May 5, 2010 Magic of Barcelona

[Goofy Mum]

Oh what a drag!! The free KLM tags are only for US residents!! Poo!! I made a really cute one of Jack wearing a Starbucks apron.

 

[lmhall2000]

That stinks!! I tried to make an extra pair but it blocked me, so I had to send links to my parents, maybe you can send a link to a friend in the states who can mail them to you! and forward that picture..I would but it's blocked my access...I'm still looking for that dream flight purchase....stay tuned to your email the next 2 weeks, when the sale hits it won't last long!

TTYS!
Tara

 

[Goofy Mum]

That stinks!! I tried to make an extra pair but it blocked me, so I had to send links to my parents, maybe you can send a link to a friend in the states who can mail them to you! and forward that picture..I would but it's blocked my access...I'm still looking for that dream flight purchase....stay tuned to your email the next 2 weeks, when the sale hits it won't last long!

TTYS!
Tara

Thanks same here. I'm going to be checking flights everyday now and if I hear of any sales I'll be sure to let you know!!

 

[DisneyCrowd]

so, who qualifies for the $100 OBC? And that is per person?

I don't think we'll get it
We got the great Cat 12 gty $999 fare PLUS kids free.
I'd be very surprised if we also got extra OBC

you mentioned you got $999 and kids free. So, for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids under 17) you only pay $2000 plus taxes and fees for all 4 people). Is this correct. I am booked in Cat 12 for a slightly higher rate. I booked before November 27 and DCL is trying to stop me from getting the lower rate. One minute they are saying I qualify and the next they say I cannot.

In short, you have Cat 12 and are paying the rate above, right?

Thanks

 

[lmhall2000]

you mentioned you got $999 and kids free. So, for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids under 17) you only pay $2000 plus taxes and fees for all 4 people). Is this correct. I am booked in Cat 12 for a slightly higher rate. I booked before November 27 and DCL is trying to stop me from getting the lower rate. One minute they are saying I qualify and the next they say I cannot.

In short, you have Cat 12 and are paying the rate above, right?

Thanks

Disney Crowd, I was probably booked at the same rate you did, there was a 2 week window when the kids sail free and the $999 rate were running at the same time...I tried it and it let me book so I CHANGED my reservation by dumping the old one and rebooking a new one...once they realized that the computer let folks book $999 AND kids sail free, they then made it an either or deal....you could either get the 999 per person OR kids sail free...so that might be why they're saying you can't get that deal now...but you SHOULD be getting the $100 per person OBC for sure if you are sailing on this cruise...

I hope this helps!

Tara

 

[DisneyCrowd]

Disney Crowd, I was probably booked at the same rate you did, there was a 2 week window when the kids sail free and the $999 rate were running at the same time...I tried it and it let me book so I CHANGED my reservation by dumping the old one and rebooking a new one...once they realized that the computer let folks book $999 AND kids sail free, they then made it an either or deal....you could either get the 999 per person OR kids sail free...so that might be why they're saying you can't get that deal now...but you SHOULD be getting the $100 per person OBC for sure if you are sailing on this cruise...

I hope this helps!

Tara

Thanks Tara. Good for you. You were very lucky to get that deal. I was speaking to them and they first said I could do it and then backed out when I called back a short few hours later. Good for you but bad for me. Yes i get my onboard credit but I'm paying 2 grand more than you. Thank you very much Tara for your response

 

[sabrecmc]

Has anyone booked a Barcelona hotel yet? We're looking at staying at the Le Meridien on Las Ramblas on the night before the cruise and then the airport Renassiance on the 15th...they say they have a shuttle from the port to the hotel for 10 Euros/adult and a free shuttle to the airport, which seems convenient since our flight will leave at 10am on the 16th. Anyone familiar with either of those? Last time I was in Barcelona, I was a student, so a very different budget!

Is anyone else doing Disneyland Paris before the cruise?

