7/13/13 ~~ Eastern Mediterranean Mouseketeers!

[DionysiusP]

Arriving Barcelona 09 July. Planning tour with Barcelona Tours on 10 July. Still trying to decide on City Tour or City&Montserrat. 4hrs vs 8 hrs. Any comments?

 

[WDW Princess 71]

We are still deciding on St. Johns in Mykonos. When they sent the form to us, they mentioned that we need to indicate what port the ship will be in (Tourlos or Downtown). I called Disney to ask them and they said it would depend on the water conditons. They mentioned an announcement would be made a day earlier. What arrangements did you make with St. Johns when they asked you about port pickup?

In my email the other day from St. John from the agent who seemed much more intelligent than the other one I dealt with, she said if we dock at the main big cruise port tourlos then the driver would be right there at the exit. If we tender at the downtown port, we have to walk 150m to a place called the yacht club to meet the driver. She didn't specify that I had to tell them which port we would be arriving at so I assume they can tell from a report or something that day to know where we come in.

 

[LovesToRun]

We are still deciding on St. Johns in Mykonos. When they sent the form to us, they mentioned that we need to indicate what port the ship will be in (Tourlos or Downtown). I called Disney to ask them and they said it would depend on the water conditons. They mentioned an announcement would be made a day earlier. What arrangements did you make with St. Johns when they asked you about port pickup?

They didn't ask me which port we'd be arriving at. They only wanted to know which ship I was arriving on. It might be they have re-done their reservations forms since I reserved our time at St. John's.

When I contact them to re-confirm, I'll clarify with this, but I just saw Nicole's answer, and it sounds like the representative for St. John's will be able to figure out which port our ship will arrive at.

 

[buddwaur]

In my email the other day from St. John from the agent who seemed much more intelligent than the other one I dealt with, she said if we dock at the main big cruise port tourlos then the driver would be right there at the exit. If we tender at the downtown port, we have to walk 150m to a place called the yacht club to meet the driver. She didn't specify that I had to tell them which port we would be arriving at so I assume they can tell from a report or something that day to know where we come in.

Thanks Nicole!

Now I just need to make a final decision as to whether we will go! I have 3 boys (16, 14 and 12). Their first question was whether there will be lots of waves! I'm pretty sure on the southern portion of the island, the waters will be calm. I know that in August when the southern winds pickup, the water conditons could be wavier.

So, my dilemma is that we all would like to do the sightseeing of the windmills and Petro the Pelican but I would also love to have a beach day. I was thinking my hubby and I could go to the resort early morning til about lunch time; then go back to the ship and pickup the boys and head into town for some sightseeing.

Having spent time on the Greek Islands during summer time, I know how extremely hot it can get. But then I figured that would be a good excuse to sit down somewhere for an iced coffee!
It is a touristy area so I don't believe we will have to worry about the shops closing around 2 pm for the afternoon siesta!

My whole family is getting very excited about the trip! Last night I had a hard time falling asleep as I kept going through a mental checklist of everything that still needs to be done.

 

[buddwaur]

They didn't ask me which port we'd be arriving at. They only wanted to know which ship I was arriving on. It might be they have re-done their reservations forms since I reserved our time at St. John's.

When I contact them to re-confirm, I'll clarify with this, but I just saw Nicole's answer, and it sounds like the representative for St. John's will be able to figure out which port our ship will arrive at.

Kathy, I was just looking at a map of the port area. It is a relatively small area considering how much bigger some of the other ports are...so, I won't worry about it anymore. If we decide to go, I'll just reconfim that they will know where the ship comes in.

Also, about the meet and greet on Saturday, I mentioned it to my boys and they were grumbling. They tend to be very shy and quiet around people they don't know... will you be bringing your kids to the meet and greet and are they excited about meeting some of the other people?

 

[LovesToRun]

Kathy, I was just looking at a map of the port area. It is a relatively small area considering how much bigger some of the other ports are...so, I won't worry about it anymore. If we decide to go, I'll just reconfim that they will know where the ship comes in.

Also, about the meet and greet on Saturday, I mentioned it to my boys and they were grumbling. They tend to be very shy and quiet around people they don't know... will you be bringing your kids to the meet and greet and are they excited about meeting some of the other people?

Hi there,

My boys will be 10 (almost 11... turns 11 first week of August), and 12 1/2. Yes, we are bringing them to the meet and greet. They are fine with the meet and greet. We just tell them that it's a good way to meet other kids their age before they get into the clubs where there are just tons of kids around. For our oldest, he is a bit shy and introverted (he's social for sure, but likes to be social with just one or two kids, and not into big groups), but he isn't the kind of kid who would just go up to a kid he doesn't know and start talking to them. He usually needs a more outgoing kid to come up to him to initiate talking, or my DH or I will find other parents with a boy his age that looks like the boy is kind of shy and we will introduce our son to the boy to kind of break the ice.

