7/13/13 ~~ Eastern Mediterranean Mouseketeers!

[2disneydads]

What are your questions? We did DLP in 2009 and had a blast.
Dee

We were planning to stay at the Marriott Vacation Club adjacent (or very close by) to DLP so that we could have two bedrooms and a kitchen for that part of the stay. We were hoping to use this area as a base to tour Paris, too. Is it difficult to get into Paris from DLP? It looks pretty easy to me, but not having done it, I am a little unsure. We would like to hook up with a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour so that we get to maximize what we see over the two days we're alloting for Paris. Also, it looks as though 1 day for each DLP park will be sufficient. Am I missing anything?

Thank you!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

We are tentatively in...as long as it doesn't completely book or go up too much higher before we decide to make our reservation! I just posted a thread on the main board about our indecision about what to do. Someone please send us some pixie dust

slg...I think we were on the Baltic with you! OMG, that was the best trip of my life We said it was going to be a once in a lifetime trip, yet here we are planning another one.....

If all goes as planned it will be myself, Kimberly, my DH, my DS-13, DD-9, plus my parents. We would love to do the FE's.

Welcome Aboard! You've been added to our Roll Call, even if you are still only tentatively in!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

@ smores -- I changed your stateroom number on the roll call. Congratulations!

 

[scrapycruiser]

Did anyone do a Paris tour from DLP ? Not sure but may want to do the evening tour to see the city in lights. Did anyone do that ? How far out is DLP from Paris ? How many days would you suggest spending to see everything in DLP. Are the parks open at night like WDW ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Stimpy]

Thanks for the welcome. We are going to book today!

Quick question about air...

For those who cruised out of Barcelona before....how easy is it to get toand from the port by yourself? Who did you use & about how much does it cost for ground transportation? When we did the Baltic, we booked air/ground through DCL but this time I'm debating doing it myself & hoping to save some money. $1500 per person is so hard to think of at this point.

If I remember correctly, I can add air on to our DCL ressies later on if we decide. I think that's what we did with the Baltic. Is that still possible?

On all our travel arrangements here in the US, I make our own arrangements but since I'm so inexperienced about European travel, I'm nervous doing it on my own.

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

For those of you planning on doing Disneyland Paris, you might want to check out Anal Annie's trip report that appears in post 3. I remember reading about her family's experiences there in her blog/report.

Beth

 

[linkandclover]

Thanks for the welcome. We are going to book today!

Quick question about air...

For those who cruised out of Barcelona before....how easy is it to get toand from the port by yourself? Who did you use & about how much does it cost for ground transportation? When we did the Baltic, we booked air/ground through DCL but this time I'm debating doing it myself & hoping to save some money. $1500 per person is so hard to think of at this point.

If I remember correctly, I can add air on to our DCL ressies later on if we decide. I think that's what we did with the Baltic. Is that still possible?

On all our travel arrangements here in the US, I make our own arrangements but since I'm so inexperienced about European travel, I'm nervous doing it on my own.

We booked our flights on our own because we wanted to choose this directly. We used Disney to take us to the ship and stayed at one of the hotels they were working with (we booked the hotel on our own because it was cheaper that way). Now doing it a second time we will probably arrange our own transportation as cab fair was quite reasonable and the port is only a few miles from where we plan to stay.

 

[linkandclover]

Hi tinkerbelltwins.
Here is our room # 2631
Reading all these posts is making me more committed to making this trip happen. I keep thinking about our last med trip and now I desperately want to go back.

 

[Newfoundland Sailor]

For those who cruised out of Barcelona before....how easy is it to get toand from the port by yourself? Who did you use & about how much does it cost for ground transportation?

We used a private car service...I have to go hunting to find the name. I got the recommendation from the number one rated car service in Barcelona on Tripadvisor.com We prearranged for the carriage of 6 people while in Barcelona (Autos villa?):

60 Euros from Port to Airport
60 Euros from Airport to Hotel (Las Ramblas area) with one extra stop
50 Euros from Hotel to Port

The minibus could fit up to 8 people

I was so glad we had the service especially to the Port - the line up to get into Port on embarkation day was crazy! I saw people getting out of their taxis and walking (quite aways) with their suitcases in tow from the back of the lineup. It also made things a lot easier when we got off the ship...no waiting in the taxi line - our driver was there and we were long gone before the DCL busses left or most people in line ....and that was with my father even not being able to locate his last piece of luggage (we ended up finding it with help from the Port staff).

Taxis take a maximum of 4 people in Barcelona. The minimum cost from the Airport to Port is 20 Euros...But then you need to add on supplements [my notes from last year stated + 2.10 for port + 1.00 per bag in the trunk + 3.40-4.50 for airport + night time supplement + weekend price increase + wait time supplements]. --> Based on my research I would say count on about 30-40 Euros without extreme traffic for taxi service from the airport direct to the port.

~Heather~

 

[Stimpy]

We are official now!

More info about us....this will be our 7th DCL cruise. Our 6th will be the Eastern Caribbean in April, we're hoping to rebook this one onboard that cruise to take advantage of the discount & OBC. I did book today though....just in case the rates go up too high to negate the savings. Hey, you never know

We'll be in a 5C, same stateroom as our Baltic cruise (6034)....which we loved! Before that we were always mid ship (6060). I'm kind of surprised there was such a difference in price between the two. When we cruised the Baltic they were the same category, right after that, they broke it down further. We actually prefered the forward location. Plus it was pretty cool watching the officers on the bridge out on the part that juts out directing the ship into the port...they were close enough to wave to the kids on our veranda.