 

[cj'smom]

Hi all! My 9 yr old dd and I will be on this cruise. I'll be traveling with my sister and her family while the rest of my family stays at home. I'm homeschooling my dd so this will be one HUGE field trip for her. I told her on Christmas - wrapped up some Disney stuff and told her it was for decorating our cabin door - when she figured it out she was so excited!

My whole family has cruised twice on the Magic - both times to the Caribbean. It's a wonderful ship. Wish I could bring my other 3 kids but they are teens and can't miss school for that long. DH will be home with them.

We are in Cat. 12 cabins (but hoping for an upgrade), will probably fly in to Barcelona the day before and may stay a day afterwards. Will do most excursions on our own to save $$ so am eagerly reading the trip reports.

Looking forward to meeting in May!

 

[lmhall2000]

Welcome Cj's mom!! Great to have you aboard...we homeschool our three children and we're trying to make it somewhat educational (meaning we're focusing on Mediterranean history and literature) but it's mostly going to be a fun trip that we count as their school days! HA!

Assuming you might live in Atlanta..our first two children were born in Atlanta so we might have some fun "I know that place" stories! We have two girls ages 10 and 11 so we'll try to introduce them so they can all get to know each other and enjoy the trip with everyone's kids!

Off for planning!! I left my husband and kids at my parents so I could organize our curricula this next semester...figured I'd take a break from that and do airfare searches!!

Cruising to the Med in less than 123 days!!!

Tara

 

[cj'smom]

Yes, we are in ATL. Love it here!
I see you are in AL - will you be flying out of ATL? I don't know how many flights there are going to Barcelona each night but maybe we will be on the same flight.

LOL, love that we can count this trip as school days. We are going to start incorporating a little Spanish and Italian study and also reading about the countries to which we will travel. My dd did an extensive project on ancient Rome last year so it will be really cool to see the Roman ruins in person. If you come across any great education resources to prep for this trip, I'd love it if you'd send them my way.

 

[cj'smom]

Has anyone booked a Barcelona hotel yet? We're looking at staying at the Le Meridien on Las Ramblas on the night before the cruise and then the airport Renassiance on the 15th...they say they have a shuttle from the port to the hotel for 10 Euros/adult and a free shuttle to the airport, which seems convenient since our flight will leave at 10am on the 16th. Anyone familiar with either of those?

What are the rates at those hotels? I'd love something with an airport shuttle and a port shuttle.
Anyone else have hotel suggestions? Looking for something moderately priced. Thanks!

 

[Goofy Mum]

Oh wow! Homeschooler's can count the cruise as school days? That's wonderful! Here if vacation time during school isnt pre-approved a parent can actually be prosecuted!

Looking forward to meeting everyone on board. Still haven't booked my flights from London to BCN yet. But will probably fly BA. Just holding out to see if the fare goes down.

 

[lmhall2000]

Just holding out to see if the fare goes down.

COME ON FARES!! I know it will Goofy Mum!! We just have to hold on to hope and check daily...oh joys...

Yes! Homeschooling pretty much counts everything as a homeschool day....we're always learning something, you don't have to be at a desk...just imagine the history from this cruise, it's like the world's best school trip!

cj's mom...I'm printing out conversational phrases for them to use...like "where's the bathroom" and "how much?" We're studying German right now so I don't want to confuse them too much with so many languages, I know they can handle it better than I could! We covered almost 4 years of Latin so I'm hoping some Italian will make sense to them. We have several autobiographies we're reading to get a flavor of life there..and watching as many movies as we can so we can say, AH! That's where that is! The kids loved watching Tivo's of Everybody Loves Raymond when they went to Italy...not quite educational but hilarious..they all want to ride Vespas now!

Come on airfares!!!! Let's announce something!!

Tara

 

[lmhall2000]

Yes, we are in ATL. Love it here!
I see you are in AL - will you be flying out of ATL? I don't know how many flights there are going to Barcelona each night but maybe we will be on the same flight.

Hey! We're shooting for flight 114 on the 4th and 115 on the 15th...cutting it a bit close, but we don't want to stay the night in Barcelona....have you bought your tickets yet?? I'm waiting for Delta to announce a sale! Oh, we have lived in Marietta off Windy Hill Road, Buckhead, McDonough and Fayetteville! Used to walk our dog at the Chattahoochie everyday!

