and have some spare coins for tipping the matron if there is one. They don't give change, so save the smaller coins for the potty. If you have to give a whole Euro say it's for 2 and share the fee with someone else. The worst bathrooms were in Les Baux, which was a shame because it was an absolutely amazing place to visit. The toilet was truly a hole in the ground with 2 footprints indicating where to stand. It took quite a bit of figuring out how to use the facility without totally disrobing and still keep my clothing dry! Trust me, it was not an easy thing to do.When I finally came out, I felt like Borat when he says "Great success!"

[AnnaS]

None of the buses I was on had bathrooms. They did make a stop about 1 hour into a long ride. The train we took to Rome did have bathroom on it.

Be aware that there are basically no public restrooms as we Americans know them. Almost all are in cafes, and of course, for their patrons only. Also, no paper towels in restrooms, all hand dryers. Sinks have all kinds of ways to have water come out from foot pedals to faucets.




It was rare to have water offered on any of the excursions except during meals. We just opted for the Disney water package to make sure we stayed hydrated. They are doing the water a bit different now and there are forms in the cabins.


[QUOTE=jeanneg;19092471]Hi Anna,
No restrooms on any of the busses. We actually were given water on some of our excursions, but it was usually during the ride home. Generally, the bathrooms were fairly decent as long as you carry your own tissues and have some spare coins for tipping the matron if there is one. They don't give change, so save the smaller coins for the potty. If you have to give a whole Euro say it's for 2 and share the fee with someone else. The worst bathrooms were in Les Baux, which was a shame because it was an absolutely amazing place to visit. The toilet was truly a hole in the ground with 2 footprints indicating where to stand. It took quite a bit of figuring out how to use the facility without totally disrobing and still keep my clothing dry! Trust me, it was not an easy thing to do.When I finally came out, I felt like Borat when he says "Great success!"


Oh boy - this is what I was afraid of - I have been reading different blogs - including yours Deb :) - thanks - and something told me that there are probably no restrooms on the busses - I guess no coffee :rotfl: right before boarding a bus for 1-2 hours.

I don't know wether to laugh or shake my head :confused3 regarding the holes on the floor, no tissue paper and paying to use the "bathroom" - my son had warned me about this (he went last year to Italy with his high school).

I guess we will be purchasing a case of water as soon as we board.

Thank you so much -

[AnnaS]

:sad2: I just returned from 5/26 cruise. One of my favorite excursions was the "La Cinta" beach break on Sardinia. It was heaven! I didn't want to leave and made a comment on my end of cruise survey that they should offer a full day at such a wonderful paradise! :beach: Hope that helps!

I am sooooo glad you enjoyed it. I think this excursion seems to short. Did you find it was too short? Do you have recommendations of anything to take with us?

Were the two porta potties sufficient for the amount of people? As you can see, many questions about restrooms - it's not sooo much that I need one every minute - but the whole bathroom sharing w/public, cleaniness/odor - really, really, really bothers me.:eek:

We were trying to figure out if we could do this on our own and grab a cab but we are afraid that we would not have or could depend on a cab to pick us back up.

Did you hear anyone on the ship talking about the Coda Cavallo (?) can't remember name now - beach excursion? We can't figure out why one is $60 more - I could understand if it included lunch, but it does not.

Thank you again very, very much.

This is all very helpful.

[RJAYL]

:sad2: I just returned from 5/26 cruise. One of my favorite excursions was the "La Cinta" beach break on Sardinia. It was heaven! I didn't want to leave and made a comment on my end of cruise survey that they should offer a full day at such a wonderful paradise! :beach: Hope that helps!Thanks for the Info that is the excursion I choose for my family for Sardinia:thumbsup2

[flrealtorgrl]

I am sooooo glad you enjoyed it. I think this excursion seems to short. Did you find it was too short? Do you have recommendations of anything to take with us?

Were the two porta potties sufficient for the amount of people? As you can see, many questions about restrooms - it's not sooo much that I need one every minute - but the whole bathroom sharing w/public, cleaniness/odor - really, really, really bothers me.:eek:

We were trying to figure out if we could do this on our own and grab a cab but we are afraid that we would not have or could depend on a cab to pick us back up.

Did you hear anyone on the ship talking about the Coda Cavallo (?) can't remember name now - beach excursion? We can't figure out why one is $60 more - I could understand if it included lunch, but it does not.

Thank you again very, very much.

This is all very helpful.

I did feel the excursion was shorter than I would have liked, however...I wouldn't have wanted to miss it just because it was short (in other words, I'd do it again). I'm not sure about the porta potties...there was a bar on the beach that had nice clean restrooms (although as many others have said, definitely bring the travel size toilet paper from Target's travel section with u). I would imagine that if you took a taxi, someone at the bar could arrange for another taxi to pick u up. I didn't hear reviews of the other excursion, I tried to find out why it was more $, but no one could really answer me, except that the beach may have been a bit further and may have been even a bit nicer (which is hard for me to imagine). We had to book this on the ship because our original booking was cancelled, so when we looked at the two and the prices we couldn't justify spending more when there was no real reason given. Again, hope this info. is helpful! Here is a photo of the beach:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/sbellefl71/IMG_0798.jpg

[RJAYL]

I did feel the excursion was shorter than I would have liked, however...I wouldn't have wanted to miss it just because it was short (in other words, I'd do it again). I'm not sure about the porta potties...there was a bar on the beach that had nice clean restrooms (although as many others have said, definitely bring the travel size toilet paper from Target's travel section with u). I would imagine that if you took a taxi, someone at the bar could arrange for another taxi to pick u up. I didn't hear reviews of the other excursion, I tried to find out why it was more $, but no one could really answer me, except that the beach may have been a bit further and may have been even a bit nicer (which is hard for me to imagine). We had to book this on the ship because our original booking was cancelled, so when we looked at the two and the prices we couldn't justify spending more when there was no real reason given. Again, hope this info. is helpful! Here is a photo of the beach:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/sbellefl71/IMG_0798.jpgA Bar, A Beach, A Bathroom, Who could ask for anything more!:cool1: :banana: :lmao: :rotfl: :drinking1

