It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[Pinkocto]

I simple don't know at the moment how it will pan out and as I have to bank my remaining points by July 31st, I am not sure if I can commit at this stage as I may end up with the wrong amount of points. One of the Transatlantic cruises that is an option is 15 nights, the other is 13 nights. If we end up with option 1, I would aim to stay in Orlando for three nights afterwards. For option two, we would have 5 nights to play with and in that scenario, ideally I would spend 3 nights in Vero Beach and 2 nights in Orlando.

Corinna

That does make things a little tricky. What a lovely idea to stay at Vero Beach afterwards, I love that resort! Do you have a time frame of when you want the cruise booked by?

 

[franandaj]

So it sounds like you're pretty much done with the Disney ships then?

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a lovely idea to stay at Vero Beach afterwards, I love that resort!

I have wanted to visit for a long time.

Do you have a time frame of when you want the cruise booked by?

Ideally by the end of July.

So it sounds like you're pretty much done with the Disney ships then?

I think so. It is not so much the Disney ships I am done with, but the Disney itineraries. We are both in agreement that the Wonder will always be special to us, but at the moment we are finding that Royal Caribbean has a fantastic product combined with great itineraries and prices that are fair for what they offer.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Playing catch up after 3 weeks of family visiting! Your change of plans sound very exciting!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Playing catch up after 3 weeks of family visiting!

Welcome back.

Your change of plans sound very exciting!

There is another change of plan or actually a new plan coming right up.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

There has been another addition to our plans. My friend Sue, who lives near Disneyland, sent me an email last week with dates for cruises on the Disney Wonder out of San Diego in autumn of 2017. When I was waiting for my flight in Dubai, I had read that there are going to be some 7 night Mexican Riviera cruises. When I checked the website, I could not find any evidence of this. However, two of the cruises on the list Sue sent me were indeed 7 night Mexican Riviera cruises. Sue also dangled temptation in front of me that if we decided on one of them, they will try to join us. So we are now seriously looking at the October 15 sailing and we will combine that with a trip to Disneyland.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

That sounds like a very fun trip, I hope it works out would that replace either of the cruises?

 

[dolphingirl47]

That sounds like a very fun trip, I hope it works out would that replace either of the cruises?

No, this would be an extra. I still have 13 days leave left for 2017 so this will be perfect.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

I think those one week Mexican Riviera cruises sound wonderful! Michael and I talked about booking one of them as well. But Fall 2017 is currently planned to be when we travel to Japan and we both promised each other that we would not book any Disney cruises before we have finally made it to Japan!

I think Disneyland, Mexican Riviera with friends, a still relatively newly refurbished Disney Wonder all sounds perfect! You really should go for it!

 

[franandaj]

So we are now seriously looking at the October 15 sailing and we will combine that with a trip to Disneyland.

I hope you are considering DL before the cruise. We were also rather interested in opening day bookings. If we get our apartment cleaned out, I have an extra special treat waiting for me at the end of October 2017.

 

[Pinkocto]

No, this would be an extra. I still have 13 days leave left for 2017 so this will be perfect.

Corinna

Even better, I hope this works out

 

[dolphingirl47]

But Fall 2017 is currently planned to be when we travel to Japan and we both promised each other that we would not book any Disney cruises before we have finally made it to Japan!

A trip to Japan trumps any Disney cruise for me. Unfortunately I cannot get Graham to bite. He is quite happy about the idea of visiting China or Vietnam, but not sure about Japan at all.

I think Disneyland, Mexican Riviera with friends, a still relatively newly refurbished Disney Wonder all sounds perfect! You really should go for it!

That's what I figurred.

I hope you are considering DL before the cruise.

I was planning the Disneyland part after the cruise, but this is still subject to change. We now have a direct non stop flight from Manchester to Los Angeles twice a week, on Saturdays and Mondays so we figured we fly in Saturday, get on the Wonder on Sunday, have a week at Disneyland and then fly home on Monday. Still, this is all subject to change.