Now, our youngest is *extremely* social and can make friends with just about anyone... we always joke that he could probably go outside in our back yard and make friends with a rock! And, our youngest gravitates more toward older kids... he just enjoys being around older kids more. Our oldest doesn't really care what age of kids he hangs out with, but he just tends to gravitate more toward the quieter kids, too. I think because they can relate to each other.

So, I just tell them that the meet and greet is a great place to just meet other kids and then you will see familiar faces around in the kid's clubs (the Edge... hoping to get my youngest in the edge since he'll be just 2 weeks from turning 11... he REALLLLY wants to be in the edge since he just loves being with the 11 - 13 age group much more).

At most of the meet and greets I've been to, you see the kids who are more social and outgoing hanging out and talking together, and then you see the less outgoing more shy kids just hanging out near their parents. But, all the kids observe and even if they don't socialize with the other kids at the meet and greet, at least they will see faces that are familiar once they get to the kid's clubs (which ever age group their are in).

My youngest son LOOOOOVE playing basketball, by the way. I know there are a few other kids in this cruise meet who are really into basketball. It would be fun to put together some 3-on-3 games on sea days for the boys who enjoy basketball.

 

[drlaurafsu]

My boys are in Colombia for 10days so I spent the day engaged in some serious retail therapy. Lots of great things for the cruise. Even got DS a suit for formal night.

Even put some stuff into my packing cubes...will be a surprise even for hubs. When the guys get back I will be able to pack up some of DS's stuff...but he has the convertible pants and packing cubes with him. Doubt he'll need either of those before we go.

 

[Newfoundland Sailor]

ONE Month from now we will be in Rome!

It has been a crazy couple of months. On this relaxing Father's Day (Happy Father's Day to all the dads!), I am going to sit down and try and finish up my FE.

The FE suitcase is empty and ready to go. All I want to do is label and pack it away so all I have to worry about is packing clothes over the next two weeks.

I can't believe how close this trip finally is!

Now just to keep the suitcase under 50 lbs!

 

[LovesToRun]

ONE Month from now we will be in Rome!

It has been a crazy couple of months. On this relaxing Father's Day (Happy Father's Day to all the dads!), I am going to sit down and try and finish up my FE.

The FE suitcase is empty and ready to go. All I want to label and pack away so all I have to worry about is packing clothes over the next two weeks.

I can't believe how close this trip finally is!

Now just to keep the suitcase under 50 lbs!

I know! Can you all believe we will get ON the ship in less than a month!! Wow!!!! We leave in 2 1/2 weeks. SO much to do, so little time now.

I will miss doing FE's.... we always do the FE exchange, but had to pass for this trip. It will be fun for all of you who are doing it.

Have a great day... and yes, happy father's day to all the dad's, and all who are celebrating their dad's, or the people in their life who are like a dad to them.

 

[buddwaur]

Hi there,

My boys will be 10 (almost 11... turns 11 first week of August), and 12 1/2. Yes, we are bringing them to the meet and greet. They are fine with the meet and greet. We just tell them that it's a good way to meet other kids their age before they get into the clubs where there are just tons of kids around. For our oldest, he is a bit shy and introverted (he's social for sure, but likes to be social with just one or two kids, and not into big groups), but he isn't the kind of kid who would just go up to a kid he doesn't know and start talking to them. He usually needs a more outgoing kid to come up to him to initiate talking, or my DH or I will find other parents with a boy his age that looks like the boy is kind of shy and we will introduce our son to the boy to kind of break the ice.

Now, our youngest is *extremely* social and can make friends with just about anyone... we always joke that he could probably go outside in our back yard and make friends with a rock! And, our youngest gravitates more toward older kids... he just enjoys being around older kids more. Our oldest doesn't really care what age of kids he hangs out with, but he just tends to gravitate more toward the quieter kids, too. I think because they can relate to each other.

So, I just tell them that the meet and greet is a great place to just meet other kids and then you will see familiar faces around in the kid's clubs (the Edge... hoping to get my youngest in the edge since he'll be just 2 weeks from turning 11... he REALLLLY wants to be in the edge since he just loves being with the 11 - 13 age group much more).

At most of the meet and greets I've been to, you see the kids who are more social and outgoing hanging out and talking together, and then you see the less outgoing more shy kids just hanging out near their parents. But, all the kids observe and even if they don't socialize with the other kids at the meet and greet, at least they will see faces that are familiar once they get to the kid's clubs (which ever age group their are in).

