7/13/13 ~~ Eastern Mediterranean Mouseketeers!

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am not on your cruise, but I was just reading through here for ideas for my cruise.....and...

RULE ONE! Do NOT carry more cash then you can afford to loose. Yes, the ship and hotel have safes. The planes, buses, trains and taxis not so much! I took a group to Europe and the other chaperons lost $10,000 in travelers checks on the train from Heathrow airport! (At least it was traveler's checks but it took all day to deal with this!) I once met a woman who lost her wallet at the Paris airport.

So if you can take a 1,000 Euros and afford to replace it should you lose it bring it. But for most of us... Use the ATMS in the port. Get out what you need and move on. Or if you are really determined to spend more money use Traveler's Checks. (The ATM rate will be better then the DCL rate) Just let your bank know where and when. I do this on every trip to Europe and have never had a problem. (Also, just a warning an ATM may not let you withdraw 1,000 Euros at a time. They have limits too. And some banks in Europe don't actually have cash LOL!) ATMS all over Europe have an English option. I have never had one that didn't, even in Greece and Turkey.

IMHO the hotel is not your risk. You are most at danger when you first land. Think about it.. you are exhausted, you have been up for HOURS, you are disoriented etc... Easy mark! And to some extent the journey from the hotel to the ship. Once again you are hauling all this stuff and easily distracted.... (I think that's what happened to our Traveler's checks. I don't think they were stolen I think she just lost the things!)

 

[LovesToRun]

I am not on your cruise, but I was just reading through here for ideas for my cruise.....and...

RULE ONE! Do NOT carry more cash then you can afford to loose. Yes, the ship and hotel have safes. The planes, buses, trains and taxis not so much! I took a group to Europe and the other chaperons lost $10,000 in travelers checks on the train from Heathrow airport! (At least it was traveler's checks but it took all day to deal with this!) I once met a woman who lost her wallet at the Paris airport.

So if you can take a 1,000 Euros and afford to replace it should you lose it bring it. But for most of us... Use the ATMS in the port. Get out what you need and move on. Or if you are really determined to spend more money use Traveler's Checks. (The ATM rate will be better then the DCL rate) Just let your bank know where and when. I do this on every trip to Europe and have never had a problem. (Also, just a warning an ATM may not let you withdraw 1,000 Euros at a time. They have limits too. And some banks in Europe don't actually have cash LOL!) ATMS all over Europe have an English option. I have never had one that didn't, even in Greece and Turkey.

IMHO the hotel is not your risk. You are most at danger when you first land. Think about it.. you are exhausted, you have been up for HOURS, you are disoriented etc... Easy mark! And to some extent the journey from the hotel to the ship. Once again you are hauling all this stuff and easily distracted.... (I think that's what happened to our Traveler's checks. I don't think they were stolen I think she just lost the things!)

I totally agree with all of this! Both my husband and I have lost things (not cash), but other things we accidentally left in a cab or subway in other countries (because of the exact reason you mentioned above). I am always double and triple checking things now before I get out of a cab, get off the subway, or bus.... but sometimes things happen so fast, you don't always have time to double or triple check.

The worst thing (but ended AMAZINGLY well) that happened to us is my husband and I went to London, and we had JUST arrived... we were tired from the long flight, jet lagged, and we were on the Tube going into the city to get to our hotel. My husband had his laptop bag with him (and it was his issued work laptop). He had it right by his side on the subway, and we got mixed up as to what stop we had to get off... we had thought it was still a couple stops away, but VERY last minute we realized the stop the subway JUST come to WAS our stop, so we had literally 30 seconds to gather our bags and get off the subway. Well, we jumped of the subway, and it was the MOST helpless feeling... my husband I looked through the window and there was his laptop bag sitting ON the seat in the subway!!! In the midst of the craziness of trying to suddenly get off the train with our suitcases, etc, he stood up from the seat and forgot to grab his laptop bag! The doors hadn't closed yet, so my husband ran over to the doors to try to jump back on the train, but they closed JUST before he could get on (literally, THE most helpless feeling!!) ... BUT amazingly (there ARE still honest people in this world), there was a guy who saw us pointing in desperation at the laptop bag. The guy on the subway grabbed it and pointed to it (like confirming that it WAS our bag) and he made a gesture basically telling us to wait right there.