[AnnaS]

I did feel the excursion was shorter than I would have liked, however...I wouldn't have wanted to miss it just because it was short (in other words, I'd do it again). I'm not sure about the porta potties...there was a bar on the beach that had nice clean restrooms (although as many others have said, definitely bring the travel size toilet paper from Target's travel section with u). I would imagine that if you took a taxi, someone at the bar could arrange for another taxi to pick u up. I didn't hear reviews of the other excursion, I tried to find out why it was more $, but no one could really answer me, except that the beach may have been a bit further and may have been even a bit nicer (which is hard for me to imagine). We had to book this on the ship because our original booking was cancelled, so when we looked at the two and the prices we couldn't justify spending more when there was no real reason given. Again, hope this info. is helpful! Here is a photo of the beach:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/sbellefl71/IMG_0798.jpg

Yes, thank you. Very helpful. Perhaps the porta potties are on the other beach excursion - they said they had one for each gender. Will definitely pack toilet tissue - how often do we pack this necessity here for vacation :lmao:

We are 5 - so $60 x 5 is $300 for us. I had not thought of having the bar call a cab for us - I don't mind going w/DCL. This is our 4th dcl cruise and after reading about excursions from previous cruisers, I felt comfortable doing an excursion here and there on our own (like St. Thomas - we did St. John's on our own). I will not do this on my own unless I read from others that they have taken cabs and it woked out.

The beach is beautiful. A co-worker is actually there now visiting family.

Thank you again. :)

[figment52]

Hi Anna,
No restrooms on any of the busses. We actually were given water on some of our excursions, but it was usually during the ride home. Generally, the bathrooms were fairly decent as long as you carry your own tissues and have some spare coins for tipping the matron if there is one. They don't give change, so save the smaller coins for the potty. If you have to give a whole Euro say it's for 2 and share the fee with someone else. The worst bathrooms were in Les Baux, which was a shame because it was an absolutely amazing place to visit. The toilet was truly a hole in the ground with 2 footprints indicating where to stand. It took quite a bit of figuring out how to use the facility without totally disrobing and still keep my clothing dry! Trust me, it was not an easy thing to do.When I finally came out, I felt like Borat when he says "Great success!"


There were actually two restrooms in Les Baux - one as Jeanneg described at the entrance to the "village" and one further up the path near the church that is more like were are used to. The guide we were with described them as "turkish toilets" and "regular toilets". The only thing was the guide didn't mention the second location until the first few people came out of the first location surprised at what they had just encountered. It was as if she looked forward to our reactions.

[Runnermom123]

My honest impression is that this would have been a much better cruise, had the trip been done over 14 days. I am TIRED!!! I am sitting here in Paris and Andy and I are plugging along on the computers- he is on the sucky French keyboard that has all of the keys in weird spots and I am on his laptop....:rotfl2:

First of all, I loved the cruise- but I think that people who go on this cruise with the expectation of actually "seeing" Europe will be disappointed. Or those who have the expection of having a relaxing cruise and seeing Europe will REALLY be disappointed. I know that it is hard for individuals to get 14 + days off for the cruise- but I think they should have done one or two cruises in the med that were that length, that would have also allowed for more rest and relaxation between ports. I seriously don't how to 10 day people are going to do it.


In Palermo, I did a land tour. The guy who was our tour guide was AWESOME. I did some more updates last night and I posted my top 3 favorite things. I had a really hard time deciding between Florence and Palermo- but it was the fact that our guide in Palermo took more time to tell us the history of the area and was also willing to schedule our trip according to our needs. We stopped for bathrooms, we stopped for gelato, we stopped to look at huge cows with bells, and I probably saw one of the coolest churches I have ever seen. It was also like we did all or most of everything DCL offered in their other excursions: we saw the chruches,history, beaches, etc. It was just great.

However, I still think a private tour for Florence is a MUST- unless you're fine with getting there and not seeing much. My room mate and friends took the DCL bus into town- got on the first bus and didn't get off of the bus until around 11AM. By that point, we had already made three stops and were entering the David. It also took them well over two hours- almost three to get back to the ship and they left Florence before we started Pisa.


For Rome- you just have to accept that all you are going to get is a brief overview. For that, I really liked the way we did it. We booked our train tickets in advance, which was no problem, but not necessary. We took the train to the LAST stop, which was 3 or 4 after the ST. Peter's stop and got on the open bus tour from the beginning. We then got off at one point and walked to the Spanish steps and did the Trevi fountain. If you are with little kids- skip the steps as it isn't overly magnificent and hit the fountian- it it a must do. We than ate lunch and hoofed it back to the bus and went to the Vatican. We walked through St. Peters, which was free- so that was a bonus.

I also liked the idea of doing some trips via train- so that if you were with your kids and they had a melt down- you're not freaking out because you are holding up others. You can take the time to sit in a park, eat more ice cream, or just go back early- because you want to. That is a major plus for me.


Someone also asked about tickets for Pisa, while on the Florence tour that I did. The company made reservations for us for the David and gave me a link, which is on their website, to make reservations for Pisa. It was really easy and I did it all online and paid via credit card.


I will also update my podcast tonight after dinner, from the Eiffel Tower...:woohoo:
Celeste, thank you so much for taking the time to provide all of this info. It is so helpful. We are now planning to take a private tour to Florence and Pisa as well. How long did it take for you to get off the boat in La Spezia? Was it a very long process, because of the tender craft? Did they make you wait for all the Disney excursion passengers to get off first? Thanks!

[colleenlg]

Did anyone on the 1st Med Cruise travel with young kids/a stroller? On the excursions it always warns that there will be portions of the tour when the stroller must be folded up & a small stroller is recommended. Does that just refer to folding up the stroller while on the bus, or do you actually have lug around your stroller for portions of the day? If so, for how long? I'm trying to decide between 2 strollers to bring for my daughter...I'd prefer the bigger one that reclines & has a tray for her to eat snacks from but I don't want to carry it (or more accurately, have DH carry it) around all day!

