7/25/2013 Med. Mickey's 12 Night Italian Job - with Nice, Valletta and Dubrov !

[tinkerbell_29]

Hi everyone! We just booked this cruise the other day it will be our 6th cruise and our second Med cruise. Really looking forward to Venice and hopping that they offer the ABD add-on for Barcelona and the cruise. It will be me, my mom Nancy and my brother Matthew sailing all adults. Looking forward to getting to know everybody over the next 455 days.

Melissa

 

[waltcanada]

Welcome Wendy

We've also enjoyed FE and hopefully we can get it organised for this cruise. I guess it is still too far out for anyone to be planning that yet?

Celestine

Our family of 6 is booked and can't wait!!! We are definitely in for a fish extender, but as we are travelling from Canada, need to keep the # of gifts small - as we get more and more people interested, maybe we can divide into groups of 10 cabins or so?

This itinerary looks FASCINATING!!!! 15 months to go!

Walt's Wife

 

[helenreed]

Welcome to all the newbies! We are off to WDW in July, once we are back from that I will start planning for the cruise. We did FE last year and it was great. Still think this thread is very quiet! If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them as last years itinerary was quite similar.

 

[Figment_Fan]

Welcome tinkerbell 29 and waltcanada.

Helen, it has been quiet, but we still have over 400 days to go. I wonder how full the ship is?

Still don't know about the flights yet. Thinking about booking those on our own instead of going through Disney.

 

[starmaker]

I agree the thread is quiet, however I'm sure it'll liven up a bit once everyone gets this year's vacations out of the way! We did the FE last year on our 10 night Med and I think the suggestion to split the FE into groups of 10 or so is a great idea! This was done for us last year and it worked well - much less to pack and take with us, hopefully we can do this sort of arrangement again (our FE organiser from last year is infact on this sailing, they did a great job last time around )

 

[GarakDS9]

Welcome to all the newbies! We are off to WDW in July, once we are back from that I will start planning for the cruise. We did FE last year and it was great. Still think this thread is very quiet! If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them as last years itinerary was quite similar.

Wow, I could have written this post. We too will be in WDW in July. I suspect that 2013 flights will be available around late August and I can get started on planning as well.

We hadn't found the Dis yet on our 2010 Med. and thus didn't participate in the FE. Our inaugural FE was this Feb. in the MR. Looking forward to it all again.

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Just booked both ABD add-ons for the cruise! Excited they did not offer this the first time we did the med cruise so looking forward to the addition.

Melissa

 

[GarakDS9]

Just booked both ABD add-ons for the cruise! Excited they did not offer this the first time we did the med cruise so looking forward to the addition.

Melissa

Reading about the ABD add-ons has made me really anxious to go on this trip! It's funny we are going on a Disney cruise this summer as well as Walt Disney World but I have spent most of the day thinking about next years trip! I still think that I will be doing some touring on my own this time, but I am tempted!

 

[Celestine]

Our family of 6 is booked and can't wait!!! We are definitely in for a fish extender, but as we are travelling from Canada, need to keep the # of gifts small - as we get more and more people interested, maybe we can divide into groups of 10 cabins or so?

This itinerary looks FASCINATING!!!! 15 months to go!

Walt's Wife

You have my sympathy with packing for FE - we've only had one cruise where we could say space/weight no limit and that was the Baltic from Dover in 2010. The worst was Panama Canal with well over 50 cabins!!!! I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do and know that space should not be too much of an issue

Celestine

 

[K8T]

Check out DCL to Alaska. We did this last August and it was just as great as our Med. cruise but for different reasons. The only problem with this year is they leave from Seattle instead of Vancouver and you miss a little of the inside passage. Next year they are back in Vancouver but we will be in the Med. together. We had several UK residents on our trip last year in fact we sat with wonderful table mates from the UK.

We actually had this booked for end of July sailing, but cancelled it, as prices to Seattle were far to expensive from the UK, not only that but OH felt perhaps somewhere warmer would feel more like he had had a holiday. However, I am beginning to regret moving it now!

Sorry to say we have decided since our B2B cruise in February, to jump this particular ship...

..........Hope you all have a really great cruise !!!

Sorry to see you go Judy, I bet you will be back when it gets a bit nearer!!!

I agree the thread is quiet, however I'm sure it'll liven up a bit once everyone gets this year's vacations out of the way! We did the FE last year on our 10 night Med and I think the suggestion to split the FE into groups of 10 or so is a great idea! This was done for us last year and it worked well - much less to pack and take with us, hopefully we can do this sort of arrangement again (our FE organiser from last year is infact on this sailing, they did a great job last time around )

Thanks Starmaker [she says hiding behind her computer]

Mommygrl.... Hi, hope you are all well.... Just book it! he will get over it, there is enough time for the blow to soften!!!