So, we waited not sure if we'd ever see his laptop again (and then he'd have even bigger problems because it was his work laptop). We also went to security and asked what we can do, and they weren't helpful. But, amazingly, that guy got off at the next stop, then he got on the subway that was heading BACK to the stop we were waiting at.... it took about 10 minutes until we saw him (again, not sure IF we'd ever see him), but here comes the train coming in the opposite direction from the stop ahead of us, and this man got off and gave my husband his laptop bag!!! He was SO nice. We could NOT believe it, and we offered to give him money to thank him, but he refused to take it, and then he got on the train and went on his way.

NOT all stories end up that way, but the point is we are both really responsible, travel a TON, and are street smart, but we were just totally caught off guard by being in a new place, exhausted, having our luggage with us, trying to figure out where we are going, and our brains just got overloaded and as a result, my husband left his laptop bag on the train!

I will say, now when we are "en route" traveling, my husband now keeps the shoulder strap of his laptop bag ON his shoulder when he's in a cab, bus or train so when he stands up, the bag just automatically comes with him. You learn from your experiences... I do the same with my purse or should bag... I just keep the straps over my shoulder at all times when I'm in a cab, train or bus so that way I won't accidentally get up and leave without grabbing my purse... but I didn't start doing this until my husband had his "laptop" experience. Again you learn from your own experiences.

We never travel with lots of cash... we just get little bits out of ATMs as we need it, and then of course, use or CC all the time.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

I am not on your cruise, but I was just reading through here for ideas for my cruise.....and...

RULE ONE! Do NOT carry more cash then you can afford to loose. Yes, the ship and hotel have safes. The planes, buses, trains and taxis not so much! I took a group to Europe and the other chaperons lost $10,000 in travelers checks on the train from Heathrow airport! (At least it was traveler's checks but it took all day to deal with this!) I once met a woman who lost her wallet at the Paris airport.

So if you can take a 1,000 Euros and afford to replace it should you lose it bring it. But for most of us... Use the ATMS in the port. Get out what you need and move on. Or if you are really determined to spend more money use Traveler's Checks. (The ATM rate will be better then the DCL rate) Just let your bank know where and when. I do this on every trip to Europe and have never had a problem. (Also, just a warning an ATM may not let you withdraw 1,000 Euros at a time. They have limits too. And some banks in Europe don't actually have cash LOL!) ATMS all over Europe have an English option. I have never had one that didn't, even in Greece and Turkey.

IMHO the hotel is not your risk. You are most at danger when you first land. Think about it.. you are exhausted, you have been up for HOURS, you are disoriented etc... Easy mark! And to some extent the journey from the hotel to the ship. Once again you are hauling all this stuff and easily distracted.... (I think that's what happened to our Traveler's checks. I don't think they were stolen I think she just lost the things!)

This is great advice- are you saying that there is an ATM inside of the Barcelona port terminal? If so, I agree this would definitely be the easiest and safest place to obtain cash, right before getting on the ship.

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi everyone,

I know this is not new information, but just more specific information I got about the Vatican dress code.

I have been emailing the owner of the company we are doing our Rome tour with and have been asking a lot of questions. I emailed and asked him if it would be acceptable for women to wear a skirt, dress or shorts that come RIGHT to the knee for the Vatican, or if women do indeed need to have their knees fully covered. I also asked about men & children (ie, if they also need their knees covered).

He replied and said everyone (women, men, boys & girls) must have their knees fully covered, as well as their shoulders (which that I for sure knew).

He said for women just putting a shawl over your shoulders works just fine if you wear a top for the day that exposes the shoulders. He also said that they sell scarves/shawls outside the Vatican for 3 euros if you don't have anything to cover your shoulders.

So as for the knees, looks like for sure capri's, long pants,a long skirt or dress for the Vatican.

 

[pennymike]

This is great info! Thank you so much for emailing concierge and posting their answer. I like that there aren't any service fees!! We will probably already have Euros before we board the ship (we'll be spending time in Italy before the cruise, so we'll have Euros for that portion of our trip), BUT this is so good to know JUST in case we needed more Euros while on the cruise!! I had no idea they did foreign currency exchange on the ship.

One question... the response says they will exchange up to $200 USD per checking account/per voyage. So, I'm assuming "per voyage" means they will exchange up to $200 total over the 12 days (ie, does "per voyage" mean then ENTIRE cruise, or does "per voyage" mean each time we leave a port and go out to sea?)

What do you all think??

Also, here's another question along the same topic (sort of). For room service on the ship, would you all tip in Euros or USD's ON the ship? We always tip in cash when we get room service, but I'm wondering if the CM's would prefer Euro's or USD's? My guess is Euro's since they will be in Europe all summer, and Euro's are worth more than the dollar... what do you all think?