Thanks for your help!:flower3:

[winotracy]

We are home!! We had a fabulous time! I must echo what others were saying. This is a very port intensive cruise. Plan a break in this itinerary. Olbia was beautiful, if I did this again, I'd go to the beach.

Chateauneuf du Pape was outstanding. At the winery there wasn't a dress code. The lunch was sooooooo good!!! At the Palace of the Popes, we did not go inside. Actually, I did not see anyone go inside and I'm not sure if you can. We all wore shorts or capris that day.

In Palermo I did see people in shorts in the cathedral we went to. In Rome, long shorts, just over the knees were fine, even in the Vatican.

While we were in Rome, there was a taxi strike. This did screw up our hop on/hop off bus. The strikes will throw a loop into your plan so just plan to be flexible if you were going to do it on your own. Our trip to Rome on our own versus DCL's "Rome on your Own" excursion was considerably cheaper. Including our train ticket, bus ticket and lunch for four, our excursion was still cheaper for two of us than two on the DCL excursion. But you need to feel comfortable doing this!! If you are too worried about things going wrong, you are not going to enjoy yourself.

I'll post more later when I find my notes.

[JeanieP]

I just want to sincerely thank you both. You have no idea how your blogs, posts, and honest opinions have truly provided me with much needed guidance, inspiration and valuable insider tips. My DH and I like to do things on our own, and we truly enjoyed hearing about your adventures. Thank you for taking the time out of your hectic schedules to let the rest of us cruise along with you.

Did you spend much time on the ship eating dinner? There seem to be mixed opinions on dinner service. Also, is it true that when the ship left Barcelona there was no ship horn?

Thanks again. You two are legendary....:thumbsup2

[taysmom]

Just to chime in...I kept up on all the blogs... celeste, breighton, allears and now funnybunnys! YOU all were great. So much great information. Thanks for sharing your honest opinions with us. We leave in 4 days and now I really can't wait!
Steph

[winotracy]

If you don't want to wait in lines and eat buffet for dinner, I would suggest late dining or early excursions on the Med cruises. We had late dining and never had to miss a dinner because we were off the ship. I heard from one of our head waiters ;) that Topsiders and Beach Blanket will be buffet from now on for all sailings. This is a mistake in my opinion and will stop me from going there. The food is not as good on a buffet. It was just ok. I needed to go there one night due to the DISer party and I was sad that I wasn't in the dining room. I noticed on nights when the all aboard was later, there were always lines to get in to Topsiders. Our table was always ready for us in the dining room with Liam and Wanderson ready to serve us! Our head servers were Gaspare (officially) and Michelle (unofficially). Long story, but it was fun having two of them!!

[icunurse_celeste]

ICUNURSE Celeste -

Based on your advice and thoughts, we booked a private tour in Florence using the same company you did. I had one question for you regarding this....someone else posted that there were some groups in Florence that were on private tours and almost missed the last tender to the ship. DId you have any issues with this?

Thanks so much for all your reports. It has helped so much as we finalized our plans. We even decided to fly into Rome and see that for a few days instead of trying to do an excursion. We are on the 10 day (Aug 8th) so I think we can use the extra day on the ship to relax!


Must have been someone else, we had no issue missing the ship. I on the ship two or more hours before depature- I even made my early dining time. I was on the ship before my friends who used DCL for transport....maybe it was them...:rotfl:

[seaulater]

The cruise was wonderful. It met every one of our expectations and, like others have said, it was pretty "port intensive!"

I was surprised that more "hoopla" wasn't made about it being the FIRST Med cruise and was also surprised that there wasn't more hoopla about the premier of Pirated III on board. Yes, it was shown, but no big "premier" celebration on anything.

I think you didn't get any hoopla or "premier" because we actually premier it on our Med. Cruise the night before. It was announced that we would be able to see Pirates at 12:01 a.m. on Friday May 25th in the Walt Disney Theater. The theater was packed and we all stayed up until 3 a.m. watching the premiere.

We also had the opportunity to purchase the Premiere at Sea Pirates LE Pin on our cruise.

That's probably why there was no "hoopla" on yours, it had already been done the day before.

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

[icunurse_celeste]

Celeste, thank you so much for taking the time to provide all of this info. It is so helpful. We are now planning to take a private tour to Florence and Pisa as well. How long did it take for you to get off the boat in La Spezia? Was it a very long process, because of the tender craft? Did they make you wait for all the Disney excursion passengers to get off first? Thanks!

I would plan on tendering to take you 45 to 60 minutes. We were able to get on a tender right away, but had to wait for them to fill the tender, which took another 20 - 30 minutes.

I REALLY wished they had the boats going every 15 minutes despite how full they were in the morning- because those boats could hold 400. Major pain in the BUTT!

We were able to get on with the excurision passengers- but I was also able to go with someone who had concierge service, but it didn't make much difference. I would suggest having your driver pick you up around 8:15 to 8:30- and you being in line to get the first tender possible. I hope DCL fixes this situation, because it is such a lovely town, with so much to see- and they make it EVEN harder to do so with how they tendered.

Getting back on the ship in the evening was a breeze, walk on, walk off.

[icunurse_celeste]

We are home!! We had a fabulous time! I must echo what others were saying. This is a very port intensive cruise. Plan a break in this itinerary. Olbia was beautiful, if I did this again, I'd go to the beach.

Chateauneuf du Pape was outstanding. At the winery there wasn't a dress code. The lunch was sooooooo good!!! At the Palace of the Popes, we did not go inside. Actually, I did not see anyone go inside and I'm not sure if you can. We all wore shorts or capris that day.

In Palermo I did see people in shorts in the cathedral we went to. In Rome, long shorts, just over the knees were fine, even in the Vatican.

