4/10/2010 eb ta "bound for barcelona"

[TiggerPU88]

I'm up for knitting lessons, too. I have been knitting for 20+ years! Hmmm.. I might have to check out yarn stores in the ports... hmmm.... <g>

Gotta run now. I look forward to reading 20 more pages tonight!

 

[kileybeth]

cruise paid in full? CHECK
Trip Insurance Purchased? CHECK
Flights purchased home from Barcelona? CHECK
Hotel in Port Canaveral night before cruise booked? CHECK
Rental car from MCO to Port Canaveral booked? CHECK
Flights from here to MCO before cruise? OH NO! Where oh where are my $49-$59 flights? I have got to book this but $89? really? UGH!

So on a better note, I did find some nice new T-shirt kind of shirts for sea days and a rain/wind kinda jacket in case of blustery weather. I am still debating about what luggage and how much to take. Our son (older traveling one) has a couple of those 30inch rolling duffle kind of bags and he loves them. I have heard them recommended for international travel because they are so much lighter then regular suitcase but what do you all think? Do they really hold more? Are there any other advantages?

We will fly domestic on Southwest down to the Port so two bags are ok (meaning free!) but flying home from Barcelona on Air Lingus we can only check one 50lb bag BUT can also carry on a small(22in I think)(20 lb limit) bag as well. hhhhmmmm, any thoughts on this? It would be great for all the stuff we bring home that didn't go down with us. MY DH will have a camera bag most probably and perhaps a small briefcase or I will carry a messanger bag as my purse. I just do not want to have to much to keep track of but also can't imagine one bag for 2 weeks! Took a garment bag first cruise for formal stuff but no allowance for that this time it seems. If this has already been discussed ad nauseum earlier, just point me to it, I am late to the game here. Having never travled internationally is making me a tad nervous about what I do not know. My DH has traveled many times overseas but always with just a carryon, he usually refuses to let his luggage go. . .

 

[kileybeth]

I think that is the final count. I did not receive any late night emails, and have been keeping the general tally up and adding the numbers as its been going along, so I think that we are good to go!

Sorry about not doing a further breakdown of ages. I was going to do names, ages and room #s for the final list though....but I guess some people might need the breakdown of the kids' ages before then.

Okay, so that's good info.

Do we have a contingency plan for last minute Port upgrades and all of us GTYer's still waiting? With such an undersold cruise (so far anyway) there are sure to be last minute changes. Will we have a cabin designated to post a final list on in case someone misses the initial meet or whatever or can't find a fellow Disser to ask?

speaking of FE, the girl who made my first one for our last cruise is making us a new one since we are ditching the kiddos this time, we only needed two pockets. She does a fabulous job if anyone wants more info just pm me.

 

[Ginamarie]

cruise paid in full? CHECK
Trip Insurance Purchased? CHECK
Flights purchased home from Barcelona? CHECK
Hotel in Port Canaveral night before cruise booked? CHECK
Rental car from MCO to Port Canaveral booked? CHECK
Flights from here to MCO before cruise? OH NO! Where oh where are my $49-$59 flights? I have got to book this but $89? really? UGH!

So on a better note, I did find some nice new T-shirt kind of shirts for sea days and a rain/wind kinda jacket in case of blustery weather. I am still debating about what luggage and how much to take. Our son (older traveling one) has a couple of those 30inch rolling duffle kind of bags and he loves them. I have heard them recommended for international travel because they are so much lighter then regular suitcase but what do you all think? Do they really hold more? Are there any other advantages?

We will fly domestic on Southwest down to the Port so two bags are ok (meaning free!) but flying home from Barcelona on Air Lingus we can only check one 50lb bag BUT can also carry on a small(22in I think)(20 lb limit) bag as well. hhhhmmmm, any thoughts on this? It would be great for all the stuff we bring home that didn't go down with us. MY DH will have a camera bag most probably and perhaps a small briefcase or I will carry a messanger bag as my purse. I just do not want to have to much to keep track of but also can't imagine one bag for 2 weeks! Took a garment bag first cruise for formal stuff but no allowance for that this time it seems. If this has already been discussed ad nauseum earlier, just point me to it, I am late to the game here. Having never travled internationally is making me a tad nervous about what I do not know. My DH has traveled many times overseas but always with just a carryon, he usually refuses to let his luggage go. . .

