2010 news from the Magic

[pillow]

I still have my lists for my 5 private tours in the Med, 4 very good ones and one to miss!

We only did 1 private tour (which we shared with another family) and LOVED it! Enjoyed it much more than the excursions. Curious - which one would you skip? We didn't enjoy Sicily much.

Jodie

 

[cruisin'Mike]

The TA repos are out for us because of the kids' school too. The dates for the Baltic cruises still work for us, which is what we were most interested in at first anyway. Although, now I'm really wondering what ports will be included in the cruise immediately following the last Baltic one. That would probably go from the UK port to maybe Barcelona, right? Any speculation on that one?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

We only did 1 private tour (which we shared with another family) and LOVED it! Enjoyed it much more than the excursions. Curious - which one would you skip? We didn't enjoy Sicily much.

Jodie

It was the tour operator I was refering too, all my trips were excellent, the one guy at Villafrance turned up late and it went downhill a bit form then, still a reasonable day lots to see Nice and Monte Carlo were great and some stunning view, he just wasnt that good.

Sicily was a delight.

The TA repos are out for us because of the kids' school too. The dates for the Baltic cruises still work for us, which is what we were most interested in at first anyway. Although, now I'm really wondering what ports will be included in the cruise immediately following the last Baltic one. That would probably go from the UK port to maybe Barcelona, right? Any speculation on that one?

7/30 Yes UK>Barcelona it looks like.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Okay, now that I have calmed down about not being able to do the TA, I can think straight. I can fly to Barcelona on 5/24, do the Med cruise, then on 6/7 (my birthday) I can do the Barcelona to UK, then do the first Baltic. Then I never have to go to Europe again, right? LOL. Just kidding....

Of course, this would cost a zillion dollars and I would have to do a land tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. I would love to see all of those places. Then I could fly home and be content. Well, at least until the new ships come online.

 

[gydell]

Okay, now that I have calmed down about not being able to do the TA, I can think straight. I can fly to Barcelona on 5/24, do the Med cruise, then on 6/7 (my birthday) I can do the Barcelona to UK, then do the first Baltic. Then I never have to go to Europe again, right? LOL. Just kidding....

Of course, this would cost a zillion dollars and I would have to do a land tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. I would love to see all of those places. Then I could fly home and be content. Well, at least until the new ships come online.

If the rumors are right then that's my plan too, unless the 5/24 goes to the same ports as before. If so I will probably just do London for a few days and then the Baltic. But IF St Petersburg is not included then it's back to the drawing board.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Okay, now that I have calmed down about not being able to do the TA, I can think straight. I can fly to Barcelona on 5/24, do the Med cruise, then on 6/7 (my birthday) I can do the Barcelona to UK, then do the first Baltic. Then I never have to go to Europe again, right? LOL. Just kidding....

Of course, this would cost a zillion dollars and I would have to do a land tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. I would love to see all of those places. Then I could fly home and be content. Well, at least until the new ships come online.

Tammy, when I win the lottery, I'll join you! After the Baltic we can throw in a cottage in England for a week with Monica, then tour our way up the island, finishing with that castle in Scotland I found, where a dozen or so of our DIS friends can join us for a week. Then we pop over to Ireland, look around, and fly back to the US on Aer Lingus. That should pretty much fill up the summer, eh?

 

[orlandothebeagle]

you can come stay with me in scotland, that covers 1 thing!!!

 

[granmaz]

Okay, now that I have calmed down about not being able to do the TA, I can think straight. I can fly to Barcelona on 5/24, do the Med cruise, then on 6/7 (my birthday) I can do the Barcelona to UK, then do the first Baltic. Then I never have to go to Europe again, right? LOL. Just kidding....

Of course, this would cost a zillion dollars and I would have to do a land tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. I would love to see all of those places. Then I could fly home and be content. Well, at least until the new ships come online.

Isn't that about 27 days of cruising??? Plus a couple of weeks touring the UK.......very nice vacation!!

Tammy, when I win the lottery, I'll join you! After the Baltic we can throw in a cottage in England for a week with Monica, then tour our way up the island, finishing with that castle in Scotland I found, where a dozen or so of our DIS friends can join us for a week. Then we pop over to Ireland, look around, and fly back to the US on Aer Lingus. That should pretty much fill up the summer, eh?

Remember, you have to buy the lottery tickets first before you can win Jackie!!

I'll be up for joining you in a castle!!

 

[TammyAlphabet]

If the rumors are right then that's my plan too, unless the 5/24 goes to the same ports as before. If so I will probably just do London for a few days and then the Baltic. But IF St Petersburg is not included then it's back to the drawing board.

Yeah, that is true, it wouldn't be the same without St. Petersburg.

Tammy, when I win the lottery, I'll join you! After the Baltic we can throw in a cottage in England for a week with Monica, then tour our way up the island, finishing with that castle in Scotland I found, where a dozen or so of our DIS friends can join us for a week. Then we pop over to Ireland, look around, and fly back to the US on Aer Lingus. That should pretty much fill up the summer, eh?

Well, get busy with those tickets. LOL. You can't win if you can't play.

I am pretty much dreaming though. I am not sure that I could afford all that. I was thinking I could teach a few classes next summer and that would pay for quite a bit. So, maybe.....

you can come stay with me in scotland, that covers 1 thing!!!