While we were in Rome, there was a taxi strike. This did screw up our hop on/hop off bus. The strikes will throw a loop into your plan so just plan to be flexible if you were going to do it on your own. Our trip to Rome on our own versus DCL's "Rome on your Own" excursion was considerably cheaper. Including our train ticket, bus ticket and lunch for four, our excursion was still cheaper for two of us than two on the DCL excursion. But you need to feel comfortable doing this!! If you are too worried about things going wrong, you are not going to enjoy yourself.

I'll post more later when I find my notes.



I can say this because Tracy knows me well- and knows I say this comment kindly. If Tracy felt comfortable enough to do it, most people will also. While Tracy has just switched careers to being a travel agent, I grew up travelling. My parents based travel as a part of our education and so I have been to many different parts of the world. Doing the train to Rome was very, very easy. The taxi strike made our bus tour a little slower, but you are in Rome and you can enjoy the beautiful view- you will be amazed how it is all so different than the states.

We are finishing up our journey here in Europe. Paris is exceptionally beautiful and I wish my family was here to enjoy it with me....there will always be next time. I am ready to fly home tomorrow!

[cocoswife]

While we were in Rome, there was a taxi strike. This did screw up our hop on/hop off bus. The strikes will throw a loop into your plan so just plan to be flexible if you were going to do it on your own. Our trip to Rome on our own versus DCL's "Rome on your Own" excursion was considerably cheaper. Including our train ticket, bus ticket and lunch for four, our excursion was still cheaper for two of us than two on the DCL excursion. But you need to feel comfortable doing this!! If you are too worried about things going wrong, you are not going to enjoy yourself.

I'll post more later when I find my notes.

Oh no, here we go again... Shhh!! Don't tell Coco ... LOL :)

[winotracy]

Oh no, here we go again... Shhh!! Don't tell Coco ... LOL :)

I wasn't going to name names!! :goodvibes

[icunurse_celeste]

I wasn't going to name names!! :goodvibes


Tracy also failed to mention that they dropped a NICE chunk of change on lunch.:rotfl: The four of us ate for 3 times less than they did. :laughing: So, you can really do ROME for less than DCL either T or C style!




I did one last quick podcast- after much hassel. I fly home tomorrow and I am ready to be in my bed, with my snoring husband!

[winotracy]

I can say this because Tracy knows me well- and knows I say this comment kindly. If Tracy felt comfortable enough to do it, most people will also. While Tracy has just switched careers to being a travel agent, I grew up travelling. My parents based travel as a part of our education and so I have been to many different parts of the world. Doing the train to Rome was very, very easy. The taxi strike made our bus tour a little slower, but you are in Rome and you can enjoy the beautiful view- you will be amazed how it is all so different than the states.

We are finishing up our journey here in Europe. Paris is exceptionally beautiful and I wish my family was here to enjoy it with me....there will always be next time. I am ready to fly home tomorrow!

That being said though, I don't know if we would have gone alone if it was just Bill and I. We fight too much when we aren't sure of what we are doing. With others, we don't :rotfl:

[Andrew DEREK UK]

That being said though, I don't know if we would have gone alone if it was just Bill and I. We fight too much when we aren't sure of what we are doing. With others, we don't :rotfl:

Can I gatecrash this thread, and just make a request, did anyone keep all of the Navigators for this Med cruise, and if so, if you are able to post them, let either us know on the July 28th Thread, or PM me with a link please.

Thank you

Hope you all had a great time.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=19107872&posted=1#post19107872

[winotracy]

Can I gatecrash this thread, and just make a request, did anyone keep all of the Navigators for this Med cruise, and if so, if you are able to post them, let either us know on the July 28th Thread, or PM me with a link please.

Thank you

Hope you all had a great time.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=19107872&posted=1#post19107872

I have all of the Navigators and will be getting them to the necessary people at the DIS to get them uploaded. This will happen within the next week I'm sure.

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have all of the Navigators and will be getting them to the necessary people at the DIS to get them uploaded. This will happen within the next week I'm sure.

Thank you so much! It will help us so much.

[Jeisur]

Did anyone on the 1st Med Cruise travel with young kids/a stroller? On the excursions it always warns that there will be portions of the tour when the stroller must be folded up & a small stroller is recommended. Does that just refer to folding up the stroller while on the bus, or do you actually have lug around your stroller for portions of the day? If so, for how long? I'm trying to decide between 2 strollers to bring for my daughter...I'd prefer the bigger one that reclines & has a tray for her to eat snacks from but I don't want to carry it (or more accurately, have DH carry it) around all day!

Thanks for your help!:flower3:

Depends on the excursion that you do. Our son turned 2 on the ship and we have a maclaren stroller that reclines slightly. The best purchase EVER! The roads are old, keep that in mind, sidewalks are hard to maneuver, bumpy bumpy bumpy. A lot of steps. Larger strollers would be hard to manage, you would be BEAT by the end of most excursions. Cheep umbrella strollers are not an option unless you want your kid to feel like they are in a rock tumbler all day! I was worried that poor Breighton's brain would explode with all the bumpies.

Check out our blog for what we did and stroller suggestions.... it was pretty easy on busses because they let you put it underneath (which means keeping it "stuff free"). Sometimes we carried him or let him walk and drug the stroller behind us. Our stroller has a shoulder strap to carry it, which was REALLY nice! But not too functional when going up steep steps.

If your child is prone to pull or wonder I highly suggest (eventhought I don't like them) one of those leash type harnesses for the kiddo. Traffic is mighty dangerous.

I also recommend those little "snack traps" you can get at Toys R' Us. Easy way to snack and not make a mess. We took two sippy cups since the are really isn't a clean place to wash them on excursions. And bring your own snacks for the kiddo or get cereal and fruit at the buffet in the morning. We stocked our room fridge with milk daily so avoid running up to get milk at 5am.