Thanks again!!!

This means per WHOLE trip, HOWEVER....the limit is "per check"...you can exchange all the CASH you wish.....no limit. We did that last trip, just got what we needed each day or 2 with cash at the guest services desk.

Hope that helps.

 

[LovesToRun]

For those looking for boys pants that zip off, I found some for DS in Old Navy recently. Might even stop and get an extra pair for DS before they sell out. I got them on sale for $17...so keep an eye out for sales coming up.

Thanks for this tip on the Old Navy Convertible boy's pants! I went to Old Navy today and found them. I bought each of my boys a pair... they were on sale at our Old Navy for $15 each! (Regular $24.99). Pretty good deal! They will be great Rome, especially! Thanks again!

 

[janell.carrasco]

Hi, I am finally posting for the first time, although we booked this cruise over a year ago. We finally paid in full last week, but are yet to book flights or hotels. It's on my to-do list

There are 4 of us...me, husband, and 2 daughters (ages 16,10). I just signed us up for the FE.

Prior cruises:
7d Western Carribean Feb, '06
14d EB Transatlantic April '10
15d Hawaii April-May '12

 

[FloridaMom3461]

Hi, I am finally posting for the first time, although we booked this cruise over a year ago. We finally paid in full last week, but are yet to book flights or hotels. It's on my to-do list

There are 4 of us...me, husband, and 2 daughters (ages 16,10). I just signed us up for the FE.

Prior cruises:
7d Western Carribean Feb, '06
14d EB Transatlantic April '10
15d Hawaii April-May '12

Welcome!

 

[FloridaMom3461]

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on this cruise and I really would like to do a vow renewal ceremony while at sea. The cost of the DCL ceremony is astronomical and I don't even want all that is included. It's basically a $3000 45 minute period of time. For me, the good parts are: the officiant, the music, the onboard extras, maybe the cake. The not so good: the flowers (I'm allergic), the champagne (again allergic). The photographer is extra. So now I'm thinking of a do-it-yourself vow renewal. I checked and it looks like a specialty cake is $32 and you can reserve a photographer for $85 per half hour. Palo dinner of course can be reserved as well. Our cabin happens to have a gorgeous deck so location not an issue. I could then bring some decorations and use our IPod for music. What do you all think? I keep going back and forth on a decision but the cost seems so unnecessary.

Randi

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi, I am finally posting for the first time, although we booked this cruise over a year ago. We finally paid in full last week, but are yet to book flights or hotels. It's on my to-do list

There are 4 of us...me, husband, and 2 daughters (ages 16,10). I just signed us up for the FE.

Prior cruises:
7d Western Carribean Feb, '06
14d EB Transatlantic April '10
15d Hawaii April-May '12

Welcome!!

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on this cruise and I really would like to do a vow renewal ceremony while at sea. The cost of the DCL ceremony is astronomical and I don't even want all that is included. It's basically a $3000 45 minute period of time. For me, the good parts are: the officiant, the music, the onboard extras, maybe the cake. The not so good: the flowers (I'm allergic), the champagne (again allergic). The photographer is extra. So now I'm thinking of a do-it-yourself vow renewal. I checked and it looks like a specialty cake is $32 and you can reserve a photographer for $85 per half hour. Palo dinner of course can be reserved as well. Our cabin happens to have a gorgeous deck so location not an issue. I could then bring some decorations and use our IPod for music. What do you all think? I keep going back and forth on a decision but the cost seems so unnecessary.

Randi

Hi Randi,

Congrats on 10 years!!

I agree that the price for the Disney Vowel Renewal is really expensive!! That is a lot of money to pay for 45 minutes!! (especially on top of the cost of the Med cruise and airfare, which both are not cheap).

I really don't have any suggestions for you, other than what you've suggested... you just do a small "unofficial" ceremony on your veranda in your cabin, order a cake, get the photographer for 30 minutes, reserve Palo for your dinner that night, use your Ipod for music... it could be really nice this way (AND affordable!). If you are fine NOT having an "official" ceremony with an Officiant (which I'm assuming might be some type of clergy hired by Disney that is on the ship), then I say just do it yourself for a tiny fraction of the cost of what Disney is asking.

Either way, congrats, and you will have a great celebration, I'm sure!