Thanks!
Tara

 

[cj'smom]

Oh wow! Homeschooler's can count the cruise as school days? That's wonderful! Here if vacation time during school isnt pre-approved a parent can actually be prosecuted!

Homeschool requirements vary from state to state. In my state, we have to do 180 days of school but they can be whatever days we choose. I won't count the at sea or travel days but will count the days we are exploring other countries culture and history. In public school, we are allowed only 10 unexcused absenses and can be prosecuted if the child misses more than that.

 

[cj'smom]

Imhall,
We are using FF points. Haven't booked yet but will probably fly in a day early. I want time to recoup from jet lag and want to see some of Barcelona. Plus, it makes me a bit nervous flying in the day of -- would hate to risk missing the cruise (though I'm sure most of the time people make it just fine).

Coming back, I may fly day of or may stay an extra day - the flights out are all so early and I'm wondering if we have enough time to get off ship and make it to the airport early enough. On my 2 previous Disney cruises it took FOREVER to disembark the ship and get luggage. I'm hoping I can find a relatively inexpensive hotel. Don't need anything fancy - just clean and safe.

Wow, you lived all over metro ATL! Lots of familiar names on your GA list. One of the places you listed is not far at all from where we live.

Good luck with your airfare. I bet January will be a down month for travel and they will start discounting soon.

Can you post a list of books and movies? We aren't big TV watchers but could rent some films. Thanks!

 

[lmhall2000]

Imhall,
Good luck with your airfare. I bet January will be a down month for travel and they will start discounting soon.

Can you post a list of books and movies? We aren't big TV watchers but could rent some films. Thanks!

We were going to use FF miles, but they've upped it since we flew to England 4 years ago...we used 50k miles for each ticket then, now Delta is charging 120,000 miles per ticket! UGH! We figured we'd save it for a trip down to Orlando or the mountains.

Disembarking is a pain if you're trying to get off at 9am with 2000 other passengers...but actually if you're one of the first off at 7am it's much easier, no crowds and no traffic...we are arranging for a van to pick us up and take us from the airport and back both ways, it's only about $60 each way for all 7 of us. It just means you'll likely have to carry your luggage to the van.

We don't watch TV in general, but we LOVE Netflix and Tivo!! No commercials and on demand, when we have time we like to watch something but not sit through a bunch of commercials!!

Books

The Mystery of the Roman Ransom
Ides of April
Detectives in Togas
Augustus Caesar's World (Foster)
The Story of the Romans (Guerber)
Usborne Time Traveler
Cleopatra (Stanley)
Joan of Arc (Stanley)
Michelangelo (Stanley, can you tell I like STanley's books??)
Leonard da Vinci (also Stanley! )

Hope these get you started!

Tara

 

[Goofy Mum]

we just booked this cruise and are very excited about it! We have 2 boys 5 (will turn 6 just prior to the cruise) and 7. we have not told them yet, i am thinking I may tell them for Christmas, I considered waiting until Easter but I am too excited to wait until then to tell them. Anyone else with kids of similar age? I also want time to look at books on the Mediteranean with them before we go. Anyone have any suggestions of books on the ports we will be visiting that would be appropriate for that age? It is our first time on a Disney cruise but they have been to both Disney World and Disney Land several times and they love it! They are going to be so excited!

I am really interested in learning more about these fish extenders!

Hi Disney Crowd. My sons are 5,8 and 12. Did you end up telling them at Christmas? I was considering waiting too but I couldnt help but to tell them the minute I booked it in November!

 

[Goofy Mum]

Has anyone else heard anything further or received their $100 pp OBC? I know I live in the UK and mail can be slow but I've yet to receive anything in the mail about my cruise and it's been paid for for about 6 weeks! All I received was a confirmation email. Should I be receiving stuff in the mail or not? I'm starting to give up hope on the $100 pp OBC.

 

[Lemonbee]

No credit for us yet, not even a confirmation email so I'll have to double check on that.