Magic May 31, 2014 A Magical Voyage Around the Mediterranean

[Tianni]

Hello all! We booked while we were on our Fantasy away in the Caribbean! Cannot wait! Looking very much forward to getting to know everyone and making connections.

This will be our 3rd Disney Cruise and 4th cruise altogether. We will see what cruising NOT with Disney is all about in December, I'm kinda scared being so used to the Disney way!

It will be myself, my husband Tommy, our 10 year old son who will be 11 at the time of the cruise and my mom Pat who has also joined the board I believe. Her screen name is msalphamom1.

I have learned a little about fish extenders but not much so I am here to learn! Is it just for kids or can we spoil the adults too?

Happy Father's Day to all the daddy's out there!

 

[MrsMork]

Hello all! We booked while we were on our Fantasy away in the Caribbean! Cannot wait! Looking very much forward to getting to know everyone and making connections.

This will be our 3rd Disney Cruise and 4th cruise altogether. We will see what cruising NOT with Disney is all about in December, I'm kinda scared being so used to the Disney way!

It will be myself, my husband Tommy, our 10 year old son who will be 11 at the time of the cruise and my mom Pat who has also joined the board I believe. Her screen name is msalphamom1.

I have learned a little about fish extenders but not much so I am here to learn! Is it just for kids or can we spoil the adults too?

Happy Father's Day to all the daddy's out there!

fish extenders are for everyone. Some of us travel without kids and still participate in the FE exchanges. We are all just kids in big bodies.

 

[braysmommy]

Hello all! We booked while we were on our Fantasy away in the Caribbean! Cannot wait! Looking very much forward to getting to know everyone and making connections.

This will be our 3rd Disney Cruise and 4th cruise altogether. We will see what cruising NOT with Disney is all about in December, I'm kinda scared being so used to the Disney way!

It will be myself, my husband Tommy, our 10 year old son who will be 11 at the time of the cruise and my mom Pat who has also joined the board I believe. Her screen name is msalphamom1.

I have learned a little about fish extenders but not much so I am here to learn! Is it just for kids or can we spoil the adults too?



Happy Father's Day to all the daddy's out there!

Welcome! There are some great threads on FE gifts....I have found if you do a google search it is often easier then trying to search here.

I am also traveling with my mom and my DS who will turn 8 on the cruise.

 

[bats]

We're just 2 adults but often take part in the FEs. Not sure about doing it for this cruise yet as I'll probably be busy trying to sort out the wedding stuff, but I'll see how I get on and how big the group gets if that's ok.

A bit early for door magnets, but I've recently bought Photoshop Elements 11 and I've been busy learning how to create name fills and Mickey Heads with flags inside. If anyone would like any of those doing, please just let me know and I'll get them done for you.

We'll probably not get off the ship for this cruise, but if we do, it would probably be for the La Spezia day and we'd probably do Florence for half a day as opposed to Pisa (did it 2 years ago and it was great).

Joa and Mick

 

[braysmommy]

Since it is never to early to begin planning I have contacted a person in Rome who provides private tours.

http://rome-day-tours.com/

You can also find reviews on trip advisor. He was very prompt in getting back to me via email and he is willing to put together a day tailored to the interests of group.

I asked him about the Colosseum along with underground tour, fountain and Spanish steps.

We would take the train to Rome and he meets us at the station along with making sure we get on the correct train back to the port.

Total Price: 2 people: 400 euro for a full day of private touring that includes admission costs to one major location, such as the tickets for ancient Rome. 25 euro for each additional person.

If anyone is interested in joining in please send me a PM.

 

[gilsan]

Since it is never to early to beginning planning I have contacted a person in Rome will will provides private tours.

http://rome-day-tours.com/

You can also find reviews on trip advisor. He was very prompt in getting back to me via email and he is willing to put together a day tailored to the interests of group.

I asked him about the Colosseum along with underground tour, fountain and Spanish steps.

We would take the train to Rome and he meets us at the station along with making sure we get on the correct train back to the port.

Total Price: 2 people: 400 euro for a full day of private touring that includes admission costs to one major location, such as the tickets for ancient Rome. 25 euro for each additional person.

If anyone is interested in joining in please send me a PM.

I was just checking out tours for Rome and Florence too!

For Rome I was looking at Walks of Italy. We used them when we were in Rome in 2011 and they were great very informative guides. The other company I was looking at was Artviva. We did a bunch of tours with them in Florence, again the guides were good. There private tours are very fairly reasonable.

What is the maximum # of people for Rome day tours?

The sites you have listed are the main ones we want to see so we maybe interested.

 

[braysmommy]

I was just checking out tours for Rome and Florence too!