Helen.... We have booked WDW for July too, but I am still not convinced it will be too busy and too hot!!! I have the option to move it to October and in fact was looking at the flights and costs today, I need to sort out what we are doing by this weekend. What are your dates?

I saw the ABD too, but thought they were far more expensive than doing it yourself. We have done all the ports before (several times), and always on our own, so if anyone has any questions, do ask....Europe is really easy to get around and nearly everyone will have a bit of English!

I have heard that some other friends in the UK, that we have cruised with twice before, have also booked, so along with designertravels, it looks like our little group will be having fun in the bar again each evening!!! Hope they are ready for us!

Kate

 

[SCFamily4]

Hi everyone!

We are excited to join the FE group for this cruise -- and look forward to more details on that as we move forward.

Have reviewed the ABD add-on for the cruise - and am so hoping to make this work! It is so very expensive, but would make it so easy. We loved our ABD experience a few years ago, and that has made us all very excited about the opportunity. I am just a bit freaked about how much this adds to our trip.

Looking forward to our continued discussions as we plan for our cruise!

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Kate I agree that the ABD add ons are on the high side.
What made us chose to do them is that the experience out weighs the cost. We cruised with DCL the first time they were in the med and did everything either on our own or through DCL. By the end of the trip we felt like for the money we spent we got very little for it and on our own we felt like we missed a lot. This will be the last time my mom gets to do this due to health and age and I want to make sure she has the trip of a lifetime. It is ridiculous how excited I am for this trip we have others planned before this but this is the only one I talk about.

Melissa

 

[Tony Cadwallader]

Hi all we are all booked on this cruise 4th with DCL a big fan, me Tony, DW Maria and DD Anna 13. Looking forward to going back to med on magic as had a great time last summer highlight being Rome and Naples

 

[helenreed]

Hi Kate,
We fly on July 4th for 2 weeks, I agree it is hot and busy but we have developed strategies to cope! i.e. hit the parks early! We have been in October before when the kids were little and undoubtably it was better but now they are older we can't take them out of school. Also they are off for 9 weeks in the summer and I need that 2 week break to preserve my sanity!

Where did you decide to stay in the end?

Helen

 

[GarakDS9]

Our favorite WDW trip was in October as well. I am sure the fact that it was our honeymoon was a factor. However it was the best weather as well. Similarly, the school schedule keeps us a summer Disney family. I plan on a lot of half days in the park followed by pool/slow down activities. We will be arriving the night of the 3rd and staying in POR. I plan on some resort hopping to seek out diverse Disney food. It is a sacrifice, I know, but I need to do something to prepare for cruise line quantities.

 

[K8T]

Helen - we have booked for 11th July, our dd doesn't break up until 9th July, but can move it if we want. I am trying to sort out flights. Then OH has said about the New York cruise instead!!, although it would mean we lose our £200 deposit for the WDW, can't really do both. Alternatively a Princess cruise around the Med (again!), although that is a cheaper option. Not sure he would do Med. cruise and WDW!!!!!

Garak, I am presuming the US schools are on holidays by then, so the queues will be longer than October?

I used to be indecisive, but I am not sure now!

 

[GarakDS9]

Helen - we have booked for 11th July, our dd doesn't break up until 9th July, but can move it if we want. I am trying to sort out flights. Then OH has said about the New York cruise instead!!, although it would mean we lose our £200 deposit for the WDW, can't really do both. Alternatively a Princess cruise around the Med (again!), although that is a cheaper option. Not sure he would do Med. cruise and WDW!!!!!

Garak, I am presuming the US schools are on holidays by then, so the queues will be longer than October?

I used to be indecisive, but I am not sure now!

Most schools in New England are out by the last week in June. Queues are generally much longer than in October. A positive about the heat is that one can appreciate the water parks and pools more.

 

[helenreed]

I refuse to queue for anything especially in that heat! We make good use of fast passes and do each park twice so we don't have to pack too much into one day. I am with Garak we do a lot of pool afternoons or shopping!
Kate you have some lovely options, I think it is a win/win situation! Personally I need my WDW fix, we used to go every year but since we have developed this cruise habit it has become every other year.

Garak my spreadsheet is laminated and ready to go, the whole trip is planned around our stomachs!

 

[GarakDS9]

I recently realized that most of the things that I was looking forward to in WDW involved restaurants, water, or resort hopping. That is one of the potential benefits of the summer heat. It forces you to slow down and appreciate some of the other features of the resort.

 

[LisaMarieG]

It has been quite some time since I last posted before our Med cruise last year! We have transferred our booking to this one and I'm so excited, although it seems ages away. Just come back from WDW, but have not got anything else planned until next July. Think I may need to rectify that....
It will be great to see some familiar faces.