July 22, 2015 * 12-night Northern European Cruise!

[Deb T.]

WELCOME TO ALL BALTIC BUCCANEERS!


ROLL CALL
Melcatfish: Mel & Darren, DD Isabelle (10), DD Olivia (7)
disfamilyfun: Malikah, DD Rifqa (18), and mother Ellen
BethieTink: Bethie & Paulie
The Wombles: Dave & DW, DS16, DD14 [Resident UK Experts!]
mousemom11: Becky, DD16, DD14
ElizCanning: DW & DH, 16, 19, 5
TexasGolfDad: DH & DW, DS8
krisinparis: DW & DH, DS11, DD7
mum&son: Kim, DS Struan (15)
LynnTarrant: Lynn & Keith
ctnurse: DW & DH, DS (11), DD (2)
Celestine: [ReadingFC's DW] Celestine & Paul, DD Lauren (15), DD Hermione (10)
ReadingFC: [Celestine's DH] Paul & Celestine, DD Lauren (15), DD Hermione (10)
DISNEY FANTASY: family of four
mindelmouse: DW & DH, DS (14), DD (14)
wvuflu: Lisa & Rich, DD Maggie (12), DS Connor (10)
HAMLIE: Hollie, DD Amaya (8)
ynspire: Yvonne & Blair, DD Ariane (11), DS Blake (11)
kayochan: DW & DH, DS (13), DS (8)
pennymike: Mike & Penny
KatieG73: Katie & Donald, DD Niamh (14)
redcoral33: DW & DH, DD (12)
Jon G: Jon & Maria, DD Lauren (15)
tink,too: DW & DH
abayaflowers: Geri & DH, DD (12)
ICEMANPAD: Chuck & Lisa, DS Mason (15)
Philip Colmer: Philip & DW
Jon G's friends from a previous cruise: John & Michelle, DD Collette, DS Maxwell
mom3bellasorella: Tricia & Keith, DD Ashley (16), DD Jamie (13), DD Kiley (10)
esther1403: Esther & family
OnOurWayToDL: DW & DH
Lili2003: DW& DH, DD (22), DD (17)
ep1229: DW & DH, DD (12), DD (12)
Cjjoncas: Julia & Chris, DD (14), DD (10)
Tinksfriend2006: Lynne & Richard
RoyalCanadian: Neil & DW
TiggerPU88: [DisneyConvert's DW] Adrienne & Doug, DS Elian (13)
DisneyConvert: [TiggerPU88's DH] Doug & Adrienne, DS Elian (13)
val102uk: Valerie, DD Chris, DGrandsons Lewis (15), Elliot (15)
honeybear66: Sheree & David, DD Laura (8)
SarahBeal: Sarah
HesterJ: DW & DH, DS (7), DD (5)
Disneyfan1970: Jeroen & Suzanne, DS Tycho (16), DD Quinty (13)
Klomp: Debby & Michel, DS Quinn (3), DD Yara (1)
Zwerch: Michaela & DH M, DD Luca (15), DD M (12)
scubadiver: DH & DW, DD (14), DD (11)
OC stacylace: Stacy & Dennis, DS Dylan (16), DS Gavin (10)
gg.leigh: DW & DH, DD (4)
AmericanExPat: Lisa & Mark, DD (7), DD (5)
SleepyV: DW & DH, DD (17)
Goofydisneyfan: Ute & Jürgen, DD Celina (18), DD Denise (16), and Ute's parents
owensjro: [owensamo's DH] Jim & Amanda, DD Hannah (13)
owensamo: [owensjro's DW] Amanda & Jim, DD Hannah (13)
drlaurafsu: Laura & DH, DS (8)
EllaGrasso: Ella, DD
Osric: Andrew & DW, DD (5)
MN Dis Fans: DH & DW, DS (20), DS (17), and DH's parents aka Grandpa & Grandma
disneymomster:
time for travel: Carol, DD Carina (10)
traceyjayne: Tracey & Eric, DS Luke (14)
Hallfamily2011: Carey & Dave, Zach (14), traveling with Marchelle & Amy
fassiofive: DW & DH, DD Bella (8), DD Charlotte (6), DS Tommy (21mo)
Clairelow: Claire & Kevin, DS Isaac (12), DS Harvey (10), Claire's parents Linda & Malcolm
Tinkerbellesmum:
toffeecushion:
tinkerbell_29: Melissa, brother Matthew, mother Nancy
uk4: Christine, DS Lewis (15), DS Elliot (15), mum Valerie
jeff1: Jeff & Lisa, DD (10)
awaghorn: DH & DW, DS (7)
paddles: DW & DH, DS (12), DD (10), DW's mother
PVDude: Bill & Jennifer, DS Jack (16), DS Billy (14), DS Bobby (12), DS Danny (10)
mfams:
Karen727: Karen, DD Emily (27), DD Lorelei (9), DD Aria (9)
Florian: DH1 & DH2, DH1's Mum and Brother
Parrot Cay: DH & DW, DD (15), DS (12)
Pooh's Pals: Jane & Tony, DS Simon (24), DD Rebecca (18)
Eliza Beringhause: Eliza & Steve, DD Aviva (14)
FunluvinJ23:
VS932: Shaun & “Other Half”, Foster Child (11), Other Half’s Mum
3bubs: DH & DW, DD (10), DS (8), DS (2)
Californiacruisers: DW & DH, DS (14), DD (11)
jojop: Joe & Melissa, DD (11), DS (8), also traveling with another family of 3
disneylove619: DW & DH
bjt: Sherri & Brian, DD (turning 16 on the cruise), DS (11)
Scrapcomber: Lynne and friend Janet
Frozen’s French Family: Isabelle & DH, one child
Adam family: Aziz & Christina, DS Adam (11)
RosasFamily: Christine & Jose, DD Angel (turning 10 on cruise), DS Ronaldo (5)
GenzanoFamily
SoCal DCL Newbie: DW & DH, DD (12), DD (9), MIL, niece, and another family
Bianca tovey: DW & DH, DD (13)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FISH EXTENDER EXCHANGE
To give everyone time to prepare their FE surprises, the deadline to join the FE Exchange was 21June2015. I am truly sorry if you found this page after the deadline and were not able to sign up in time.

