August 10, 2013 Magic 7 Day Med!!

[bats]

Are you also getting tickets for the Colosseum and the Vatican/Sistine Chapel? Ruins of Pompeii?

Actually, I'm set to book, just waiting to hear from my inlaws.

Just looked at their website and Aug. 14 and 15 are not available. Sent them an email -- hope we can work it out!

Hi there, I believe someone mentioned right at the start of this thread that the Sistine Chapel was closed as it's a holiday in Italy. Double check as I could be wrong, I just remember someone saying it at the start.

Not sure if it affects the Vatican too.

ETA: This from their website
Closed:
Sunday (except the last Sunday of every month, free entrance from 9 am to 12.30 pm; the Museums close at 2 pm unless it coincides with Easter Sunday, the 29th of June (St. Peter and Paul), 25th and 26th of December (Christmas and St. Stephen)
January 1, 6
February 11
March 19, 31 (Easter)
April 1 (Easter Monday)
May 1
June 29 (St. Peter and Paul)
August 14, 15
November 1
December 25, 26

 

[texasgirl29]

Hi there, I believe someone mentioned right at the start of this thread that the Sistine Chapel was closed as it's a holiday in Italy. Double check as I could be wrong, I just remember someone saying it at the start.

Thanks! I will email Can't Be Missed Tours and check on it.

Update: I received this from Petro at Can't Be Missed Tours: Thank you very much for your email. I am extremely sorry, you are correct that the Vatican museum is closed on August 14 this year. It was a human error that was made during our online scheduling that showed it was available for booking. We will still be to see the Basilica of St. Peter's that day. However, we will refund your Vatican museum tickets (20 euro adult/ 12 euro children) and instead we will extend our tour in the area of the Colosseum/Roman Forum, with entry to those sites available at the price of 13.50 euro each. The rest of the sites will follow the published itinerary.
We will still be hosting the tour then with these modifications. I've already noted it on the booking calendar and will be contacting the others who reserved for August 14 now.

JoAnn

 

[bats]

Thanks! I will email Can't Be Missed Tours and check on it.

Update: I received this from Petro at Can't Be Missed Tours: Thank you very much for your email. I am extremely sorry, you are correct that the Vatican museum is closed on August 14 this year. It was a human error that was made during our online scheduling that showed it was available for booking. We will still be to see the Basilica of St. Peter's that day. However, we will refund your Vatican museum tickets (20 euro adult/ 12 euro children) and instead we will extend our tour in the area of the Colosseum/Roman Forum, with entry to those sites available at the price of 13.50 euro each. The rest of the sites will follow the published itinerary.
We will still be hosting the tour then with these modifications. I've already noted it on the booking calendar and will be contacting the others who reserved for August 14 now.

JoAnn

Glad you got it sorted quickly. We did the DCL Med cruise in 2011 and took a private tour for Rome. The Colosseum was great and well worth getting the 13.50Eu tickets in advance.
The Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel were good, but not quite as awe inspiring as I thought they would be. You can buy stamps inside Vatican City that have the Pope on .. not sure if you'll be able to get them from St Peters Basilica area, but ask your guide as I'm sure he/she will know. It's a nice thing to send a postcard from there.

Are you doing the Trevi Fountain on your tour? Now that was fantastic!! In the middle of a crowded, narrow street .. you turn a corner and it's there in front of you, this massive fountain!

In 2011, the temperature on our Rome day was over 100 degrees .. it was so hot we felt like we were melting. If you've never been to Europe before, it's not like a Caribbean heat, it's a stifling, can't breathe heat! Take fans, take water, take a little umbrella if you can fit it in your luggage .. if not, let me know and I'll bring some cheapie ones over from the UK with me and give you them onboard. If you have anything similar to a refillable mug from Disney, try to bring that and fill it with ice before leaving the ship for your excursions .. nice ice cold water within an hour!

Last thing .. order room service dead early .. sandwiches, cookies, wraps, fruit, pastries. It will save you from having to buy snacks in the touristy places.
See you all soon

 

[texasgirl29]

Are you doing the Trevi Fountain on your tour? Now that was fantastic!! In the middle of a crowded, narrow street .. you turn a corner and it's there in front of you, this massive fountain!

In 2011, the temperature on our Rome day was over 100 degrees .. it was so hot we felt like we were melting. If you've never been to Europe before, it's not like a Caribbean heat, it's a stifling, can't breathe heat! Take fans, take water, take a little umbrella if you can fit it in your luggage ....... If you have anything similar to a refillable mug from Disney, try to bring that and fill it with ice before leaving the ship for your excursions .. nice ice cold water within an hour!

Yes, we are going to see the Trevi Fountain (Tre-VEE or Tray-Vi?) My soon-to-be 16 yo DD says it's the "Lizzie McGuire fountain" from the TV show on the Disney Channel when Lizzie went to Rome. That got her attention!