I would have been thrilled with an $89 flight. You dont even want to know what we had to pay for our flight on Friday 4-9-10! It looks like that week may be part of spring break because the prices were very high for flights and for our hotel.


I JUST bought one of those 30" rolling duffels this weekend. I've been waiting for almost a year to buy one because I was saving up credit card rewards to pay for it. My mom and siblings all have the 30" duffels from Kipling, and they are excellent! I can't tell you how many times DH and I wound up with crushed, broken, smashed luggage at JFK, only to watch those duffel bags get by unscathed. They are very strong and seem a lot less likely to tear than our cheap luggage. The duffel bag I bought (the same ones my family has) weighs a svelt 9.5 lbs. I will be very glad to be traveling with my Kipling for this cruise!

I'm planning to bring as many bags as I'm allowed! (1 checked and a carryon for Aer Lingus). I'll stow my purse into my carryon to make it one less bag to keep track of.

 

[Ginamarie]

Okay, so that's good info.

Do we have a contingency plan for last minute Port upgrades and all of us GTYer's still waiting? With such an undersold cruise (so far anyway) there are sure to be last minute changes. Will we have a cabin designated to post a final list on in case someone misses the initial meet or whatever or can't find a fellow Disser to ask?

speaking of FE, the girl who made my first one for our last cruise is making us a new one since we are ditching the kiddos this time, we only needed two pockets. She does a fabulous job if anyone wants more info just pm me.

I'm a GTYer too! DH keeps checking to see if our cabin is assigned, but I think we'll have at least 2-3 weeks before they do so. We're super-excited since this will be our first trip in a verandah!

 

[woody73]

I am hopelessly behind... I was off for a week and you guys posted over 50 PAGES of threads!!!

Yeah, slow week. Wait until Lynne returns.

Woody

 

[kumquat88]

On our last trip my credit card was frozen twice - all my credit cards. It was a major PITA and left us stranded at the airport at one point. The 'toll free' U.S. numbers DO NOT work from Spain. You have to have the international number or preferrably the number for Visa International for the country you are in. Call the banks in advance of your travels. I ended up in tears in the airport because we were absolutely stuck and the payphones all required a credit card to make calls, and the toll free US number didn't work - it was really bad. Fotunately I found someone at an information desk who spoke English and was able to help me. I do not recommend the experience, however.

ATMS are much easier to use than travelers checks, IMHO. 10 years ago there were more currency exchange places and stores that took travelers checks. Now it is expected to use the ATM to get cash or use the credit card to make purchases. For relatively small amounts of money (e.g. less thana few thousand) the differences in exchange rate in actual cost is minimal (a few dollars).

Regarding the use of ATMs. If you are planning to use them, please call you bank ahead of time to confirm they can be used and you may also need to change your PIN and get additional information.

My bank told me I had to change my current ATM pin to a 4-digit code to have it work in Europe, and they gave me a different phone number and directions on how to contact an English-speaking bank representative if we have any problems overseas.

 

[kumquat88]

**Madeira we just go and do that one ourselves, we also plan to watch the flower parade. We are going to stroll around Funchal and go to Monte.

When and where specifically is this flower parade you speak of? Can you post a URL website that has any pertinent information? We are planning to do Madiera on our own as well.

Thank you.

 

[kumquat88]

It is easy to catch a train. My recollection is that it was $12 or so and took around an hour. I am not sure of the schedule but there were multiple trains per day.

About the train from Cadiz to Seville...any concerns about delays or being on time? Are they reliable and on time? I'm more concerned about coming back and getting back on the ship without it leaving us behind. About how many stops does it make between Cadiz and Seville?

 

[joius24]

We will fly domestic on Southwest . .

We are in the same boat...Southwest from philly friday night...(last flight of the eve) ....always the cheapest..especially when you consider baggage fees... Yay 2 free bags!

Aerlingus back ...1 bag checked..one carried.... I am working on the logistics of this .... I did find these seriouly lightweight unwrinkleable awesome shirts this weekend that I HAD to buy.. of course all in the name of light packing

LOST TONIGHT!!!!!!!! Cannot wait!

