June 27, 2013 - Magic in the Med (Venice)

[gydell]

Read a little ways back about a possible private lunch in Palo- we would totally be on board for that! I'm having trouble deciding if I want to do dinner there at all. I'd hate to miss anything exciting going on on the main dining rooms- any thoughts on that?

I love brunch better than dinner but tend to do both.

Do people really dress up for Pirate Night? How elaborate do the costumes get?

On the Florida cruises the costumes can be quite grand. Not so much on European cruises because of luggage limits.

 

[BellesMommy]

Got our documents today!!!! I can't wait!!!!!

 

[disprincess4ever]

As to the group brunch, so far, that's a no go. There wasn't much interest and one wasn't organized. Personally I prefer dinner in Palo so I wouldn't pass it up!!!! We're doing both as we usually do!!!!

As for a taxi, I think as long as you're off the ship early you should be ok. The taxi line was over an hour in 2010, though we were 4, so a lot of taxi's wouldn't fit us. Just get off as early as possible, like 7:30 or 8:00, and you should be fine. Airport is about 30 minutes away. we have private transfers this time because of our past experience.

where are you getting private transfers through?

 

[jel0511]

where are you getting private transfers through?

http://www.barcelona-airport-transfers.com/

 

[Kouris_Family]

Once we finally have what we are doing settled, i'll definitely fill it in on the GoogleDoc- nice to be able to see all the different things people are choosing!

I'm hoping to have a beach day somewhere... Don't know about the rest of you but we will need at least one day off from touring for some good relaxing! Suggestions? Maybe La Spezia? Or Malta?

In La Spezia, go hang out in Cinque Terra, no better place to relax

 

[Kouris_Family]

What ever you can carry onboard with you and fit through the X-ray machine. Don't forget the cheese and breads to go along with the wine. Wine is pretty cheap over in Italy and we really loved the local vino.Don't forget the Lemoncello. $20.00 corkage fee and the CM's are shy about charging it....always apologizing. No fee for soda and the machines are located on deck 10. No problem about reusable bottles so long as they are not glass around the pool. We always bring an insulated cup for coffee in the mornings and soda in the afternoon.

Cork it yourself in your room and then you won't be charged, ask for a wine glass at one of the bars.

 

[carpenta]

Cork it yourself in your room and then you won't be charged, ask for a wine glass at one of the bars.

Your room attendant will supply you with wine glasses and an opener if you request them. If you do bring the bottle to the dining room they still are suppose to charge you the corkage fee.

 

[Kouris_Family]

Your room attendant will supply you with wine glasses and an opener if you request them. If you do bring the bottle to the dining room they still are suppose to charge you the corkage fee.

That's true...

 

[nzdisneymom]

Here's a design of an old DIS magnet that a couple of guys on the June 15th group revised to include the FBers. The original designer wasn't reachable but had put the design out ages ago with a "feel free to use" - so here it is, complete with modifications if anyone is interested.

I'm still mixed in my feelings about DIS and FB because I prefer my trip planning in one or two places (here and for non-Disney ports, etc., cruise critic). But I do enjoy getting to know everyone a bit better in the way that FB allows - I think what I miss is that some people just TOTALLY go over to FB and that means those who don't FB don't get a chance to know them, and they miss out on some of the plans and fun things here on DIS. Maybe I'm just old-school....

Anyway, here's the graphic in case anyone wants to make a magnet or something.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hello Friends!
We are new to Disney cruising but not cruising in general- and were glad to find DISboards because the roll call for this cruise on Cruise Critic was looking very short! We figured out its because you all are on here

Welcome to the DIS! I saw you over on Cruise Critic but their rules are so odd that I never feel like I should mention "come on over to the DIS" for Disney cruises! But you found us!

As far as travel goes, we're on a red-eye out of Philly the 24th. We get 22 hours in London and then on to Barcelona! (I think Matt is MOST excited about our 22 hours in London- he hasn't been back since he lived there for a year, and misses it terribly!)

On the way back, we plan to self-disembark- flight at 11:30. Only thing I haven't decided yet is if we think getting a taxi will be OK or if we should get a car.... with only two people a taxi might be easier? Any insight from you vets on this?