If we get our apartment cleaned out, I have an extra special treat waiting for me at the end of October 2017.

That sounds intriguing.

Even better, I hope this works out

So do I.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Things are getting a little exciting. First of all, between helping out a couple of colleagues and some operational changes, I have ended up with 5 days in a row in mid July. So I am now seriously considering a quick trip to Disneyland Paris. The end of September just seems so far away.

I think I have pretty much come to a decision about the autumn trip. I have been watching the availability and prices for the two transatlantic cruises that we were considering. The one taking in the Caribbean islands has been fairly volatile with prices changing all the time and categories disappearing and then becoming available again, but at a higher price. The alternative has held steady and this is now included in a sale on the US market so I am hoping that there will be better prices available in the UK in due course as well. Already it is significantly lower than the other one and I think if the price drops by about £100 per person, I will just jump. In the meantime, I have changed my leave around to accommodate the dates for that cruise. I am a little concerned about the weather, but I have never been to Boston or New York so this is a serious temptation and we will also have a stop at Port Canaveral, which opens up the possibility to finally visit the Kennedy Space Centre.

I actually felt pretty smug yesterday. I decided to try and get the hotels sorted out as when I checked earlier in the week, Thanksgiving was no longer available at Vero Beach and there was no availability anywhere at Walt Disney World for both nights that we would need there. So I figured I better get waitlisting. To me utter delight, all three nights that I wanted were available in a Garden View Inn Room at Vero Beach and I managed to snag two nights in a standard view 1 bedroom villa at Jambo House. I figured that will do and I can check periodically if a Savannah view studio will show up at either Jambo House or Kidani village. I thought that I had this all sewn up. Then I realized that the Monday that we would leave is the only day all year where there is no flight from Orlando to Manchester. So now I have to go back to the drawing board. There are three possible flights that day into London so that may be an option or if a studio does become available, I hope that this would also be available on the Monday night. Time will tell.

When I was on my way home yesterday, I noticed that we had a new invoice for a cruise next April. We have now been allocated flights. If we keep the flights through Royal Caribbean, we will fly with British Airways via London Heathrow in both directions. We will leave in the evening of 19th April and arrive in Sydney at 5:00 AM on the 21st. The ship sets sail in the late afternoon of the 22nd. So hopefully we will get the chance to see some of Sydney. On the way back, we will leave Seattle lunchtime. I had been hoping for an evening flight. I checked the cost of the flights with British Airways direct and they want nearly 3 times as much so I think we are getting a good deal especially as our price includes the transfers and a night in a hotel in Sydney.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Fantastic news about getting Vero Beach and Jambo House especially when they weren't available when you checked earlier.

If you have to fly into London would you take a train back to Manchester?

The flights through Royal Caribbean sound like a real bargain, wow.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Fantastic news about getting Vero Beach and Jambo House especially when they weren't available when you checked earlier.

I was very pleased that this is all working out.

If you have to fly into London would you take a train back to Manchester?

Yes, we would need to take the train back.

The flights through Royal Caribbean sound like a real bargain, wow.

I was really surprised just how good a deal this turns out to be.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

So many fun plans! I'm having to put any more plans on semi hold until we can make progress with our darned place!

 

[dolphingirl47]

So many fun plans! I'm having to put any more plans on semi hold until we can make progress with our darned place!

I keep my fingers crossed for you.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Playing catch up again! Hope all your plans work out!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Playing catch up again! Hope all your plans work out!

Jill in CO

So do, although I have to admit that the planning has gone on the back-burner. Work is still very busy. I am currently on the 5 days off in a row that I was talking about earlier and I decided to stay at home. I had conveniently forgotten that Bastille Day fell in the middle of this and figured that Disneyland Paris would be crazy. There was also the complication that Graham's mum passed away on July 4th and there was a good chance that the funeral would be this week. It is now next Friday so we are heading to the south coast then. For once Graham is more excited about planning than I am. He has been researching things to do on Fiji and I am rather impressed with something he found.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry Graham's mom passed away


I'm glad you weren't in France this time.