4/24/2010 Med cruise: Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your Ears

[alltheparks]

Just tried to do this...so I hope it doesn't repeat.

Thanks to the TA group for the update, sounds like you are all having fun. Wish we could have been there. DH and I have had a very busy, but productive, three days of house hunting. Put an offer on a new build house today, and are just waiting to hear if they accept! I am not well known for my patience, so I think it will be a long week! At least at the end of it, I will be on my way to Barcelona.

Shussh, Skoi, and Diecatt -- hoping all you "sickies" get better soon

 

[dolphingirl47]

Hey fellow MED cruisers, we are enjoying the TA and taking care of the Magic for you

Wonderful weather so far. Second day at sea, very mild seas, breezy, cool but plenty of sun and the kids love the waves in the goofy pool.

Everything is going well. Castaway day was gorgeous.

Having so much fun with the Fish Extenders. Lots of cool stuff.

So many activities for the kids. They get to have a sleepover in the Lab/Club on Thursday and are excited for that. Teens are having a ball and usually they don't enjoy the Stack, so that's a nice change.

Last night was Prince and Princess Formal Night/Menu and was pretty good.

Ship feels empty and we love it.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

DH global wireless card working fine here in the ocean as is my Kindle wireless.

Loving it and hope you are all getting ready and excited for the MED!

The cruise director is Brent. Neville & Natalee are onboard, too (ones I remember from 1.5 years ago). Captain Thord.

Lots of adults. About 2200 cruisers, 1100 CC members, 360 Disboarders.

Stephanie (Brooklyn) is Family of the Cruise - order room service from any menu and other perks - seemingly random selection, but one of us.

When you've got your nametag on, people wonder how come you got a nametag & matching lanyard and they didn't

Fairly calm seas with usual rocking; the patch is keeping me from seasickness.

I've been chilling out, napping, saw 2 movies today in the Buena Vista Theatre - When in Rome (getting ready for the Med) and The Princess & the Frog.

Don't sit on the last row of the Buena Vista Theater unless you have short legs.

Lynne

Internet rates:
.75 per minute
$55 for 100 min
$100 for 250 min
$150 for 500 min

no refunds on unused minutes. Although you could share with friends.

Thanks for the updates.

I asked about Barcelona fireworks - the story is "I would recommend you are on the ship instead of at the Fountains - more details to come." When I get word whether they are Thursday night before we dock Friday morning or during our overnight Friday in Barcelona, I'll let you know.

I won't miss special fireworks for dancing fountains; sorry, Montjuic.

Lynne

Could you please keep us posted on this? I might just have to make sure that I am somewhere where I get a clear view of the port and the ship that evening. Montjuic should be a good starting point, but I am not quite sure at the moment where the fountain is in relation to the port. I should be able to get some stunning photos from that high up of the ship and the fireworks if this is when they are happening.

Corinna

 

[skoi]

Congrats Stephanie! We always wanted to be picked for that and tried to be so sweet and on our best behavior. No luck.

Thanks for the updates, and the info on the fireworks. I definitely want to see that.

And thanks for the get wells. It's just the normal this time of year cough-allergy-cold thing, and with proper medication can be controlled. Just so tired of it.

Docs are printed. Ground transport taken care of. All vouchers and tickets are taken care of, still no magnet or FE! And we're trying to decide on buying trentalia tickets online versus getting the BIRG ticket for Rome. Any thoughts?

Also- anyone who will be in Barcelona for a few days-are you getting the discount Barcelona card? Are these things worthwhile? When we travel outside the US, we go to fairly inexpensive places (China, Morocco, etc) so we normally don't look at discount plans/cards/things.
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/general/barcelona-card.html

 

[Dicecatt]

So my doctor thinks I may have walking pneumonia, awesome. He isn't going to test further, since I am leaving soon he is just treating me like he knows for sure. I have a tendency to cough for a couple of months when I get a cold, and he knows that, so he also gave me tylenol with coedine for the cough. Glad it was this week and not next

 

[NC_Tink]

To all our TA friends -- thanks for the updates! Can't wait to hear more about it when we see you in person in a week and a half!!!