For Rome I was looking at Walks of Italy. We used them when we were in Rome in 2011 and they were great very informative guides. The other company I was looking at was Artviva. We did a bunch of tours with them in Florence, again the guides were good. There private tours are very fairly reasonable.

What is the maximum # of people for Rome day tours?

The sites you have listed are the main ones we want to see so we maybe interested.

I am not sure he has a maximum # but I was thinking of keeping the group to 8-10 people so that everyone could hear and no one would get left behind!

 

[bats]

The company we used in 2011 were recommended by the DVC staff to us .. They were brilliant in Rome and we have booked with them again for Sorrento and Herculaneum this year.

In 2011, we had 42 people in 7 luxury mini vans, we were collected from the ship and returned right back to it .. No extra travel involved. They included a guide for us all day plus we had headsets so we could hear him which were great.

We did Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Trevi Fountain and it was a long, hot day!! Because we were in smaller vans, the drivers were able to drop us at the 'door' to each place which was a Godsend in the heat. The people who took DCL tours had a lot of walking to do as the buses were too big to be allowed into the city.
The company is www.yourtourinitaly.com and they do La Spezia, Civatevecchia and Naples pick ups.
Apologies if I've already told you all of this .. I'm on 3 cruise threads right now and my tiny brain is not keeping up!!

I would just say that whoever you choose to tour with, make sure they have a licence to pick up from the port (unless you want the added hassle of the train journey), that they have mini vans and not anything bigger or you'll be walking a lot and also that they will purchase your tickets in advance to any attraction. The queues were horrendous at the Colosseum but we went straight to the front which was awesome!!

When you're all in Rome/Naples/Pisa, we'll stay onboard and make sure the cocktails are on ice ready for your return ok!!
Joa

 

[MrsMork]

Has anyone else started looking at flights home?

 

[MichelleVW]

HEY COUNT ME IN!!! It will be DH and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary! (not on the cruise...but the same summer lol).

I'm all about sharing a tour with someone to cut costs. My husband is all about laid back, and while I feel like this will be a once in a lifetime trip and will want to see EVERYTHING....I'm thinking that taking it easy and enjoying ourselves without running nonstop every day is the way to go.

I'm really jealous of the ones that get to take the EBTA!! It sounds great to me, but DH would never be able to get away that long. As it is, I'm hoping that we can fly in Friday morning rather than Saturday because that would SUCK for jet lag and also added stress.

This is my 4th Disney Cruise, but have never been to Europe. We've done, a 3, 4 and 5 nights to the Bahamas. One on the Wonder and two on the Dream.

Just sent a request to join the Facebook group!

 

[braysmommy]

HEY COUNT ME IN!!! It will be DH and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary! (not on the cruise...but the same summer lol).

I'm all about sharing a tour with someone to cut costs. My husband is all about laid back, and while I feel like this will be a once in a lifetime trip and will want to see EVERYTHING....I'm thinking that taking it easy and enjoying ourselves without running nonstop every day is the way to go.

I'm really jealous of the ones that get to take the EBTA!! It sounds great to me, but DH would never be able to get away that long. As it is, I'm hoping that we can fly in Friday morning rather than Saturday because that would SUCK for jet lag and also added stress.

This is my 4th Disney Cruise, but have never been to Europe. We've done, a 3, 4 and 5 nights to the Bahamas. One on the Wonder and two on the Dream.

Just sent a request to join the Facebook group!

Welcome! We are so excited for this cruise too! We are looking to share tours too to cut costs.

 

[bats]

HEY COUNT ME IN!!! It will be DH and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary! (not on the cruise...but the same summer lol).

I'm all about sharing a tour with someone to cut costs. My husband is all about laid back, and while I feel like this will be a once in a lifetime trip and will want to see EVERYTHING....I'm thinking that taking it easy and enjoying ourselves without running nonstop every day is the way to go.

I'm really jealous of the ones that get to take the EBTA!! It sounds great to me, but DH would never be able to get away that long. As it is, I'm hoping that we can fly in Friday morning rather than Saturday because that would SUCK for jet lag and also added stress.

This is my 4th Disney Cruise, but have never been to Europe. We've done, a 3, 4 and 5 nights to the Bahamas. One on the Wonder and two on the Dream.

Just sent a request to join the Facebook group!

Welcome
I can highly recommend the DCL tour called Easy Pisa. We did it 2 years ago for $69 each ... well worth it as we got taken to Pisa then left to bimble around for 2 hours before heading back to the ship.
You could climb the tower if you'd pre-booked, but walk ups did not have time. We didn't do the climb, we just bimbled around the market and looked at the tourist tat, grabbed an ice cream from an overpriced vendor and took the obligatory photos of us 'holding' the tower up!!!