We spent extra days pre- and post-cruise in 2010 in London and loved it - I want to go back. Enjoy your 22 hours there!
As for a taxi, I think if you get off the ship as early as possible, you should do ok getting a taxi; however, you might want to see what the price would be to have a car-service pick you up especially since it's super-important that you don't miss your flight.

I'm excited to do some door decorations- on other cruise lines, we were the anomaly, and I made fun signs with our Cruise Critic names for everyone in the group. Would anyone be interested in that? I totally understand too if that's not the cool thing on Disney I put a pic below of the one I made for our Cruise last year to give you an idea. Though they would be much more Disney-ified this time! I've been playing around too with the awesome word image generator and i'm sure that would make its way into the design- thanks for whoever found that!

We love decorating our door! We recently sailed on another line and I was dispappointed that the doors were such that I could put magnets on.

If we can't book Palo ahead of time, whats our best bet for doing it onboard? Right away when we embark? Also, do we have to sign up to do the self-disembark ahead of time?

Yes, there will be a dining change / Palo reservation place when you board, so check the Navigator / papers that they give you when you board. Also, keep checking online to see if any Palo reservation slots open up for you to grab - people's plans continually change so they may have some cancellations between now and when we sail, plus they do hold some back for onboard reservations.

Do people really dress up for Pirate Night? How elaborate do the costumes get?

Definitely an issue of luggage space! But you'll see some people dressed up.

WOOOO GOT TO 10!!
Also we are used to having to purchase soda- I'm pretty sure I read that it is free unless you get it in a can from a waiter or at a bar, correct? Any restrictions on bringing your own reusable bottles to use around the ship (other than not putting them directly up to the faucet when dispensing- I know about the health concerns there!)

They do require you to get a new cup (paper cups) that you can fill and then pour into your own cup / bottle. The drink dispenser is on Deck 9, aft, by the Mickey pool, near Goofy's Galley and Pluto's (burgers, hot dogs, tacos, chicken, fries)

Got our documents today!!!! I can't wait!!!!!

We didn't get ours yesterday but maybe today.

In La Spezia, go hang out in Cinque Terra, no better place to relax

We are spending a day in Cinque Terre on the first itinerary. Can't wait to do that - it will be our first "big adventure" on our own.

 

[mattandlindsay]

Welcome to the DIS! I saw you over on Cruise Critic but their rules are so odd that I never feel like I should mention "come on over to the DIS" for Disney cruises! But you found us!

Thanks nzdisneymom! Nice to meet you all.

 

[JayCeeDoubleU]

Hi everyone!

I'm Jordan and of course new here and I'll be on with cruise with my family (Happy college graduation to me!). I'm the oldest (24) of 6 kids going (the youngest being 2 and 1/2). There are quite a few of us traveling and while we've been on two other Disney cruises over the past year (7 night Eastern on the Magic and 5 night Bohemian on the Dream) I can't believe I haven't found you guys before. This is awesome! I'm just going to post a few questions/info and maybe some of you guys can help me out with any tips of suggestions?

We'll be traveling with:
Three younger kiddos: 6 year old (girl), 4 1/2 year old (boy), and a 2 1/2 year old (boy). Four college age-ish: 24, 25, 23, and 19 (we still consider ourselves kids haha) and three (real) adults.

I just today learned about the FE groups and of course saw that we missed the deadline (Clearly I should have been focusing on planning this cruise rather than graduation haha) Even so, any cute ideas for little trinkets I can bring for our 3 little ones? I think it'll still be fun for them to do even if it's just us stuffing their extenders everyday.

Also, does anyone know or have a list of the nightly themes (Pirate Night, Golden Mickeys, ect;?) I've always embroidered and appliqued the kids themed outfits for each night on the previous 2 cruises we've been on, easily finding the daily navigator online before hand. However, I'm having a hard time finding a list this time and it's making my OCD outfit planning a tiny bit difficult!

We'll be staying in Paris for 4 days before our cruise so we can tackle Disneyland Paris while we're in Europe.