DH and I have had a very busy, but productive, three days of house hunting. Put an offer on a new build house today, and are just waiting to hear if they accept! I am not well known for my patience, so I think it will be a long week! At least at the end of it, I will be on my way to Barcelona.

Wow -- Good luck and hopefully Congratulations!
BTW - I sent you an email re: Rome - no biggie - just confirming plans

So my doctor thinks I may have walking pneumonia, awesome. He isn't going to test further, since I am leaving soon he is just treating me like he knows for sure. I have a tendency to cough for a couple of months when I get a cold, and he knows that, so he also gave me tylenol with coedine for the cough. Glad it was this week and not next

Oh Dicecatt - I'm so sorry! I hope your medication kicks in real soon and you start to feel better!

 

[skoi]

Dicecatt-

Sorry to hear it. A lot of people around here have been diagnosed with that as well.

Hope you're feeling better.
Julie

 

[dolphingirl47]

I hope that everybody who feels poorly will feel better soon.

Corinna

 

[auntlynne]

Euros exchange

Per the front desk, 100 euros will cost you $140.03 onboard. You can exchange cash. You can cash one $100 personal check per stateroom (or family?). They didn't mention a limit on how much cash to exchange. Now, many of you will already have been in Barcelona before boarding, so you might as well go to an ATM. But you won't know what the exchange was via the ATM unless you can look at your bank balance. I paid $1.43 per euro by going through AAA (no fees, the currency actually came from Wells Fargo).

They do not have British or Gibraltar pounds for exchange onboard.

Still smooth sailing.

Each night we spring forward on the clock.

Don't go crazy with FEs; keep it simple - don't get worked up. It's a vacation.


Lynne

 

[mrosen]

Congrats Stephanie! We always wanted to be picked for that and tried to be so sweet and on our best behavior. No luck.

Thanks for the updates, and the info on the fireworks. I definitely want to see that.

And thanks for the get wells. It's just the normal this time of year cough-allergy-cold thing, and with proper medication can be controlled. Just so tired of it.

Docs are printed. Ground transport taken care of. All vouchers and tickets are taken care of, still no magnet or FE! And we're trying to decide on buying trentalia tickets online versus getting the BIRG ticket for Rome. Any thoughts?

Also- anyone who will be in Barcelona for a few days-are you getting the discount Barcelona card? Are these things worthwhile? When we travel outside the US, we go to fairly inexpensive places (China, Morocco, etc) so we normally don't look at discount plans/cards/things.
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/general/barcelona-card.html

We too are wondering about the cost effectiveness of the Barcelona card. We have been thinking this week of getting this ourselves for discounts to museums, free transportation.

 

[mrosen]

So my doctor thinks I may have walking pneumonia, awesome. He isn't going to test further, since I am leaving soon he is just treating me like he knows for sure. I have a tendency to cough for a couple of months when I get a cold, and he knows that, so he also gave me tylenol with coedine for the cough. Glad it was this week and not next

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[salboz]

Thanks Lynne for very helpful info.

 

[Californiacruisers]

We too are wondering about the cost effectiveness of the Barcelona card. We have been thinking this week of getting this ourselves for discounts to museums, free transportation.

We are wondering about this card too? We were thinking of just foing the hop on hop off bus but now I am re-thinking this. Does anyone have any excperience to offer?

ALSO, What is family of the cruise?

 

[shushh]

I'm back! Mananged to negotiate squeezing 2 days worth of antibugs in a shorter period of time so I can go home. The eye is MUCH better. Thanks all for your thoughts! Hope everyone else who is unwell recover in time for the trip.

DH and I did a quick calculation and decided against the barcelona card. Public transport is so cheap. Also because of jet lag we're probably going to take it easy and so won't really make use of all the discounts to the various attractions.