My youngest son LOOOOOVE playing basketball, by the way. I know there are a few other kids in this cruise meet who are really into basketball. It would be fun to put together some 3-on-3 games on sea days for the boys who enjoy basketball.

My 16 year old turns 17 in Sept and my 14 year old turns 15 in Sept while my youngest will be 12 1/2 at the time of the cruise. We talked about it again during dinner last night and they were much more open to the idea. We told them the same thing, that it is nice to see a familiar face in the crowd! And I personally like hearing about what other people may have done on a certain port day!

Also, my boys LOVE playing basketball too! Sounds like there will be may be plenty of pickup basketball games going on!

I'm sitting down now making my list of different meds that I need to bring for everyone. I just don't want to forget the ones that are only needed occasionally but would be difficult to find; such as asthma meds and eczema lotions, etc! But boy does that list grow fast with five us!

After reading about the different posts on packing cubes, I went ahead and bought some to try them out! Funny, I actually pack/organize that way but would put everyone's clothes/items in ziploc bags and label them. But it was always a big fail because none of the boys would take the time to read the labels!! So now that they all got to pick their own color, I'm hoping for better success! We will be flying to the Greek Islands for two weeks after the cruise so I just feel that it's very important to stay as organized as possible!!

 

[Newfoundland Sailor]

Now just to keep the suitcase under 50 lbs!

Okay, the first suitcase just hit 50 lbs....on to FE suitcase no. 2....good thing I'm packing light!

 

[dormouse7899]

We are hiring Roneinlimo to tour Rome. I think several of us are. What is customary to pay as a tip if the service is good?

 

[mum&son]

Getting closer
Not long till I start packing

 

[calihannah]

Anyone here a photographer? What are you taking with you on this trip? (gear wise, that is!)

 

[Amy Fran]

Anyone here a photographer? What are you taking with you on this trip? (gear wise, that is!)

I'm not our family's photographer - my husband is. But he says he's bringing both of our DSLR bodies (Nikon D7100 & D5000), Tamron 18-270 telephoto lens, and a 10-24 wide angle. He also brings a Nikon SB600 flash & extra batteries, cards, etc. He isn't planning on bringing a tripod since baggage is going to be an issue on an international flight. That should be about it

 

[Eleblanc]

Hello all Secret Mickey participants.

Just some info as we all start packing and organizing. Please, please, please label your Secret Mickey gifts with the recipient's name. Many staterooms have more than one person in them doing the Secret Mickey exchange and they won't know who the gifts are intended for.


Also, for the big reveal of the Secret Mickeys I was thinking we could all meet on the last sea day at 10:00 am in front of Goofy's Galley. We can keep it casual and quick.

Thanks everyone.
Eileen

 

[WDW Princess 71]

We are hiring Roneinlimo to tour Rome. I think several of us are. What is customary to pay as a tip if the service is good?

I would also like to know this. We are paying 600 euros for our private Rome day with EasyItalyTours which includes our all day transporation and the 2 hour guided Vatican tour. I really can't imagine giving another 10-15% on top of that since I still can't believe I'm already spending that much. What is everyone else planning for these expensive private tours as far as tipping?

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi everyone,

I have a taxi question for anyone who has been to Barcelona. I emailed our hotel we're staying at just to re-confirm our reservation, and I also inquired about taxi's from the airport to the hotel (any advice they had, also what price I should expect).

This was the hotel's answer:

I would like to inform you that taxi’s maximum capacity is 4 people, however and depending on how many you luggage pieces you are travelling with you should take 2 of them. The price per ride is
around 30 Euros and per car

We would like to take the opportunity to inform you that we could arrange private transportation as follows:

The price of a transfer from Barcelona El Prat airport to hotel is 72 Euros in a Minibus (up to 4 persons). Going back from hotel to airport on departure will cost 72 Euros as well.

(and then they gave some further information on booking a private transfer.)


I'm confused about how the hotel said the taxi's maximum capacity is 4 people, but depending on how many pieces of luggage we are traveling with, we might need two taxi's.

Either this answer means that their Taxi's are something like 2-door Mini-Coopers where they literally hold just 4 people and have hardly any trunk space, OR, this answer means, if you are traveling with a TON of luggage then you'd need to take two taxi's.

We will have 4 pieces of luggage. One large suitcase (30"), one medium suitcase (26"), and two rolling carry-on suitcases. Does anyone know the size of these taxi's? Based on the luggage we will have, do you think the 4 of us (2 adults/2 kids) will be able to fit in just one taxi?

Also, if we did have to take two taxi's and if it is true it is only 30 Euros from the airport to our hotel (we're staying right on Las Ramblas), that is 60 Euros for two taxi's, yet the hotel recommended a private taxi for 72 euros. I understand they probably suggested that so we could all be together in one car rather than two cars, if we needed to take two taxi's, but logically speaking, that suggestion they made to book a private taxi doesn't make sense since it's more expensive than two taxi's.