Anything else you need to know, just ask. We are very experienced in travel with our son now! :)

-Laurie

http://breighton.qseg.org

[dannleahsmom]

Did anyone on the 1st Med Cruise travel with young kids/a stroller? On the excursions it always warns that there will be portions of the tour when the stroller must be folded up & a small stroller is recommended. Does that just refer to folding up the stroller while on the bus, or do you actually have lug around your stroller for portions of the day? If so, for how long? I'm trying to decide between 2 strollers to bring for my daughter...I'd prefer the bigger one that reclines & has a tray for her to eat snacks from but I don't want to carry it (or more accurately, have DH carry it) around all day!

Thanks for your help!:flower3:

I won't be sailing until June 27 but I have traveled in Europe before and I would recommend leaving the stroller behind and using a backpack-style carrier if you can still carry your daughter that way. Remember:
a.) the cobblestone streets are killer
b.) most sidewalks just end -- they are not wheelchair/stroller accessible so you have to muscle the curbs, and
c.) the summer crowding just makes using a stroller difficult.
Out of frustration what I ended up doing was I went into a shop and purchased a backpack carrier and it was just so much easier. I didn't have to worry about someone tripping over the stroller and I was able to walk through the streets with ease. Would have been cheaper if I had just brought one from home but it all worked out in the end.

[colleenlg]

Depends on the excursion that you do. Our son turned 2 on the ship and we have a maclaren stroller that reclines slightly. The best purchase EVER! The roads are old, keep that in mind, sidewalks are hard to maneuver, bumpy bumpy bumpy. A lot of steps. Larger strollers would be hard to manage, you would be BEAT by the end of most excursions. Cheep umbrella strollers are not an option unless you want your kid to feel like they are in a rock tumbler all day! I was worried that poor Breighton's brain would explode with all the bumpies.

Check out our blog for what we did and stroller suggestions.... it was pretty easy on busses because they let you put it underneath (which means keeping it "stuff free"). Sometimes we carried him or let him walk and drug the stroller behind us. Our stroller has a shoulder strap to carry it, which was REALLY nice! But not too functional when going up steep steps.

If your child is prone to pull or wonder I highly suggest (eventhought I don't like them) one of those leash type harnesses for the kiddo. Traffic is mighty dangerous.

I also recommend those little "snack traps" you can get at Toys R' Us. Easy way to snack and not make a mess. We took two sippy cups since the are really isn't a clean place to wash them on excursions. And bring your own snacks for the kiddo or get cereal and fruit at the buffet in the morning. We stocked our room fridge with milk daily so avoid running up to get milk at 5am.

Anything else you need to know, just ask. We are very experienced in travel with our son now! :)

-Laurie

http://breighton.qseg.org

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading your blog actually - great to get the perspective of parents of a 2-y-o like us! :cheer2: Are there any flat places to walk - like near the piers in any of the ports? Usually the only way we can get DD to nap on trips is if we get in a car & drive or keep wheeling her around in her stroller. Was trying to decide between our 2 strollers & your comments convinced me to go with the smaller, easier to carry one for sure!

I will bring a stroller plus one of those harnesses. (I recently bought one for the trip & am trying to get DD used to the idea - she seems to like having a little freedom & not having to hold hands all the time.)

I read on your blog that your DS got sick to his tummy...do you think that was from swimming in the Mickey pool. I've heard some bad stories...Also - is your son potty trained? Our DD isn't but she's never gone poopy in the pool! Did you check out the sprinkler area or whatever for the non-potty-trained kiddos?

I won't be sailing until June 27 but I have traveled in Europe before and I would recommend leaving the stroller behind and using a backpack-style carrier if you can still carry your daughter that way. Remember:
a.) the cobblestone streets are killer
b.) most sidewalks just end -- they are not wheelchair/stroller accessible so you have to muscle the curbs, and
c.) the summer crowding just makes using a stroller difficult.
Out of frustration what I ended up doing was I went into a shop and purchased a backpack carrier and it was just so much easier. I didn't have to worry about someone tripping over the stroller and I was able to walk through the streets with ease. Would have been cheaper if I had just brought one from home but it all worked out in the end.

Thanks for the suggestions! I think our DD is too big for those backpack carriers at age 2, non? Does your DC just sleep in the backpack then? Thanks again!

-Colleen

[Jeisur]

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading your blog actually - great to get the perspective of parents of a 2-y-o like us! :cheer2: Are there any flat places to walk - like near the piers in any of the ports? Usually the only way we can get DD to nap on trips is if we get in a car & drive or keep wheeling her around in her stroller. Was trying to decide between our 2 strollers & your comments convinced me to go with the smaller, easier to carry one for sure!

I will bring a stroller plus one of those harnesses. (I recently bought one for the trip & am trying to get DD used to the idea - she seems to like having a little freedom & not having to hold hands all the time.)

I read on your blog that your DS got sick to his tummy...do you think that was from swimming in the Mickey pool. I've heard some bad stories...Also - is your son potty trained? Our DD isn't but she's never gone poopy in the pool! Did you check out the sprinkler area or whatever for the non-potty-trained kiddos?





Our son is nearly potty-trained. He gives warning if it is a #2. #1 he warns also but refuses to go on the toilet most of the time. Travel threw him off greatly. We left him in diapers for the convenience of not having to rush to a potty every 20 minutes! :)

We tried out the splash area at first and he was like "WHAT??? I want the big kid pool!" (in less words of course). He just got done with 7 weeks of swimming lessons and wanted to be in the big water. We kept him in those "lined" swim trunks just to be safe. They don't allow swim diapers in the main mickey pool, just the one ear (splash area). We were never asked if he was fully potty-trained...I WAS asked if he was wearing a swim diaper, which technically he wasn't. He enjoyed the Mickey pool a LOT... Goofy pool was too busy and too deep for me to watch him safely. Once he was on the antibiotics from the "ick" I didn't let him swim anymore.

Didn't get a lot of time in the pool anyway, weather was a bit to frigid to have a toddler in it.