I live in Central Texas, the land of heat and humidity, so I'm hoping we can cope with the heat. Last year at WDW I made everyone in our family these little neck wrap things with water absorbing crystals in them that keep your neck cool but other than my inlaws, I was the only one who would wear it. It worked though! I swore I would never go to WDW in the summer again. We do have plastic mugs from WDW dining plan last summer -- that would be a good thing to take.

I bought packing cubes today! Watched a couple of videos about how to pack a carry-on. I may or may not actually carry on my suitcase but I got a new little carry-on size for Mother's Day and I'm working on how to pack smart.

JoAnn

 

[bats]

Yes, we are going to see the Trevi Fountain (Tre-VEE or Tray-Vi?) My soon-to-be 16 yo DD says it's the "Lizzie McGuire fountain" from the TV show on the Disney Channel when Lizzie went to Rome. That got her attention!

I live in Central Texas, the land of heat and humidity, so I'm hoping we can cope with the heat. Last year at WDW I made everyone in our family these little neck wrap things with water absorbing crystals in them that keep your neck cool but other than my inlaws, I was the only one who would wear it. It worked though! I swore I would never go to WDW in the summer again. We do have plastic mugs from WDW dining plan last summer -- that would be a good thing to take.

I bought packing cubes today! Watched a couple of videos about how to pack a carry-on. I may or may not actually carry on my suitcase but I got a new little carry-on size for Mother's Day and I'm working on how to pack smart.

JoAnn

It's Trev-ee for the fountain!
Maybe you should bring lots of the neck wraps and sell them onboard to all of the silly British people who insist on baking themselves!!

I've never seen packing cubes .. mind you, I tend to travel light so probably wouldn't need them. Are they just to keep your clothes tidy and in little compartments?

Only 80 odd days to go now and I am soooo looking forward to some heat. I didn't see that you were in Texas as I normally Dis from my IPad ... you know more about heat than anyone I guess!
Hope you are not near that tornado that we have seen on the TV here .. frightening stuff.

 

[texasgirl29]

The packing cubes just keep things compartment aliased and also can make them more compact. I have never used them before but watched some YouTube videos and decided to I've them a try.

The tornados were about an hour north of us. We got some thunderstorms our way but no tornados.

The girls are about to be out of school in a couple of weeks so it will feel like vacation time is here ( although I will still be working).

 

[CBEB]

The packing cubes just keep things compartment aliased and also can make them more compact. I have never used them before but watched some YouTube videos and decided to I've them a try.

The tornados were about an hour north of us. We got some thunderstorms our way but no tornados.

The girls are about to be out of school in a couple of weeks so it will feel like vacation time is here ( although I will still be working).

We got the packing cubes for our China Adventure by Disney last summer as we were only allowed ONE suitcase per person. They were awesome! The biggest advantage though, which doesn't really apply to a cruise, is constantly moving hotels and trying to keep your suitcase organized (we had 5 hotels).

So glad to hear the tornados didn't affect you - so sad.

 

[GW45]

Hi All!

Thought I posted on here before a few months ago but can't see the post! We're sailing on this cruise too (me, DH, DS 13 and DD 8 1/2). It will be our fifth Disney Cruise and second time to do the Med Cruise (although our last one was an 11 Day Med cruise so that took a bit more planning!).
Looking forward to cruising on the Magic again....its my favourite Disney ship! Hoping to see a few different places this time and also to chill a bit more and enjoy the ship....very easy to overdo the excursions on the Med cruise and come home needing another holiday!

If the FE list is still open, count us in!

 

[sajilunni]

Hi Everyone!

We're so excited for this trip! Our children are a 12 yo boy, and 10 yo and 7 yo girls. We're headed to Barcelona from Chicago (actually Indiana) and couldn't believe how expensive the airfare was, so we really want to make this trip worthwhile. We're doing private tours for all the shore excursions except Naples, which I saw from www.shorebee.com was pretty easy to navigate with public transportation. Hmm... let's see, what else? We have early seating and booked a Sunday dinner at Palo. I'm currently looking for walkie talkies and water fans to use during that HOT Mediterranean August. I'm totally curious about what kind of movies and shows will be on board. And kind of bummed that we'll be one of the last trips on the worn down Magic before it gets a complete overhaul and renovation this September. We sailed the same ship 11 years ago when our son was 1.

Hope to see you on board!
Sajil

 

[texasgirl29]

Hi Everyone!

I'm currently looking for walkie talkies and water fans to use during that HOT Mediterranean August. ...We sailed the same ship 11 years ago when our son was 1.

Hope to see you on board!
Sajil

Hey, you found us! I'm planning on making some neck wrap things with water absorbing crystals. I made some last year for WDW but my family wouldn't wear them -- DH said he didn't like clammy things around his neck, and they just weren't "cool" enough for the girls. But I wore mine and it really helped me to stay cool.

