We're booked on this excursion too. I had an awful excursion...my first with DCL... in San Juan and I complained and the refunded me half the money. I was very excited for this excursion so I'm expecting that they will have sorted things out before my cruise July 10.
When I gave my impressions of the Monaco/Monte Carlo/Eze tour to the DCL Port Adventures guide during our Portofino tour, I specifically told her that we weren't seeking compensation. Honestly, with our cabin cleanliness issues I didn't want to be "that lady" who complained at guest services all the time (not that you are, but you know what I mean). I was also eager to move on, so to speak.
I made very detailed notes on the comment card, including our group number, etc. Hopefully that tour (and that guide) will be addressed.
Thank you for sharing. I love your pictures.
I'm so sorry to hear so many negatives about your trip. I did buy 2 Rick Steve's silk neck wallets and put some extra stitches where the string meets the wallet. May I ask, was the neck wallet tucked inside her blouse or was she wearing it outside like a purse? Regardless, it's awful that so much of this stuff happens. I'm only asking because I'm curious just how bold these thieves are. If all they could see was a tiny bit of string, compared to say a fanny pack, it really takes brass ones. I wonder if I should get a money belt also.
I would mention your Positano issues on TripAdvisor. So many people rely on that website for the real truth. I certainly have more than once for our Med cruise.
We're booked on the Nice & Monaco DCL excursion. I hope it's not boring.
Sounds like you had a lot of rain. I'm glad to hear there were plenty of good times too.
You know what's funny? Our trip was so overwhelmingly positive that I didn't even notice until I typed up that short summary that there were so many negatives as to the DCL portion of our trip. Our trip logistically could have gone wrong in so many ways, but it didn't (only minor flight delays, no major hotel issues, lots of free hotel upgrades, found great food, met great people, no huge lines, etc). We did London, Barcelona and Paris before and after the Med cruise. Every single day was memorable and great.
I guess the issue is expectations. I had expected that by Day 7 of my trip that once I got onboard the Disney ship I could kick back and relax. Checking in to find a very dirty cabin was disappointing. Disney handled this very strangely by making us wait until 2am before they called a supervisor to double-check our complaints. He physically came in to look at the sheets when all I had done at 11:30 p.m. was call for new sheets. I found out from our host the next day that he had the day off, did not do our room, but he admitted that he never double-checked the quality of the room. I guess that was the reason for the hoop-la. I did not ask for, and did not receive compensation.
Neck wallet--- I honestly don't know. My brother (walking at the head of the group) told me that he saw a group of women holding up rectangular cardboards walking towards them. He and my sis-in-law made eye contact, walked around them. My brother told my mom (65YO) to be careful, and my mom and my frail aunt walked around them as well. The women walked up to an elderly lady in the back of the DCL group, stopped her and grabbed at her neck wallet. The women holding the cardboard rectangles held them up to block others to see what they were doing (ie robbing people). People in the DCL group started yelling at the thieves, and those closest to the lady held on to her so that she wouldn't fall. The DCL guide ran to the back and there was a further tussle, then the thieves ran away. My brother said that the lady would have been badly injured if those closest to her had not held on to prevent her from falling.
According to my brother, it was obvious they were targeting older people. As for brazen--yes. They tried to rip it right off her neck. I don't know if it was hanging out or in, but what does it matter?
If it was visible, even through clothing, it was fair game. A child pickpocket tried to lift a small Canon camera out of my dad's pant pocket (visible through the pant pocket) but it was too heavy to lift. My dad said he put the camera there for just a few minutes in order to switch hands to do something else.
Speaking of pickpockets---I saw many people attempting (badly) to do the sign-my-petition trick. They hold a ratty cardboard with a paper on it and a pen. Walk up to you and try to distract you by asking you to sign. Most of the time they walk away if you walk around them. In Paris, my 3YO decided to run away from me to my aunt during one of these incidents. The thief locked eyes on my aunt (who is 4'10) as my kid ran to her. I turned around and screamed bloody murder ("Robbery Robbery") and the thief ran away before putting hands on my child or my aunt. This was day 13 or so of my trip, and frankly, I was getting sick of pickpockets.
In Barcelona--the pickpockets are obvious. They try to dress like tourists but fail. So if you see a sad attempt at American hip hop gear, a VERY visible neckwallet, and pointless meandering with no bottles of water, no heavy backpack, no sweaty faces, then you are looking at a pickpocket pretending to fit in. On the metro, they will also sit or stand next to you even when there are other open seats/spaces. When this happened to us (which was daily), we simply walked away.
Gear--- I personally don't like neck wallets b/c of the possibility of getting injured if someone tries to take it off you. Same with waist wallets. Easy enough to reach up your shirt and cut. If they cut you, well, that's worse.
My husband used the leg wallet the whole time. He loved it, and it was easy and less obvious than a leg wallet or a waist pouch. On our travel days it was big enough to fit 4 passports.
http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Luggage-Coversafe-Secret-Wallett/dp/B004T2IWQY/ref=pd_sim_a_17
My aunt who likes to carry her Passport and CC at all times had a reversible zippered vest on, and she wore the zippered pocket on the inside.
Carrying cash-- unless it was a travel day (flights, etc.,) I never carried more than 100Euro cash. If I did, I safety pinned it to me and I never carried a purse. We had TONS of baby gear, but I bought a $10 clear backpack and put all that stuff in there (diapers, bottles, wipes). I never once had a pickpocket even go near that backpack.
You could see the diapers from a mile away.
Our family members never carried anything of value (other than DSLRs, which we only brought out on certain days since they were heavy). We avoided pickpockets b/c it was physically unpleasant to have them touch you when you walked by.
And I also rely on Tripadvisor for my trip planning and would hope that you add your experience for Positano to make the record clear for others
Great suggestion, thanks. I also found that company on TA. FWIW, they asked for positive reviews after the trip. I guess most people don't like to write negative ones.
OVERALL--- I understand that the June 1 Med was the 1st Med cruise DCL had done in a while and they picked up alot of "new" employees for this cruise. I guess they are still working out the kinks both w/CMs and vendors. So I hope my summary does not come off as negative, as we really did have a great time. I highlighted issues specific to the Disney portion of our trip since this is "Disboards." When I have the time, I will do a more complete write up separately. I have lots of tips actually, but I'm so jetlagged that it's not all coming together at the moment. Feel free to ask questions.