 

[Magic3forme]

Wow I am glad we have a year to plan for this trip... there is soo much information out there my head is spinning!! I started a binder and every day I add more info to it.

I just ordered Rick Steves book that friends told me to get...

I think we are going to Paris before this cruise... explore it for a few days and hit Disneyland Paris...
then fly or take the train to Barcelona

 

[MichelleVW]

Welcome
I can highly recommend the DCL tour called Easy Pisa. We did it 2 years ago for $69 each ... well worth it as we got taken to Pisa then left to bimble around for 2 hours before heading back to the ship.
You could climb the tower if you'd pre-booked, but walk ups did not have time. We didn't do the climb, we just bimbled around the market and looked at the tourist tat, grabbed an ice cream from an overpriced vendor and took the obligatory photos of us 'holding' the tower up!!!

I've thought about that, but was reading a trip report of someone who went to Pisa and then Lucca, and Lucca looked really pretty. I know that if I plan a lot my DH will be cranky. I'm glad I found this thread because I get a little overwhelmed and frankly a little scared about going somewhere that I don't speak the language and know nothing about and think about canceling but this makes it less scary if you know what I mean.

 

[braysmommy]

I've thought about that, but was reading a trip report of someone who went to Pisa and then Lucca, and Lucca looked really pretty. I know that if I plan a lot my DH will be cranky. I'm glad I found this thread because I get a little overwhelmed and frankly a little scared about going somewhere that I don't speak the language and know nothing about and think about canceling but this makes it less scary if you know what I mean.

I think our plan for that day is Pisa and Lucca on our own via train. It looks somewhat easy to do but we might chicken out.

 

[MichelleVW]

I think our plan for that day is Pisa and Lucca on our own via train. It looks somewhat easy to do but we might chicken out.

Lol...I'm trying not to chicken out!! It looks so pretty.

 

[braysmommy]

Lol...I'm trying not to chicken out!! It looks so pretty.

It does look beautiful and relatively easy to do.

 

[ndwest04]

I just made it official today for my wife and 2 kids to join you all on this cruise to Europe next year! We are booked and beyond excited. It will be my wife and kids first trip over the pond. I went on a backpacking trip throughout central Europe right after college, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. We are in for quite a trip with this cruise itinerary; I can assure you of that much.

I'd love to hear from others what your pre- or post-cruise plans are in Barcelona or other cities, as well as what port adventures you're planning to do during the cruise (especially kid friendly ones for ages 12 and 9). We plan to stay behind for 3-4 days post-cruise and train it up to Paris. While there, I want to take my kids to see Eiffel, the Louvre, Notre Dame and then if we're lucky we might sneak over to Disneyland Paris for one day too.

How soon do people plan to book flights? It looks like most major air carriers let you start booking flights 10-11 months out, so we still have about a month or so before we can just booking. I plan to book air asap.

....................................................................................................
Feb 2012 - 3 nt Dream to Bahamas; Aug 2012 - 5 nt Dream to Bahamas; Jan 2013 - 4 nt Wonder to KW and Bahamas

 

[braysmommy]

Welcome! We spent 4 nights in Baecelona after the EBTA in 2011 and loved it. Some of the highlights for us where train to Montserrat (easy to do), La Sagrada, walking Las Ramblas and if your a sports fan Camp Nou home to FC Barcelona. Actually we loved everything about the city and would love to visit again.

 

[bats]

If you're not overwhelmed already, take a look at the thread for this years Med cruises .

All Med Cruises 2013

It has loads of info which you can pick out and use for next year.

BA have flights available now for this cruise from LGW (London Gatwick) to BCN but I'm going to wait 3 weeks until EasyJet have theirs out. EJ is a budget airline, but it gets your there safely and normally on time, so we'll hold out for their cheaper prices. On a 2 hour flight, I don't need the free alcohol and food that BA offer.

If you want to see rough prices for flying into Paris, just take a look at BA flying into London as it's going to be roughly the same for other scheduled airlines flying into Paris (CDG is main airport). You can see if the price is ok then.

2 years ago when we did this itinerary, a lot of our friends stayed at the Novotel Barcelona City as it was newly opened and really cheap. had a rooftop pool apparently and had the HOHO stop right outside with a tube station a couple of minutes away. (HOHO is the hop on hop off bus for those who are not aware .. one price and you can HOHO all day if you want)!

Have a good evening ... the sun came out in England today. It'll be gone by tomorrow so the overriding smell wafting through my back door right now is BBQs!!!

Joa