I have wanted to go to scotland since I saw Braveheart. lol.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hmmmm

What ports do you think it will be covered in the UK to Barcelona?

 

[cruisin'Mike]

Hmmmm

What ports do you think it will be covered in the UK to Barcelona?

That's exactly what I want to know!

That, and how expensive will two one-way airfares be! Any advice on how best to book airfare from the US to UK, then Barcelona back to US?

 

[kaseyC]

Celebrity has a pretty interesting itinerary that alternates 10 and 11 nights.
It departs from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy and sails an Eastern Med route with Greek and Turkish ports. Wouldn't it be cool if DCL did something like that, instead of Barcelona and the Western Med?

 

[mousemom11]

Well, rats. We really wanted to do the WB TA, but we can't take the kids out of school for 2 weeks in September. Now it's back to the drawing board to decide whether we want to do the Baltics or the Med. I'm not sure that we'd want to do the Baltics if St Petersburg isn't on the itinerary.

 

[pillow]

That, and how expensive will two one-way airfares be! Any advice on how best to book airfare from the US to UK, then Barcelona back to US?

Mike, I checked one way fares for the summer 2009. I found that Aer Lingus has the best one way rates. You have to change planes in Dublin, but even so, the rates are well worth it. I had priced Dulles to Dublin and then Dublin to Barcelona as well as Dulles/Dublin/London. If I remember correctly, a one way fare was $550 or so.

Someone pointed out that although Aer Lingus is a good airline, you need to be aware of small hidden charges that can add up, such as extra charges for bags, charges for booking seats, etc. So, just be aware.

AND, if anyone is interested - changing the topic slightly - I noticed that Aer Lingus has a very nice round trip price Dulles to Dublin in April (Spring Break for many of us). It was awefully tempting, although I'm abstaining to save money for the 2010 trip!!!!

Jodie

 

[cruisin'Mike]

Mike, I checked one way fares for the summer 2009. I found that Aer Lingus has the best one way rates. You have to change planes in Dublin, but even so, the rates are well worth it. I had priced Dulles to Dublin and then Dublin to Barcelona as well as Dulles/Dublin/London. If I remember correctly, a one way fare was $550 or so.

Someone pointed out that although Aer Lingus is a good airline, you need to be aware of small hidden charges that can add up, such as extra charges for bags, charges for booking seats, etc. So, just be aware.

AND, if anyone is interested - changing the topic slightly - I noticed that Aer Lingus has a very nice round trip price Dulles to Dublin in April (Spring Break for many of us). It was awefully tempting, although I'm abstaining to save money for the 2010 trip!!!!

Jodie

Thanks for the tip on Aer Lingus. I checked that out too. The price is listed in Euros though, so 550 euros is close to $800 for the one way trip.

 

[pillow]

Thanks for the tip on Aer Lingus. I checked that out too. The price is listed in Euros though, so 550 euros is close to $800 for the one way trip.

No its not!! I just double checked. You can select your country at the top. I put in the date of June 8th from Dulles to Dublin and the fare quoted with tax = $458.77. That in US Dollars!

Jodie

 

[Subi WRX]

Who is interested in the WB TA in September 2010? Anyone?

 

[pillow]

Who is interested in the WB TA in September 2010? Anyone?

I wish! Kids in school - can't do it!!

J

 

[cruisin'Mike]

No its not!! I just double checked. You can select your country at the top. I put in the date of June 8th from Dulles to Dublin and the fare quoted with tax = $458.77. That in US Dollars!

Jodie

I'm glad that your price is what you were expecting!

What's weird is if I put in that I want to go from JFK to Barcelona, it gives me a price in US dollars. But if I put in one way from Barcelona to JFK, it gives me the price in Euros, even with US as my country.

The other thing is that I was looking at August as opposed to June, and the flights are more expensive then.

I'm sure it was only a dream to do a back-to-back Baltic then on to Barcelona cruise anyway. Even with 2 years to pay for it, I doubt we could realistically do both. If all of the rumors pan out, we'll most likely do one of the Baltic cruises.

 

[pillow]

I'm glad that your price is what you were expecting!

What's weird is if I put in that I want to go from JFK to Barcelona, it gives me a price in US dollars. But if I put in one way from Barcelona to JFK, it gives me the price in Euros, even with US as my country.

The other thing is that I was looking at August as opposed to June, and the flights are more expensive then.

I'm sure it was only a dream to do a back-to-back Baltic then on to Barcelona cruise anyway. Even with 2 years to pay for it, I doubt we could realistically do both. If all of the rumors pan out, we'll most likely do one of the Baltic cruises.

I'm not sure what we'll do. My dh and I had resolved to put a hold on Europe until the kids are gone so that we can take some less expensive trips to places were haven't seen here at home - some of the National Parks and such (the airfare to Europe for 4 kills us). I do love that darned cruise though!! I really think we'll have to wait and see what airfare looks like in additional to any cat 12 discounts that may pop up. Also, I would love to travel around England or Ireland for a week pre-cruise. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

After I posted, I thought that maybe there was a difference between June and August pricing. Maybe you could do some traveling on your own - then 1 Baltic + the 8 nighter to Barcelona. If you go to Barcelona, you have to spend a couple nights there. Its a great city - and easy to get around on your own - no need for tours. We really enjoyed it.

Jodie