As for his "illness" I think it was a combination of teething and getting soaking wet from rain on a cold day in La Spezia. He STILL has a cough but is all better otherwise.

Our view on strollers in each port:
Barcelona( was great--lots of cute parks near the tourist bus route)
Palermo (not many steps but cobble roads...but not bad)
Naples (IMHO-stay on the ship...gross and dirty)
Olbia (extremely stroller friendly, a few steps but not bad, cute downtown area)
Civitevechia (stroller friendly once you are off the shuttle-bus, otherwise about 1.5 mile walk to town pushing a stroller)
La Spezia (didn't spend much time in port proper we went to Larechi and it was pretty stroller friendly except for the rain, our excursion on the other hand was NOT friendly for strollers because we went up to the castle)
Marseilles (was great for strollers)
Villefranche (Eze was rough just a LOT of steps(wide and long thought) that took a LOT of muscle to get up, the port itself was very rough for strollers...very tight roads and no curb-cuts)

Hope that helps! :)

[earpiemom]

Colleenlg,
Which Med sailing are you on? We also have a 2 year old and are on the 6-16 sailing.

[colleenlg]

Earpiemom-

We're on the 7-18 cruise. Too bad we won't be together!

-Colleen

[colleenlg]

Our son is nearly potty-trained. He gives warning if it is a #2. #1 he warns also but refuses to go on the toilet most of the time. Travel threw him off greatly. We left him in diapers for the convenience of not having to rush to a potty every 20 minutes! :)

We tried out the splash area at first and he was like "WHAT??? I want the big kid pool!" (in less words of course). He just got done with 7 weeks of swimming lessons and wanted to be in the big water. We kept him in those "lined" swim trunks just to be safe. They don't allow swim diapers in the main mickey pool, just the one ear (splash area). We were never asked if he was fully potty-trained...I WAS asked if he was wearing a swim diaper, which technically he wasn't. He enjoyed the Mickey pool a LOT... Goofy pool was too busy and too deep for me to watch him safely. Once he was on the antibiotics from the "ick" I didn't let him swim anymore.

Didn't get a lot of time in the pool anyway, weather was a bit to frigid to have a toddler in it.

As for his "illness" I think it was a combination of teething and getting soaking wet from rain on a cold day in La Spezia. He STILL has a cough but is all better otherwise.

Our view on strollers in each port:
Barcelona( was great--lots of cute parks near the tourist bus route)
Palermo (not many steps but cobble roads...but not bad)
Naples (IMHO-stay on the ship...gross and dirty)
Olbia (extremely stroller friendly, a few steps but not bad, cute downtown area)
Civitevechia (stroller friendly once you are off the shuttle-bus, otherwise about 1.5 mile walk to town pushing a stroller)
La Spezia (didn't spend much time in port proper we went to Larechi and it was pretty stroller friendly except for the rain, our excursion on the other hand was NOT friendly for strollers because we went up to the castle)
Marseilles (was great for strollers)
Villefranche (Eze was rough just a LOT of steps(wide and long thought) that took a LOT of muscle to get up, the port itself was very rough for strollers...very tight roads and no curb-cuts)

Hope that helps! :)
Thanks so much for the input! I'm going to print your stroller advice re: each port to take with us!

[seema]

Ok, I’ve got more time now for more of a report.


We got to the port early, but not early enough to see Joey Fatone brought onboard. Another DISer saw him, but had no clue who it was so I asked someone from DCL if it was Joey and they said “you guessed”. About 10:00 am they let us in the building. Security went pretty quick. They checked our ID at the door against the manifest, then we went through screening and on to check in. If you did your documents online, you could proceed to the check in. They made Castaway Club people go to the Castaway Club line. No choice. When we got in there was no line, but also there was no one at first time cruiser check in. The castmembers were very nice, but obviously still learning. I did have to tell ours that we both got lanyards and pins and she needed to keep my credit card authorization. When we checked in, we were told that all aboard was at 5:00 pm. This was different than any of the documents we had gotten or things we had heard. We could go back off the ship (via the aft gangway), but we needed to be aboard for the safety drill.

.

What time did you board the ship? The cruise documents state that one can get on at 1 PM. Once you got on, when could you go to your cabin? You could go off the ship after checking in and boarding; could you disembark after the safety drill - I understand that the ship departs at 10 PM?

[winotracy]

What time did you board the ship? The cruise documents state that one can get on at 1 PM. Once you got on, when could you go to your cabin? You could go off the ship after checking in and boarding; could you disembark after the safety drill - I understand that the ship departs at 10 PM?

We boarded around noon. We could not go to our room until 1:30 pm. We could get back off after checking in and boarding. We were told at check in that all aboard was at 5:00 pm, which was different than what we had been told before. I don't know about disembarking after the safety drill as that was after the time we were told was all aboard. I know there were a lot of people who didn't make it to the safety drill though.

[seaulater]

That being said though, I don't know if we would have gone alone if it was just Bill and I. We fight too much when we aren't sure of what we are doing. With others, we don't :rotfl:

Guess we won't be seeing the two of you on The Amazing Race anytime soon then huh? :scared1:

Thanks to everyone for keeping us all in the loop. Wish we could have stayed and done the 11 night. Why does work always get in the way?

But, before you know it we will all be sailing together again!:woohoo:

[AskAGeek]

Guess we won't be seeing the two of you on The Amazing Race anytime soon then huh? :scared1:

At times it seemed like the amazing race. We just had more time to enjoy the scenery. party:

[Hygiene99]

AskAGeek
Jim U. asked if I was a clown!


http://www.disboards.com/images/avatars/Penguin2.gif

Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Near Madison, WI
Posts: 13

What is the anwser? :rotfl:


Still tired here today!

But, one bottle of wine from Chateanuef _Du _ Pape is Gone! :scared1:
Was a fun trip!!! ;)

[AskAGeek]

AskAGeek
Jim U. asked if I was a clown!

http://www.disboards.com/images/avatars/Penguin2.gif

Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Near Madison, WI
Posts: 13

What is the anwser? :rotfl:

Still tired here today!