FE PARTICIPANTS:
LynnTarrant: Sky's the Limit
Celestine: Sky's the Limit
The Wombles: No more than 20
Melcatfish: No more than 20
mum&son: No more than 20
ICEMANPAD: Sky's the Limit
mom3bellasorella: No more than 20
OnOurWayToDL: Sky's the Limit
abayaflowers: No more than 20
TiggerPU88: Sky's the Limit
Klomp: No more than 40
gg.leigh: No more than 20
honeybear66: No more than 40
time for travel: No more than 40
Hallfamily2011: No more than 20
Clairelow: No more than 20
Clarelow's Parents: No more than 20
HAMLIE: No more than 20
AmericanExPat: No more than 20
owensamo: No more than 20
PVDude: No more than 20
HesterJ: No more than 20
mfams: No more than 40
Karen727: No more than 20
krisinparis: No more than 40
fassiofive: No more than 40
Eliza Beringhause:
redcoral33: No more than 20
3bubs: No more than 20
disneylove619: No more than 30
pilawpina: No more than 20
ynspire: No more than 20
Frozen’s French Family: No more than 20
MSH: No more than 20
Scrapcomber: No more than 20
Scrapcomber's cabin mate: No more than 20
RosasFamily: No more than 20
GenzanoFamily: No more than 20
F&K, M: No more than 20

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PRIVATE COACH FROM LONDON TO DOVER!
Celestine & DH (ReadingFC) are organizing a private coach from London to Dover for us for just £20 per person (roughly US$30pp), which is a fantastic deal! If you are interested, please send an email to Celestine at balticbuccaneers@mail.com to sign up.

18May2015 Coach Update:
There are still a few places available on the Baltic Buccaneer coach. If anyone is interested please email balticbuccaneers@mail.com. Anyone joining now will have to meet the bus at one of the existing pick up points as the route has been set and agreed with the coach company.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

EXCELLENT TRIP REPORTS FROM 2010 BALTIC SAILINGS
The 1st one has all the Navigators from the June 2010 Baltics cruise. A great big thanks to TiggerPU88 for finding and sharing them!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2500898 "Tiddly Carvings?! - A Baltic Cruise: Index"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2496040 "Mini Trip Report-Inaugural Northern European Capitals Cruise *Photos added*"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2494674 "Baltic Cruise June 12"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you are new to the DIS Boards:
(FYI: You will need to make ten posts before you can send a Private Message)
*Easiest way to send a “Private Message”:
-Click the recipient's name (in blue font) in the little box on the left side of one of their posts
-Click on “Start a Conversation” (in white font)
-Enter a “Conversation Title”
-Under the row of icons, type your message
-Click “Start a Conversation” under your message to send it

 

[Melcatfish]

Hi,

We are booked on this as well. I have no idea what the price is yet but I can see on my castaway club page that I have a reservation so well done Kelsie at DU for getting me the room I wanted!

This will be our 7th DCL cruise (6th for our daughters) but our first time cruising in the Baltic region. It is the cruise that has been on my husbands "bucket list" for ages so I am really pleased we snagged a booking. I wanted this cruise in 2010 but the prices were way too high and I didn't think it was ideal for kids as young as ours were back then!