We are also from Long Island NY. The kids are really excited...my son especially! He's insanely into history & mythology so this is like a dream trip for him. I read the thread quickly the other day and someone mentioned being a history teacher....please hide from him! He will talk your ear off! Thankfully his history teacher loves him b/c he's the kid that corrects her and comes up with these obscure unknown facts all the time.

I'm more excited about this cruise than the one in April! Every time I think of this one I get teary eyed! And obviously I tend to ramble when I get excited....sorry!

 

[Eleblanc]

Just browsing thru all the new entries and everyone's concern about hopefully getting a good airfare deal. We actually talked about driving over to Barcelona today, we can stop in some small towns along the way and not have to worry about our bags being over the weight limit.

We stayed at the Grand Marina Hotel at the World Trade Center in Barcelona last year. It is right next to the where all the cruise ships dock, morning of the cruise we woke up and stepped out on the balcony to eat breakfast with a view of the Disney Magic in port waiting for us. Short 5 minute cab ride from the hotel up the ramp to the ship.

For anyone considering visiting Disneyland Paris, don't expect it to be like Disney World. We have been there a few times over the years so I can get my Disney fix, and while it is fun and nice, it is alsa a little disappointing to me. It is just not kept up and run to the same standards as the parks in the US in my opinion, but still worth a visit. If you want to include it with a Paris trip, stay somewhere in Paris and take the commuter train out to the Disney park. It is easy and super convenient, there is a Disney stop that literally drops you off in front of the park. The entrances for the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios are right next to each other, you can see one when standing in front of the other, so it is very easy to go between both parks.

Happy planning to everyone!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

@linkandclover and @Stimpy -- your changes/additions have been made on our Roll Call.

 

[2littlestitches]

Did anyone do a Paris tour from DLP ? Not sure but may want to do the evening tour to see the city in lights. Did anyone do that ? How far out is DLP from Paris ? How many days would you suggest spending to see everything in DLP. Are the parks open at night like WDW ?

Thanks in advance

Hi, we did DLP before our Med cruise in 2007. We stayed 3 nights, and one of those days we did a city tour to Paris that left from the Disney resort. Several busses left in different languages, but we had booked the English bus ahead of time. We enjoyed our city tour a lot. Seems to me like DLP was about 30 minutes or so away from the center of Paris if I'm remembering correctly.

DLP is set up a lot like Disneyland, CA with 2 parks, a Downtown Disney area and hotels all within one area that's walking distance. Not sure about park hours, but I think we were there at night. It's very easy to do in 2-3 days or so, a lot like Disneyland, CA. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel which was literally right next to the park. I'd recommend that hotel if you want to be really close to the action.

Good luck in your planning, and be sure to check out the Disneyland Paris board here on the DISBOARDS for lots more info. I used that board a lot to find out things I needed to know.

 

[doberlady]

wahhhh I canceled this summer NYC DCL cruise

am so sad about it. Just was too much money for a Bahama itinerary at $9200K for 2 9B cabins.

So sad nonetheless.

Booked a cheaper Norwegian with my parents and hoping for the best LOL

Makes me really looking forward to 2013!!!

 

[bonnielynn]

For the people who have sailed the Med before.. any advice on the ports?

 

[DisneyDee27]

We were planning to stay at the Marriott Vacation Club adjacent (or very close by) to DLP so that we could have two bedrooms and a kitchen for that part of the stay. We were hoping to use this area as a base to tour Paris, too. Is it difficult to get into Paris from DLP? It looks pretty easy to me, but not having done it, I am a little unsure. We would like to hook up with a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour so that we get to maximize what we see over the two days we're alloting for Paris. Also, it looks as though 1 day for each DLP park will be sufficient. Am I missing anything?

Thank you!

We stayed in Paris and took the Train to DLP it was very easy, we also took the trains to the Louvre, Arc di triomphe, and to the Eiffel tower. I didn't pay attention to the hoho buses. I bought 4 day passes for the metro and buses it was very easy to get around. I'll look up the companies we used and get back to you later today.
I'm sorry you won't be on the med cruise with us. I looked at NCL prices which would save about 800. However I'd like to do Disney and work towards getting my gold status. I'll have the info later today
Dee

 

[DisneyDee27]

Double post

 

[WaalDisney]

We will join the 12 days Mditerranean leaving 13th July 2013.

My family: Ruud, Agnes en son Davy (15 years now)
Stateroom 2110

Booked our cruise trough Small World Vacations.

We visited Disneyland Paris already more than 50 times.
DisneyWorld 3 times and this summer we will visit DisneyWorld and
Disneyland Anaheim.

 

[WaalDisney]

We will join the 12 days Mediterranean leaving 13th July 2013.

My family: Ruud, Agnes en son Davy (15 years now)
Stateroom 2110

Booked our cruise trough Small World Vacations.

We visited Disneyland Paris already more than 50 times.
DisneyWorld 3 times and this summer we will visit DisneyWorld and
Disneyland Anaheim.

Already cruised two times with the DCL: 2008 (3 night Bahama Disney Wonder) and 2011 (3 night Bahama Disney Dream)

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Welcome Aboard WaalDisney! You've been added to our roll call!