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

[juliekatie]

Hello,

Does anyone think that the price will drop for this cruise? I was wondering if there are any rumors...

We went on the Eastbound Transatlantic in 2007 and it is about the same price that it is now. We would like to try any of the European cruises in April/May but the price coupled with the airfare seem too high. In 2007 they dropped it at least twice after we booked and DCL credited us the price difference, which was a huge amount. That cruise was probably about half full, and I was thinking the early European cruises look a little short so they will drop prices.

It was a great time, but we'd like to try something different. Also, the seas were VERY rough in May, so we are thinking they will be worse in April. Any thoughts...

 

[uwo93]

can it get any cheaper? this cruise is half of our last med. cruise and it wasn't on DCL.

we have never had a smoother cruise and nicer weather than the Med. in May (out of 13 cruises). I hope the weather cooperates this time, too.

 

[alltheparks]

You are cruising with us, and we always have the "BEST" weather when we go on holiday, so we should be good.

Belinda - we had a great time in Thailand and Hong Kong. Visited our final disney park, it was small but filled an entire day! Unfortunately it wasn't close enough to Chinese New Year to experience anything special they do for that. In Thailand we rode elephants and swam with the dolphins. Quite an exciting holiday!

We have a quote for th EBTA but we are just going to keep our options open, and wait and see what DH work schedule ends up being. If he can get to Buenos Aires and have some time off with us, then we will probably keep our current plan. The cruise itself is a great price for 14 days, but when we add in new airfare, hotel stay, tips, excursions, and penalties for cancelling our current plans, it all adds up. However, I am very tempted to do the EBTA, I don't know when again I will have the opportunity to cruise for 25 days. Plus I think we will be so busy on the Med cruise, we won't have time to fully relax and enjoy the Disney experience.

Can't wait to book all of our plans tomorrow!

 

[Dicecatt]

I've booked a whole boatload of excursions...I may change them as I research, but being this close to departure is freaking me out and making me panic a bit about not having enough planning time I planned our tours in Egypt for a year before we went so 2 months is strange I'm going with all DCL so far while I research other suppliers and other options, but the prices don't seem too out of line for the details to be all taken care of. I plan trips for a living but when it comes to my own...well...it is hard for me to make decisions

Let me know if anyone of you will be on these!

Malta: Blue Grotto boat trip & fishing
Tunisia: Medina & Carthage
Naples: Amalfi Coast drive and ruins of Pompeii
Rome: Jumping back into Eternal Rome
La Spezia: Portofino & Santa Margherita
Ajaccio: none yet
Villefranche: Nice & Eze with wine & cheese (debating this one heavily)

We also plan on arriving the morning of the 23rd, so I need to find a hotel on the 23rd...too close for comfort arriving the same day.

It will be weird being on a Disney ship without the kids but we are very excited.

 

[shushh]

Lara if you're going to bring good weather with you then I'm sure glad you're onboard! It's a shame you missed chinese new year celebrations in Hong Kong. There's always alot more atmosphere than here. Although have you been to Cabramatta around chinese new year? It's a bit of hike but its good fun. And whichever holiday you end up doing sounds wonderfully exciting to me!

juliekatie I can't comment on the price as this is our first Disney cruise, but I think generally sailing in any 'sea' would be less rough than an ocean crossing.

Dicecatt, I think sometimes in some ways it is better to just have to make decisions quickly. There's less to think about! The only recommendation that I would make though is to make a reservation for accomodation in Barcelona for the 23rd sooner rather than later. The 23rd is a big holiday in Barcelona and so hotels make get booked out.

Just read on the website that you have to bring your own babyfood to Flounders. What about for 18 month olds? Jonah can pretty much what we eat so long as its in little pieces. What have others done in the past? Do you order room service and then bring it with you to Flounders?

 

[grlzmom]

Just booked, my husband and me, leaving the 4 kids with his mom

Please add us to the very exciting list!

Yeah for a great mother in law!

can it get any cheaper? this cruise is half of our last med. cruise and it wasn't on DCL.

we have never had a smoother cruise and nicer weather than the Med. in May (out of 13 cruises). I hope the weather cooperates this time, too.