 

[kileybeth]

Sure, I'd be happy too! I still consider myself a beginner though, I've only been knitting for ~2 years. If she's willing to take the chance, I'm more tham happy to show her some stuff

oh please please please I want in on this! Tell me what to bring and I'll be there! I've been wanting to learn for so long and I am one of those poor unfortun ately souls who doesn't learn well from a book but ,earns best from watching someone and just doing it.

 

[kileybeth]

I'm a GTYer too! DH keeps checking to see if our cabin is assigned, but I think we'll have at least 2-3 weeks before they do so. We're super-excited since this will be our first trip in a verandah!

We are sailing Cat11GTY, I specifically asked our TA to request no pixie dust upgrades for us as I couldn't imagine being upgraded to a veranda maybe just a window and I am not interested in a porthole at all.

We sailed in an 11 last cruise and loved it. We were on Deck 7 which was so perfect for us.

with my luck we will be upgraded to a 9 or 10 and move down to Deck 2 or something. Nothing wrong with Deck 2 of course, just not where I want to be!

I'll have to come take a peek at how the veranda set live! I may never get there.

 

[dee47]

We are sailing Cat11GTY, I specifically asked our TA to request no pixie dust upgrades for us as I couldn't imagine being upgraded to a veranda maybe just a window and I am not interested in a porthole at all.

We sailed in an 11 last cruise and loved it. We were on Deck 7 which was so perfect for us.

with my luck we will be upgraded to a 9 or 10 and move down to Deck 2 or something. Nothing wrong with Deck 2 of course, just not where I want to be!

I'll have to come take a peek at how the veranda set live! I may never get there.

I'll take your porthole! This will be my first time sailing without an outside view and I'm worried about how I'll cope. I'm cat 12 GTY...

 

[dee47]

oh please please please I want in on this! Tell me what to bring and I'll be there! I've been wanting to learn for so long and I am one of those poor unfortun ately souls who doesn't learn well from a book but ,earns best from watching someone and just doing it.

LOL the more the merrier...

 

[dee47]

I have an 8 year old daughter that knits, but is learning. Is it an adult group? I don't know if she would want to leave the Oceaneer's Lab, but just curious for her.

We didn't set am age for it, and she's welcome to join us, but it will be a minor miracle if she leaves the Lab... Fair warning!

 

[stlkeeler]

When and where specifically is this flower parade you speak of? Can you post a URL website that has any pertinent information? We are planning to do Madiera on our own as well.

Thank you.

Check out Lynne's website. There is a link on the first page and she has a link to info about the flower festival (and a bunch of other informative stuff, too)

 

[dizmomof2]

Aerlingus back ...1 bag checked..one carried

Are you guys sure that Aerlingus lets one bag on free for the first leg? According to the website we have to pay €18 per bag for European flights. No free bags. I know we would have one free bag on the US portion of the flight. Does it say what baggage you are allowed on the tickets once you buy them?

Dizdadof2 and I are both looking at booking this and saving another €18 per bag may tip the scales.

 

[sdlong329]

Two more questions from the newbie: What is Cabin Tag? And what is the "Secret Deck" about?

If we tell all the newbies what "secret deck" is about it would no longer be a secret now would it?

 

[slcmom]

I have 5 books to write and finish and not to mention my computer crashing last week and son spraining his hand, homeschooling, valentines day, other birthdays, etc. etc. etc.


Krisann

Hey, Krisann, what kind of author are you? I'm a personal historian myself. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity - Ann

 

[joius24]

Dizdadof2 and I are both looking at booking this and saving another €18 per bag may tip the scales.

I just reviewed my invoice/eticket confirmation and ....

I booked my tickets on the airlingus website.... they have a place where you put how many bags you intend on checking for each leg..... I entered one for each of us and it showed no charge for baggage on my invoice/bill for the entire trip....(I did test the baggage counter and it would have charged me if I added another bag PP)

there was a "10.00" handling charge for the entire purchase...but that was it. So I am thinking because the end goal is US....the no fee still applies?