 

[carpenta]

We are wondering about this card too? We were thinking of just foing the hop on hop off bus but now I am re-thinking this. Does anyone have any excperience to offer?

ALSO, What is family of the cruise?

We have been in Barcelona a couple times and feel the hop on hop off bus is an entire day in itself. You can walk and see most of the beautiful Gaudi buildings and la Familia Cathedral from the outside as well as a stroll on Las Ramblas. Unless you are interested in a specific museum I would choose to wander along the Med and down town. Don't forget to lunch on the great Tapas and chocolate for dessert. IMHO

 

[skoi]

We have been in Barcelona a couple times and feel the hop on hop off bus is an entire day in itself. You can walk and see most of the beautiful Gaudi buildings and la Familia Cathedral from the outside as well as a stroll on Las Ramblas. Unless you are interested in a specific museum I would choose to wander along the Med and down town. Don't forget to lunch on the great Tapas and chocolate for dessert. IMHO

Can you recommend a good, inexpensive tapas place for the kids and me? Even with the traveling we've done, and the wide variety of ethnic food we eat regularly at home, we've never had tapas or anything really "Spanish", Catalan, etc.

We're staying out of the way, in the middle of a residential area, far from the sites, and will be depending on public transit a lot, as well as hitting the Picasso museum, so we have to decide about the card.

And chocolate for dessert? Just in shops, or are there some sort of amazing chocolate bars I missed reading about?
Julie

 

[mrosen]

Euros exchange

Per the front desk, 100 euros will cost you $140.03 onboard. You can exchange cash. You can cash one $100 personal check per stateroom (or family?). They didn't mention a limit on how much cash to exchange. Now, many of you will already have been in Barcelona before boarding, so you might as well go to an ATM. But you won't know what the exchange was via the ATM unless you can look at your bank balance. I paid $1.43 per euro by going through AAA (no fees, the currency actually came from Wells Fargo).

They do not have British or Gibraltar pounds for exchange onboard.

Still smooth sailing.

Each night we spring forward on the clock.

Don't go crazy with FEs; keep it simple - don't get worked up. It's a vacation.


Lynne

Thanks Lynne for sharing info from the TA cruise. Enjoy!

 

[Lhagerty]

Hello,

Has anyone seen the news reports about the Volcanic ash that is affecting air travel in Europe???? Now, I’m nervous about our flight next Tuesday since we have a stop in Dublin which has been affected by this. If this ash continues to be a problem next week I’m sure there will be many of us that will be scrambling to get to Barcelona. Yikes!!

LuAnne

 

[Giant talking head]

I'm sure worried We aren't leaving until Friday - but have a stop over in London... we booked on British Airways. Let's all hope for some pixie dust to help clear the skies

 

[Becx N Gav]

Hello,

Has anyone seen the news reports about the Volcanic ash that is affecting air travel in Europe???? Now, I’m nervous about our flight next Tuesday since we have a stop in Dublin which has been affected by this. If this ash continues to be a problem next week I’m sure there will be many of us that will be scrambling to get to Barcelona. Yikes!!

LuAnne

I saw this I'm hoping it will clear during the next couple of days, so far flights have been grounded tomorrow in the UK - it's good for safety but I would be very nervous if we were due to fly this weekend. Hopefully it will literally blow over!

 

[Dicecatt]

My husband called me from work today about the flight issues...I take that to mean he is actually very excited about our trip . Thankfully we go from the states directly to Barcelona, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for those of you potentially affected, wishing for clear, ash free skies!

I'm still battling my might be walking pneumonia. coughing a ton and my head feels like someone is squeezing it. I'm on the third day of pills so hopefully in the next day or two I'll start to feel better. I'm heading to KC this weekend for DD11's last cheer comp of the season, so I am trying through my foggy head to detail everything out for DMIL who is taking care of the four kids while we are gone.

I'm getting dizzy just thinking about all that needs to be done! Or maybe I'm dizzy because I'm sick .