Maybe I'm missing something.... or maybe they suggested a private taxi just purely for convenience.

But, then they told me in the email that if I did book a private taxi, they will ONLY wait for 1 hour past my flight arrival time and then they will leave (so if our flight is late, or if for some reason it takes a long time to find our luggage, they will leave, and we will have to take a regular taxi anyway). I don't think you pre-pay, so you wouldn't be out any money if they left before we found them, but to me, booking this private taxi doesn't make a lot of sense the cost is way more than a regular taxi, plus the fact they won't wait if your flight is late, etc (I'm only trying to make sense of their suggestion.... we'll be taking a taxi for sure... it's cheaper, even if we did need to take two taxi's, which hopefully we won't, and this way, we won't be stressed our ride will not wait for us if our flight is late, or it takes longer than expected to find our luggage).

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Hi everyone,

I have a taxi question for anyone who has been to Barcelona. I emailed our hotel we're staying at just to re-confirm our reservation, and I also inquired about taxi's from the airport to the hotel (any advice they had, also what price I should expect).

This was the hotel's answer:

I would like to inform you that taxi’s maximum capacity is 4 people, however and depending on how many you luggage pieces you are travelling with you should take 2 of them. The price per ride is
around 30 Euros and per car

We would like to take the opportunity to inform you that we could arrange private transportation as follows:

The price of a transfer from Barcelona El Prat airport to hotel is 72 Euros in a Minibus (up to 4 persons). Going back from hotel to airport on departure will cost 72 Euros as well.

(and then they gave some further information on booking a private transfer.)


I'm confused about how the hotel said the taxi's maximum capacity is 4 people, but depending on how many pieces of luggage we are traveling with, we might need two taxi's.

Either this answer means that their Taxi's are something like 2-door Mini-Coopers where they literally hold just 4 people and have hardly any trunk space, OR, this answer means, if you are traveling with a TON of luggage then you'd need to take two taxi's.

We will have 4 pieces of luggage. One large suitcase (30"), one medium suitcase (26"), and two rolling carry-on suitcases. Does anyone know the size of these taxi's? Based on the luggage we will have, do you think the 4 of us (2 adults/2 kids) will be able to fit in just one taxi?

Also, if we did have to take two taxi's and if it is true it is only 30 Euros from the airport to our hotel (we're staying right on Las Ramblas), that is 60 Euros for two taxi's, yet the hotel recommended a private taxi for 72 euros. I understand they probably suggested that so we could all be together in one car rather than two cars, if we needed to take two taxi's, but logically speaking, that suggestion they made to book a private taxi doesn't make sense since it's more expensive than two taxi's.

Maybe I'm missing something.... or maybe they suggested a private taxi just purely for convenience.

But, then they told me in the email that if I did book a private taxi, they will ONLY wait for 1 hour past my flight arrival time and then they will leave (so if our flight is late, or if for some reason it takes a long time to find our luggage, they will leave, and we will have to take a regular taxi anyway). I don't think you pre-pay, so you wouldn't be out any money if they left before we found them, but to me, booking this private taxi doesn't make a lot of sense the cost is way more than a regular taxi, plus the fact they won't wait if your flight is late, etc (I'm only trying to make sense of their suggestion.... we'll be taking a taxi for sure... it's cheaper, even if we did need to take two taxi's, which hopefully we won't, and this way, we won't be stressed our ride will not wait for us if our flight is late, or it takes longer than expected to find our luggage).

I haven't been to Barcelona so I can't help with the size of the taxis, but I would say that they suggested the private transport just for the convenience of travelling together in one vehicle and not having to wait in a taxi line. Just a guess though.

Have you considerd the airport bus, Aerobus? That is what we are doing. Our hotel is only about 50 yards from one of the stops so its super convenient for us, and much less than a taxi- only about 6 euros/pp. Not sure if your hotel is located conveniently to one of the stops but if it is, that may be an option for you.

 

[Disney_fans]

Hi everyone,

I have a taxi question for anyone who has been to Barcelona.

We will have 4 pieces of luggage. One large suitcase (30"), one medium suitcase (26"), and two rolling carry-on suitcases. Does anyone know the size of these taxi's? Based on the luggage we will have, do you think the 4 of us (2 adults/2 kids) will be able to fit in just one taxi?


B

Taxis in Europe are generally smaller, but when we were in Barcelona in 2011 my family of 4 and our luggage (4 large and 4 small) fit into one taxi. We had to wait a few extra minutes for a larger car, but it was only 5-10 minutes. They also have mini-van taxis for larger families (5+ people).