We sailed on the Magic in 2005 when it docked in Los Angeles for DisneyLand's 50th anniversary (and my 50th -- Disneyland and I are the same age!). We went down the Mexican Riviera. I like the size of the Magic -- we sailed on the Fantasy last year. Beautiful ship but big!

JoAnn

 

[1travelgirl]

Hello! My husband and I are more than ready to start vacation. Ths is our first Disney Cruise. We're travelling with his family (parents, brother/sis-in-law and their kids). I've been to Rome and Barelona before (and can give some tips). I would love to articipate in a FE group if others are interested.

 

[texasgirl29]

Hello 1travelgirl!
Welcome to the boards and to our little group. I am also traveling with extended family -- my husband's mother and father and his brother who has some developmental disabilities but enjoys the food and the characters very much.

Tell us what's the best stuff to do in Barcelona! We are arriving on Wednesday about noon, so we have a few days before the cruise and two days after.

JoAnn

 

[1travelgirl]

I went to Barcelona solo a few years ago. One thing that I really enjoyed was participating in a cooking class/dinner. I also saw a show at the Palace of Catalan Music. The show was just ok, but the building is amazing! Montserrat was slightly boring to me, but the area was lovely. We have some time pre- and post cruise and we plan on doing a tapas tour and heading out of town to see the Dali museum.

 

[Feigned]

Just booked our excursions today! Still trying to decide if we want to do Palo for brunch. My sister has celiac, so she's not sure how much she's going to be able to eat and if it is worth it for her. Anyone have any experience with a food allergy there for brunch?

One of the excursions I really wanted to do was already booked. Is there any way to get put on a waiting list for it and if so, how do I go about doing that? Thanks for any help!

 

[texasgirl29]

Just booked our excursions today! Still trying to decide if we want to do Palo for brunch. My sister has celiac, so she's not sure how much she's going to be able to eat and if it is worth it for her. Anyone have any experience with a food allergy there for brunch?

One of the excursions I really wanted to do was already booked. Is there any way to get put on a waiting list for it and if so, how do I go about doing that? Thanks for any help!

Which excursions did you book, and which one was filled?

JoAnn

 

[texasgirl29]

10! We will definitely see you there!

Also, we definitely should figure out a plan to meet in TX or Barcelona before the cruise to introduce DD16's! Ideas?

I'm thinking maybe we could meet at Spaghetti Warehouse in Dallas in June -- could be just the moms and 16 year olds, or could be whole family. What do you think? I was there with Rachel's orchestra field trip this week.

 

[CBEB]

I'm thinking maybe we could meet at Spaghetti Warehouse in Dallas in June -- could be just the moms and 16 year olds, or could be whole family. What do you think? I was there with Rachel's orchestra field trip this week.

Great idea! I'll PM you and we can work out the details!

 

[CBEB]

Hi All!

Thought I posted on here before a few months ago but can't see the post! We're sailing on this cruise too (me, DH, DS 13 and DD 8 1/2). It will be our fifth Disney Cruise and second time to do the Med Cruise (although our last one was an 11 Day Med cruise so that took a bit more planning!).
Looking forward to cruising on the Magic again....its my favourite Disney ship! Hoping to see a few different places this time and also to chill a bit more and enjoy the ship....very easy to overdo the excursions on the Med cruise and come home needing another holiday!

If the FE list is still open, count us in!

Welcome! I don't think anyone has started organizing an FE list yet; we'll need to get that going soon though!

 

[CBEB]

Hi Everyone!

We're so excited for this trip! Our children are a 12 yo boy, and 10 yo and 7 yo girls. We're headed to Barcelona from Chicago (actually Indiana) and couldn't believe how expensive the airfare was, so we really want to make this trip worthwhile. We're doing private tours for all the shore excursions except Naples, which I saw from www.shorebee.com was pretty easy to navigate with public transportation. Hmm... let's see, what else? We have early seating and booked a Sunday dinner at Palo. I'm currently looking for walkie talkies and water fans to use during that HOT Mediterranean August. I'm totally curious about what kind of movies and shows will be on board. And kind of bummed that we'll be one of the last trips on the worn down Magic before it gets a complete overhaul and renovation this September. We sailed the same ship 11 years ago when our son was 1.

Hope to see you on board!
Sajil

Welcome!

I'm with you - wish we were getting the "new improved" Magic, but it's still my favorite ship. The Dream just seemed too big to us.

We've got late dinner - anticipating that we'll be out on excursions right up until the ship departs.

 

[Feigned]

Which excursions did you book, and which one was filled?

JoAnn

I booked the Vatican City, Colosseum, and Catacombs excursion. I wanted the Jumping Back into Eternal Rome (adult only if possible) excursion.