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Can those of you who have experience with traveler's checks please chime in? I posted on the main forum but haven't gotten any response yet. Basically I've never used them before so I have no idea how they work, specifically for using them to pay for a service directly (not cashing them in at a bank). My Rome tour accepts cash or traveler's checks as payment at the end of the tour, and I'm thinking the TC option would be good to alleviate the 'carrying around a ton of cash' issue, but I'm curious how it works. Also, where do people get traveler's checks in Euro currency before leaving home? If I do this, is it the same crappy exchange rate as getting Euro cash before leaving home?

 

[Cousin Orville]

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on this cruise and I really would like to do a vow renewal ceremony while at sea. The cost of the DCL ceremony is astronomical and I don't even want all that is included. It's basically a $3000 45 minute period of time. For me, the good parts are: the officiant, the music, the onboard extras, maybe the cake. The not so good: the flowers (I'm allergic), the champagne (again allergic). The photographer is extra. So now I'm thinking of a do-it-yourself vow renewal. I checked and it looks like a specialty cake is $32 and you can reserve a photographer for $85 per half hour. Palo dinner of course can be reserved as well. Our cabin happens to have a gorgeous deck so location not an issue. I could then bring some decorations and use our IPod for music. What do you all think? I keep going back and forth on a decision but the cost seems so unnecessary.

Randi

Doing it yourself sounds more special and less staged anyway. I'd do it myself, combine it with a dinner at Palo, and redirect the money to a shopping trip on Via Condotti in Rome or just save it

 

[happy_momma]

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to get off the ship for a non-DCL excursion? I want to book Rome-in-Limo for a Rome excursion. If we are ashore at 7:15, is 8 a.m. a reasonable pickup time?

 

[FloridaMom3461]

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to get off the ship for a non-DCL excursion? I want to book Rome-in-Limo for a Rome excursion. If we are ashore at 7:15, is 8 a.m. a reasonable pickup time?

Our private tour with Easitalytours for Civitavecchia is also scheduled for 8 am driver pickup time. Should be fine.

 

[FloridaMom3461]

Hi all,
i've been messaging with this ETSY shop and she just emailed me that she has enough supplies to make a larger quantity (I think I asked her for 30 total?) if anyone is interested. I actually decided to do something different for our FE gifts but told the shop owner I'd pass along a note to you-all. I don't personally know her or her work - just found it on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/listing/116716530/set-of-four-disney-luggage-tags-for-your?ref=shop_home_active

BTW - shhhhh I did order my FE gifts this past weekend and am sooooo excited about what I decided on!

Randi

 

[LovesToRun]

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to get off the ship for a non-DCL excursion? I want to book Rome-in-Limo for a Rome excursion. If we are ashore at 7:15, is 8 a.m. a reasonable pickup time?

I think 8 AM is definitely reasonable. I think a lot of private tours are meeting around 8 AM. Our tour we booked with, we are riding the train, which leaves at 8:40 AM, but they've asked us to meet between 8:00 - 8:30, so the fact they said we could meet as early as 8 AM tells me people can for sure be off the ship by 8 AM.

Hi all,
i've been messaging with this ETSY shop and she just emailed me that she has enough supplies to make a larger quantity (I think I asked her for 30 total?) if anyone is interested. I actually decided to do something different for our FE gifts but told the shop owner I'd pass along a note to you-all. I don't personally know her or her work - just found it on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/listing/116716530/set-of-four-disney-luggage-tags-for-your?ref=shop_home_active

BTW - shhhhh I did order my FE gifts this past weekend and am sooooo excited about what I decided on!

Randi

Those are so cute!! On our last Disney cruise (it was a Christmas cruise) someone in our FE group made luggage tags like those and they were so neat! And, those will pack well and not add a lot of weight in your suitcase when you fly over to Europe.

I don't think we'll be doing the FE group... it's hard to say "no" because we always participate, but we will be in Europe this summer for quite a long time in addition to our cruise, so we are trying to pack only what we need and not have a lot of extra weight. But, I'll think about it some more... maybe I can come up with FE gifts that are super light and don't take up a lot of space. hmmmm....

Does anyone know when the deadline is to sign-up to participate in the FE group?

 

[happy_momma]

Our private tour with Easitalytours for Civitavecchia is also scheduled for 8 am driver pickup time. Should be fine.

Thanks for your responses - all booked!

 

[happy_momma]

Tara:

Wow! Maybe we should go private and tell each other our real names!

Slg

Sig, sent you a PM...

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've been spending the last couple weeks trying to find some really good supportive & comfortable walking sandals for our trip. I know I asked about this a while back, and Keens were a great suggestion, AND several of my friends here recommended Keen's, too. I was certain those would be the sandals I'd end up with!!