Our party consists of:

Me (Mel)
DH (Darren)
DD1 (Isabelle - will be 10 at time of sailing)
DD2 (Olivia - will be 7 at time of sailing)

Looking forward to getting to know our cruise mates.

Mel
x

 

[disfamilyfun]

We will be on this cruise too. Got the stateroom we wanted thanks to our wonderful TA who will also be on this cruise. We have other friends also sailing that we met this past summer in the med

Sailing with me, Malikah, will be my mom Ellen and my daughter, Rifqa, who will be 18 on the cruise. This will be my daughter's high school graduation gift so we are so excited.

Can't wait to start planning

 

[BethieTink]

Hi there!

We booked today too. We have been waiting for this itinerary to come back since the 2010 cruises. (Guess I will have to find something else to write on the comment cards now). It's DH's 50th birthday next year and he wanted this more than anything.

It's just the two of us, me (Bethie) and him (Paulie) cruising and we can't wait.

Let the countdown begin!

 

[The Wombles]

We're booked on this cruise too. This will be our third Disney cruise although we're new to these boards. Can't wait!

There are 5 of us, DW, DS17, DS16, DD14 and me (Dave). We live in the UK so looking forward to cruising without flights - happy to help with advice for anyone not familiar with the UK.

Can't wait to find out about a whole new world of cruise meets, fish extenders and the rest.

 

[mousemom11]

Woo hoo! Just booked this for my 2 daughters and I. We've been talking about a Baltics cruise for years and were very excited to hear that Disney was going to do it again next summer. This will be our 5th Disney cruise. We've previously done a Western on the Magic, Alaska on the Wonder, Eastern on the Fantasy, and we'll be doing a Western on the Magic this Christmas.

We'll spend some time in London pre-cruise. Wombles, I'd love any suggestions you have to offer about how to get around, where to stay, what to see, etc.

We're on Deck 2 mid-ship with main seating. Traveling is:

Me (Becky)
DD16
DD14

Really looking forward to getting to know everyone and planning together!

 

[DisneySpirit]

This is also our 2nd Disney Northern European cruise! We also did the Northern Baltics Capitals cruise in June, 2010. We have friends and family sailing with us this time 2 of them also sailed with us in to the Baltic in 2010 as well. Very excited to spend more time in Stockholm, SE this time as we had to leave at 1pm last time due to the 30ft tides in Dover! This will be our 20th Disney Cruise for my DW and I! Very Excited!

 

[Deb T.]

I'm reposting my original introduction here so we can use the first post as a gathering place for important information about our cruise!

This is our 2nd Disney Northern European cruise! We did the Northern Baltics Capitals cruise in July, 2010. It was amazing, so we've been eager to book a similar cruise as soon as one became available. The main differences between our 2010 cruise and this new cruise are: we won't be going to Warnemunde (Berlin), we won't be going to Oslo, Norway, and we will get to spend two days in Copenhagen.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

 

[Deb T.]

Welcome, melcatfish, disfamilyfun, Bethietink, The Wombles, mousemom11, and DisneySpirit! Yay! We have a good group to start the ball rolling! Let the planning begin!

The Wombles - Like mousemom11, we will also be arriving in London for a few days pre-cruise. DH and I would really appreciate recommendations for authentic local British eateries! Nothing expensive, just fish & chips sort of places that are popular with the locals.

 

[ElizCanning]

We're excited about this cruise--we are a family of 5, kids will be 16, 9, and 5 on the cruise. We did Alaska last year (Awesome!), and we're doing a Christmas season sailing this December to the Caribbean.

We've traveled a lot in Europe, but have not been to these cities (with the exception of Dover and London), so we're looking forward to it.

We have never booked opening day before, so I'm hoping it's true that these are the best prices available.

 

[ElizCanning]

Has anyone started a Facebook group for this cruise? A private FB group has worked well for us in the past for our Alaska cruise. It's slightly more private than using the forums here, especially once folks start sharing family information, etc.

 

[mousemom11]

We're excited about this cruise--we are a family of 5, kids will be 16, 9, and 5 on the cruise. We did Alaska last year (Awesome!), and we're doing a Christmas season sailing this December to the Caribbean.

We've traveled a lot in Europe, but have not been to these cities (with the exception of Dover and London), so we're looking forward to it.

We have never booked opening day before, so I'm hoping it's true that these are the best prices available.

Which Christmas sailing are you doing? We're on the 12/21 Magic.

My experience has been that with limited, special itineraries such as this, opening day prices are the best. Nonetheless, I'm going to reshop it when we're onboard at Christmas to see if the 10% OBB will give us a better price at that time.

 

[TexasGolfDad]

Good Morning! We just finished our online booking and can't wait to start our third Disney cruise (2011 Med and 2013 Alaska). There will be three of us making the trip- me, DW and DS(8). Look forward to being part of the FE group and sharing ideas on plans and excursion adventures.