But, one bottle of wine from Chateanuef _Du _ Pape is Gone! :scared1:
Was a fun trip!!! ;)

You don't know? :confused3 I'm thinking about a career change... 'nuf said. BTW, where can I get some big shoes?

I got a nap two days in a row! :thumbsup2

T already has laundry done, cruise stuff sorted and packed away (for next time). It's pretty neat around here. It's 78 and the patio is open - tunes on, etc.

Not looking forward to Monday. Somebody isn't watching the email servers at central, so it hasn't been possible for me to check email since Friday night when I just skimmed through it. So, the vacation continues!!! KEWL now, KREWL come tomorrow! :rotfl:

This has to be one of the best trips ever, but it will take a while for all that we saw to sink in.

Thanks to everyone for making it great!

[figment52]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.

[winotracy]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.

I want one now!!! I agree that there should be a couple more days at sea. This was hard, but oh so much fun!!

[figment52]

I want one now!!! I agree that there should be a couple more days at sea. This was hard, but oh so much fun!!


At least you know how to make them - I'd have to call Christina and hope she would deliver; hmm, Med or Michigan, it's a tough decision - :rotfl2:

[Hygiene99]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.


Sandy, it was a pleasure to meet ya!


Also when you edit a post, you dont really have to type in a reason, Just skip it!
Believe me I Know!

Did you Book the 5 night - Magic?


Peter

[figment52]

Sandy, it was a pleasure to meet ya!


Also when you edit a post, you dont really have to type in a reason, Just skip it!
Believe me I Know!

Did you Book the 5 night - Magic?


Peter

It was great running into you guys all the time. OK- it was hard not to with you just 3 cabins away - lol. We decided we should adopt your philosophy for future cruises (WHOTSSOTS). Now if we could just get the matching t-shirts :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

As for rebooking I have a funny story - before I left my sister wanted to make sure I had the dates for their family cruise next year. It would be the last time to cruise together before the kids are off to college and different vacation schedules. Anyway, it was an ordeal to get the date from them but I had it and rebooked that one and another for late 2008 (to move to 2009). I got home and told her and she said "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we decided not to go then". They decided before I left but forgot to tell me. Oh well, I just have to go without them.

The 5 night Magic is Sept 2008 - right? I didn't yet but who knows, I may. I have the WB Panama booked and don't want to miss it again. I wanted to go so bad in 2005. It will depend on what the 2009 schedule turns out to be.

[PURTYPAT1]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight? :scared1:

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

[winotracy]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight? :scared1:

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

A little, but it's too soon to know. I always gain some with the water retention, etc., but it drops to what it should be within a week. I'm up less than 5 pounds right now and expect that to level off in the next few days.

[cocoswife]

Hi guys:
Glad to see everyone made it home safely. I have been like a walking Zombie, had lots of fun, but, I'm really tired. I'm going to bed early and waking up even earlier, It's driving Coco crazy!! ;) I wonder how our friends in California and Las Vegas are doing? They had a 9 hour difference :scared:

Hi Bill, glad to see you posting. I must get Coco a Disboard name, so that he can start posting. Maybe he can be IMAGEEK2 ... LOL :rotfl2:

[cocoswife]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight? :scared1:

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

After consuming large amounts of desserts, mochachinos, foccacia and paninis, I am proud to say that I only gained 2 pounds. Must have been all the walking we did and the reason why I'm so tired. Hey, maybe after this I can do the half marathon in January.

:yay:

[Jeisur]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight? :scared1:

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

Our group faired rather well with all the walking:

Me-lost 6 lbs but then again I was not eating much
DH- Lost 4 lbs-- he ate self serve ice cream at LEAST 5 times a day
DMIL- Lost 3
DFIL- who was at the gym working out everyday in his spare time--gained 2!!!! HAHAHA

[jeanneg]

It's just not fair but I have a terrible metabolism......I gained 8 pounds! It must have been taking the elevator on my birthday! Seriously, I even did 4 miles (miles, not laps) around the deck on sea days and still I packed it on. It will take me 2 months to get it off now.....just in time for my WDW trip.

I already thanked everyone for the FE stuff, but my mind was jet-lagged and I forgot to thank Ron and Monica for opening up their suite to us for an entire afternoon. And to Tracy, of course, for organizing that fabulous Dreams party!
She raffled off tons and goodies and a whole bunch of us got a chance to visit the rainforest for free thanks to Dreams. I'm wondering if she STILL has all that chocolate......I could use some right now.

[jeanneg]

P&J, T&B:
Forgot to mention....I found Rosa Regale at CostCo yesterday......only $16.99 a bottle......I bought 2!

[holidayfanatic]

I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of the wonderful Dis Boarders we met and who left lovely presents for us at/on our cabin door. You are all so thoughtful.

Thanks to Tracey and Bill too for hosting and sponsoring the Dreams Unlimited Dis Board party, it was lovely to meet you all.

I don't feel like resuming the shopping, cleaning, cooking and just want to be back on the Magic! - I'm so missing the lovely meals and service.

We're already dreaming of another Disney cruise (possibly even the Transatlantic back to Florida)! Failing that I would have loved the Panama Canal trip but I believe that's sold out already!

The travel trade press over here in the UK featured the Disney Magic at Barcelona with speculation that it may sail from Southampton, England for the summer of 2009! That would be brilliant for us with just a 4 hour drive away and a chance for others to visit London as a gateway rather than Barcelona.

Hi Celeste - hope you enjoyed Paris - what did you think of Disneyland Paris? Thanks so much for the Rosa Regale, we'll be enjoying that this weekend in the garden - the weather here is fabulous, much warmer that the Med (most surprisingly)!

Take care everyone and you never know, we may 'bump' into you on another planning thread, sooner rather than later! :goodvibes

[poconoboatniks]

Hi Peter and Tracey,

Please PM me with your email addresses. I had the photo of you guys with Tom McAlpin put on a disc. I'll email the photo to you guys.