Any avid pin traders here? The little kiddos love to trade for fun but us big kids are pretty serious about our pin trading and would love to meet up if anyone here is interested

I'm sure I'll think of more but for now, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions on these I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[gydell]

Hi everyone!



I just today learned about the FE groups and of course saw that we missed the deadline (Clearly I should have been focusing on planning this cruise rather than graduation haha) Even so, any cute ideas for little trinkets I can bring for our 3 little ones? I think it'll still be fun for them to do even if it's just us stuffing their extenders everyday.

If you will give me your room # I have extras for the FE.

 

[LyndaC]

Jordan,

Pirate Party is on Friday July 5th when we're leaving Dubrovnik. That's about all I know.

 

[LyndaC]

I'm still trying to figure out my "connectivity" options. I'm bringing my iPad mini and would like to be able to upload photos and update a blog when we're in port. Does anyone have any experience with Boingo? http://www.boingo.com/wifi-plans/ if I'm reading it correctly, looks like I can get unlimited mobile access for $8 a month.

 

[gydell]

Formal night is 1st sea day.

 

[JayCeeDoubleU]

If you will give me your room # I have extras for the FE.

That's so sweet! Thank you! Please do the same and we'll bring along some fun stuff for you all. We're room 6606 (6 year old girl) and 6062 (4 year old boy and 2 year old boy).

 

[elm95376]

Formal night is 1st sea day.

There is another post on page 112 post #1670 where the person listed the following showing formal night on July 2nd. I don't know which is correct.


Hi Y'all:

I called DCL today and got the rundown for the June 27th 12-Night Venice Sailing as far as what nights are casual, pirate night, semi-formal & formal. I thought I'd share it here just in case anyone was wondering.

Thursday-June 27th: Casual
Friday-June 28th: Casual
Saturday-June 29th: Casual
Sunday-June 30th: Casual
Monday-July 1st: Casual
Tuesday-July 2nd: Formal
Wednesday-July 3rd: Casual
Thursday-July 4th: Casual
Friday-July 5th: Pirate
Saturday-July 6th: Semi-Formal
Sunday-July 7th: Casual
Monday-July 8th: Casual

I have no idea how accurate it is.

Janet

 

[gydell]

There is another post on page 112 post #1670 where the person listed the following showing formal night on July 2nd. I don't know which is correct.


Hi Y'all:

I called DCL today and got the rundown for the June 27th 12-Night Venice Sailing as far as what nights are casual, pirate night, semi-formal & formal. I thought I'd share it here just in case anyone was wondering.

Thursday-June 27th: Casual
Friday-June 28th: Casual
Saturday-June 29th: Casual
Sunday-June 30th: Casual
Monday-July 1st: Casual
Tuesday-July 2nd: Formal
Wednesday-July 3rd: Casual
Thursday-July 4th: Casual
Friday-July 5th: Pirate
Saturday-July 6th: Semi-Formal
Sunday-July 7th: Casual
Monday-July 8th: Casual

I have no idea how accurate it is.

Janet

Thanks!

 

[nzdisneymom]

There is another post on page 112 post #1670 where the person listed the following showing formal night on July 2nd. I don't know which is correct.

Hi Y'all:

I called DCL today and got the rundown for the June 27th 12-Night Venice Sailing as far as what nights are casual, pirate night, semi-formal & formal. I thought I'd share it here just in case anyone was wondering.

Thursday-June 27th: Casual
Friday-June 28th: Casual
Saturday-June 29th: Casual
Sunday-June 30th: Casual
Monday-July 1st: Casual
Tuesday-July 2nd: Formal
Wednesday-July 3rd: Casual
Thursday-July 4th: Casual
Friday-July 5th: Pirate
Saturday-July 6th: Semi-Formal
Sunday-July 7th: Casual
Monday-July 8th: Casual

I have no idea how accurate it is.

Janet

July 2nd is our first Sea day.

June 27-Barcelona
June 28-Villefranche
June 29-La Spezia
June 30-Civitavecchia
July 1-Naples
July 2-Sea
July 3-Venice
July 4-Venice
July 5-Dubrovnik
July 6-sea
July 7-Malta
July 8- Sea
July 9-