I thought about ordering some from Zappo's (I love Zappo's), but for something like this where the fit, stability factor and comfort is really important, I decided it would be more time efficient if I just went to a few stores and tried on a bunch of sandals (rather than order a few pairs, try them on, and have to send them back and re-order more if they didn't work).

So, I went to several different stores that carry good walking sandals. I tried on about 8 different models of Keens, and the Keens just did not work for me. I was bummed! They were either too wide or not stable enough, or just plain didn't feel right/fit right.

That said, I finally found TWO great pairs and I wanted to share here in case anyone else (women, that is) is looking or good stable walking sandals and you have having trouble finding something that works (especially if any of you have foot or ankle issues. I have a bad ankle, so it's very hard for me to find a sandal that works for me).

I ended up buying these two pairs at The Walking Company and I love these.

These are very stable, very comfortable, made for all day, and they are cute (I got the Metallic color). So, can wear these with skirts or dresses, as well as shorts/capri's/pants.

http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/aetrex-joy-multi-metallic/23170

These below are ultra comfort, ultra stable, and made for LONG days and all types of terrain. And, the inside straps are made of Neoprene, so they are soft against your skin, which is a great... no rubbing or chaffing as a result. They lack in the "cute" factor, but that is totally fine! I am just happy to have a GOOD pair of sandals that won't give me foot or ankle pain when I'm out on my feet all day!! I will wear these on our long day shore excursions for sure (Rome, Ephesus, Chinque Terre...). They are just so comfortable and very very stable.

http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/abeo-huntington-post-brown/18702

Neither of these are cheap, but for a good stable walking sandal that won't cause foot or ankle pain is worth paying extra for me.

Anyway, just wanted to share in case anyone here is looking for good walking sandals and find Keens don't work (I was bummed about the keens, because I saw SO many fun colors and really good looking Keens, but none of them fit me right. ).

Also, the reason I'm getting these so early is so I have some good sandals to wear now that it's spring (AND we're going on the Disney Fantasy in less than 2 weeks!! So, now I have some good sandals to wear on that trip!).

 

[pennymike]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've been spending the last couple weeks trying to find some really good supportive & comfortable walking sandals for our trip. I know I asked about this a while back, and Keens were a great suggestion, AND several of my friends here recommended Keen's, too. I was certain those would be the sandals I'd end up with!!

I thought about ordering some from Zappo's (I love Zappo's), but for something like this where the fit, stability factor and comfort is really important, I decided it would be more time efficient if I just went to a few stores and tried on a bunch of sandals (rather than order a few pairs, try them on, and have to send them back and re-order more if they didn't work).

So, I went to several different stores that carry good walking sandals. I tried on about 8 different models of Keens, and the Keens just did not work for me. I was bummed! They were either too wide or not stable enough, or just plain didn't feel right/fit right.

That said, I finally found TWO great pairs and I wanted to share here in case anyone else (women, that is) is looking or good stable walking sandals and you have having trouble finding something that works (especially if any of you have foot or ankle issues. I have a bad ankle, so it's very hard for me to find a sandal that works for me).

I ended up buying these two pairs at The Walking Company and I love these.

These are very stable, very comfortable, made for all day, and they are cute (I got the Metallic color). So, can wear these with skirts or dresses, as well as shorts/capri's/pants.

http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/aetrex-joy-multi-metallic/23170

These below are ultra comfort, ultra stable, and made for LONG days and all types of terrain. And, the inside straps are made of Neoprene, so they are soft against your skin, which is a great... no rubbing or chaffing as a result. They lack in the "cute" factor, but that is totally fine! I am just happy to have a GOOD pair of sandals that won't give me foot or ankle pain when I'm out on my feet all day!! I will wear these on our long day shore excursions for sure (Rome, Ephesus, Chinque Terre...). They are just so comfortable and very very stable.

http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/abeo-huntington-post-brown/18702

Neither of these are cheap, but for a good stable walking sandal that won't cause foot or ankle pain is worth paying extra for me.

Anyway, just wanted to share in case anyone here is looking for good walking sandals and find Keens don't work (I was bummed about the keens, because I saw SO many fun colors and really good looking Keens, but none of them fit me right. ).

Also, the reason I'm getting these so early is so I have some good sandals to wear now that it's spring (AND we're going on the Disney Fantasy in less than 2 weeks!! So, now I have some good sandals to wear on that trip!).

SOOOOOOOOO cute! And they look VERY comfy. I approve.
Penny