Ellen

[PURTYPAT1]

Our group faired rather well with all the walking:

Me-lost 6 lbs but then again I was not eating much
DH- Lost 4 lbs-- he ate self serve ice cream at LEAST 5 times a day
DMIL- Lost 3
DFIL- who was at the gym working out everyday in his spare time--gained 2!!!! HAHAHA

Wow, good for you guys, expect DFIL LOL

I enjoyed your blog, thank you so much for sharing it. :thumbsup2

Patricia

[icunurse_celeste]

Hi Celeste - hope you enjoyed Paris - what did you think of Disneyland Paris? Thanks so much for the Rosa Regale, we'll be enjoying that this weekend in the garden - the weather here is fabulous, much warmer that the Med (most surprisingly)!

Take care everyone and you never know, we may 'bump' into you on another planning thread, sooner rather than later! :goodvibes

Paris was beautiful...I just got home last night and I am REALLY trying to stay awake so I can go to get at a normal hour. Is 7 too early??


I will post more about DLP on my blog- which I will get around to Tues or Weds. I kind of lost today- I had to go to the doctor to get the ok to go back to work with the ankle. I then spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone coaching someone who is going on the Med cruise in July. They found my blog from one of their friends, who knows my sister and asked if they could call. (they all live in Florida) Did that make sense? I'm too tired to make sense.


Weight- either the same or up 2 pounds, I can't remember exactly what I weighed precruise.

[taysmom]

Celeste...
really enjoyed your blog and podcast. Thanks for the information.
Steph

[holidayfanatic]

Hi Everyone

We had such a good time on the 11 night Med we've decided to do the Transatlantic 'bringing the Magic back'!!

What I wanted to ask all of you is if you could choose between Cat. 8 deck 5,6, or 7 which would you go for. What put me off Deck 7 was the only cabin left in that Category was 7500, right at the forward. We've picked out deck 5 forward (starboard) as it seems quite spacious and handy for the kid's club.

Celeste - you were in 5524, how did you find that compared to your other cabins?

Do you know if you're able to change cabins (subject to availability/category) after booking?

Thanks everyone :goodvibes

[JsMom2]

Hi Everyone

We had such a good time on the 11 night Med we've decided to do the Transatlantic 'bringing the Magic back'!!

What I wanted to ask all of you is if you could choose between Cat. 8 deck 5,6, or 7 which would you go for. What put me off Deck 7 was the only cabin left in that Category was 7500, right at the forward. We've picked out deck 5 forward (starboard) as it seems quite spacious and handy for the kid's club.

Celeste - you were in 5524, how did you find that compared to your other cabins?

Do you know if you're able to change cabins (subject to availability/category) after booking?

Thanks everyone :goodvibes


I've been on deck 7 the last two cruises, and we are on deck 6 this time. I think 5,6, and 7 all offer great accessibility to the kids club and are relatively quiet.

Now, my advice for a transatlantic sailing is to get the most midship cabin you can find. Not only are you crossing the atlantic ocean, but you are coming back in hurricane season!! Go down a category if you need to, but get to the middle of the ship - in fact the lower decks will feel less motion that the higher ones.

As far as changing cabins goes, I changed my cabin on the 16 June sailing AFTER final payment had been made. I went from a cat 11 to a cat 12 gty and got half of my money back!

Despite the waves, I am jealous of you bringing the Magic back home. Have a great trip!!

[holidayfanatic]

Thanks JSMom2. I'm worried about the waves now :scared1: and a possible hurricaine!

We had some choppy seas between Palermo and Naples and then onto Olbia (20ft waves)! We were on deck 1 with the 2 portholes (1038 I think - which was quite forward) and the waves came right up! I must have good sea legs but have to admit to feeling a little squeamish about crossing the ocean rather than the sea!!

[PURTYPAT1]

Hi All,

We are leaving in a few hours for Barcelona.

I did everything except, I forgot to get the live link for the Port, & the link to follow the Magic.

Does anyone have either?

We us luck :banana:

Patricia

[icunurse_celeste]

For those of you who don't know Tracy's Mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness yesterday and was given approximately six months. Tracy posted today that one of her Mom's final wishes is to get tickets to the Oprah show. I have been trying to figure out what we could do to get make this happen....

I would suggest that all of us write a letter on behalf of Tracy's mom. I am at work today- but I would be more than happy to write a form letter tomorrow that everyone could just cut and paste into their browser. You would have to register on the site so you can email. If people would be willing to email them- perhaps if there were many emails, we would have a better chance?

The studios are pretty close to the hospital- so if worse comes to worse, I'll hoof over there one day and plead our case. Also- if we were able to get tickets- would anyone want to help chip in for hotel rooms for Tracy, her Mom, and her sisters? However, I might make T book the rooms, so she can get the travel agent. :rotfl:


Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

[Scooby3x1y]

For those of you who don't know Tracy's Mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness yesterday and was given approximately six months. Tracy posted today that one of her Mom's final wishes is to get tickets to the Oprah show. I have been trying to figure out what we could do to get make this happen....

I would suggest that all of us write a letter on behalf of Tracy's mom. I am at work today- but I would be more than happy to write a form letter tomorrow that everyone could just cut and paste into their browser. You would have to register on the site so you can email. If people would be willing to email them- perhaps if there were many emails, we would have a better chance?

The studios are pretty close to the hospital- so if worse comes to worse, I'll hoof over there one day and plead our case. Also- if we were able to get tickets- would anyone want to help chip in for hotel rooms for Tracy, her Mom, and her sisters? However, I might make T book the rooms, so she can get the travel agent. :rotfl:


Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

Sorry to hear that. After losing my mom at 60 yo 2 years ago, I know how hard this can be. Best wishes to Tracy! We're thinking and praying for you and your family.

Oprah is on hiatus right now. First thing would be to find out when she'll start taping again.

Lori