 

[mousemom11]

Good Morning! We just finished our online booking and can't wait to start our third Disney cruise (2011 Med and 2013 Alaska). There will be three of us making the trip- me, DW and DS(8). Look forward to being part of the FE group and sharing ideas on plans and excursion adventures.

 

[The Wombles]

Hi mousemom11 and Deb T., yes I can certainly make recommendations about London having lived and worked there for many years. I've written this without links because I haven't been here long enough to post them, but they are all easy to find - PM if you can't find anything.

Accommodation prices vary from the Ritz (ridiculous prices) and The Langham through mid-range such as The Cumberland (Oxford Street) to the much more reasonable Premier Inn such the very central one at Leicester Square. I use Premier Inn's often and they are good value but missing lounges and bars.

Getting around London is best done by Underground train (known as the Tube) but double decker buses offer much better views. Both are covered by inexpensive travelcards (unlimited travel for a period) or Oyster cards (used by residents for mostly regular journeys, but can work out less expensive). Taxis (Black cabs) are amazingly knowledgable (geography, politics, economics, life, any subject you care to mention) but more expensive given the dreadful traffic (average speeds around London are now lower than Victorian times by horse and cart).

Pubs are very popular for meals in addition to a wide choice of restaurants, for Fish and chips I'd recommend Harry Ramsdens. My favourite pub ye Olde Mitre built in 1546 which is a superb Tudor building down a Harry Potter style alleyway.

Where to visit - I'll give that some thought later

 

[krisinparis]

Hola fellow cruisers! We're very excited to be joining everyone on the cruise! It will be myself, DH, DS (who will be 11 at time of sailing) and DD (who will be 7 at the time of sailing). We're actually going to be in London this summer, so I'm writing down the names of the recommended pubs- thanks! This will be our 3rd Disney cruise and our 3rd time on the Magic! Not intentional, just worked out that way.

 

[mousemom11]

Hi mousemom11 and Deb T., yes I can certainly make recommendations about London having lived and worked there for many years. I've written this without links because I haven't been here long enough to post them, but they are all easy to find - PM if you can't find anything.

Accommodation prices vary from the Ritz (ridiculous prices) and The Langham through mid-range such as The Cumberland (Oxford Street) to the much more reasonable Premier Inn such the very central one at Leicester Square. I use Premier Inn's often and they are good value but missing lounges and bars.

Getting around London is best done by Underground train (known as the Tube) but double decker buses offer much better views. Both are covered by inexpensive travelcards (unlimited travel for a period) or Oyster cards (used by residents for mostly regular journeys, but can work out less expensive). Taxis (Black cabs) are amazingly knowledgable (geography, politics, economics, life, any subject you care to mention) but more expensive given the dreadful traffic (average speeds around London are now lower than Victorian times by horse and cart).

Pubs are very popular for meals in addition to a wide choice of restaurants, for Fish and chips I'd recommend Harry Ramsdens. My favourite pub ye Olde Mitre built in 1546 which is a superb Tudor building down a Harry Potter style alleyway.

Where to visit - I'll give that some thought later

Thanks Dave! Are you allowed to bring minors into a pub? It will be me and my teenage daughters, so if we wanted to eat in a pub, would they be allowed in?

 

[*Bambi-Bell*]

We've just booked this cruise today, sailing will be me Laura, my husband Alan and our youngest son Connor (16) at the time of the cruise. We might add our older son Liam (20) nearer the time depending on his summer plans.
We are from the northeast of Scotland, this will be our 4th Disney cruise although we've not actually been on our 3rd Disney cruise yet. We'll be sailing to Alaska this coming August.
Feeling very excited.

 

[The Wombles]

Thanks Dave! Are you allowed to bring minors into a pub? It will be me and my teenage daughters, so if we wanted to eat in a pub, would they be allowed in?

Becky, minors (under 18) are allowed in most pubs if eating a meal and accompanied by an adult. This is very common. I say most pubs because it's actually the decision of the local licensing authority and it's possible that you could find a few that don't allow minors, but I haven't come across one for years.

Several years ago there was a change to UK law which prevents smoking inside public buildings, and lots of pubs changed to focus on food and attracting families. Most are now very enjoyable places to eat.

 

[mousemom11]

Becky, minors (under 18) are allowed in most pubs if eating a meal and accompanied by an adult. This is very common. I say most pubs because it's actually the decision of the local licensing authority and it's possible that you could find a few that don't allow minors, but I haven't come across one for years.

Several years ago there was a change to UK law which prevents smoking inside public buildings, and lots of pubs changed to focus on food and attracting families. Most are now very enjoyable places to eat.

Thanks very much Dave. Good to know.