This cruise is pretty cheap. Now excursions on the other hand.......

We have a quote for th EBTA but we are just going to keep our options open, and wait and see what DH work schedule ends up being. If he can get to Buenos Aires and have some time off with us, then we will probably keep our current plan. The cruise itself is a great price for 14 days, but when we add in new airfare, hotel stay, tips, excursions, and penalties for cancelling our current plans, it all adds up. However, I am very tempted to do the EBTA, I don't know when again I will have the opportunity to cruise for 25 days. Plus I think we will be so busy on the Med cruise, we won't have time to fully relax and enjoy the Disney experience.

Can't wait to book all of our plans tomorrow!

Come join all of us who are doing back to back on the EBTA!

Just read on the website that you have to bring your own babyfood to Flounders. What about for 18 month olds? Jonah can pretty much what we eat so long as its in little pieces. What have others done in the past? Do you order room service and then bring it with you to Flounders?

Been a long time since Flounders for my kiddos, but at toddler age they only fed them cheerios or crackers for a snack. We had to feed them before they went or after picked up. They must have some other arrangement for LONG port days. Babies were fed bottles/baby food you brought. Our experience with Flounders was very positive. Perhaps rules have changed by now.

In the Club kids are usually served lunch in the club. The Lab, bigger kids are sometimes fed in the lab, sometimes go to the restaurant. For dinner, they go to Topsiders. Port days Club/Lab opens early to accomodate those going on excursions without their kids and they provide continental type breakfast snacks. Kids can NOT bring food into the club/lab. There is a water fountain but no food or drinks. Occasionally there is a pizza party, smoothies, etc. In general, no snacks.

 

[Dicecatt]

I just tentatively booked a hotel while I look around for other possibilities...Hotel Colon...we'll see if I stick with that, but my husband really loves old cathedrals and that hotel has a view.

 

[carpenta]

Just a not on the sea vs. ocean. We were on a few Med. cruises and I can remember one day on Disney we were rocking and rolling and bouncing from one wall to the other on our Med. cruise but all other days were quite pleasant. Seas are like the weather...you never really know.

 

[venny]

Hey guys!

We've also booked on the cruise (2 adults). Not only our first Disney cruise, but our first cruise EVER. Never thought we were really cruise people, but we are definitely Disney people, so we took the plunge and now very excited!!

 

[shushh]

Welcome Venny!

Thanks Jeanne for the info. We'll be trying to book Palo soon and trying to work out how things work so we can allocate the right amount of time for feeding children before hand etc.

Carpenta is right. You can never predict weather on any body of water! When we were in South America, we were on a river basin and the winds/water were so rough that the ship was at a 30 degree angle (no kidding). I remember my brother was so freaked out that he put on his life-jacket! Glasses were falling off shelves, all the arcade machines tipped over. Didn't mean to lull anyone into a false sense of security that the mediterannean sea is calm, just trying to say that some bodies of water have a higher chance/incidence of rough conditions eg. crossing the bass strait from the mainland to Tasmania is NEVER smooth, or going across the pacific from Australia to New Zealand there's always bits of rough seas.

Wish us luck with Palo!

 

[Postman]

Welcome Venny & Dicecatt:

If anyone is interested in a smaller, private tour in Rome, let me know. We're looking for 2-4 more people to join us (currently 2 couples). We're planning on booking a driver with romeinlimo.com or romeconnections.com and hire a private guide for the Vatican.

Good luck with everyone's planning.

 

[NC_Tink]

Hey guys!

We've also booked on the cruise (2 adults). Not only our first Disney cruise, but our first cruise EVER. Never thought we were really cruise people, but we are definitely Disney people, so we took the plunge and now very excited!!

Venny!!

 

[Dicecatt]

Welcome Venny & Dicecatt:

If anyone is interested in a smaller, private tour in Rome, let me know. We're looking for 2-4 more people to join us (currently 2 couples). We're planning on booking a driver with romeinlimo.com or romeconnections.com and hire a private guide for the Vatican.

Good luck with everyone's planning.

We might be very interested, depending on what sites you plan on seeing. We are also a total of 2 couples...my husband and me and our friends. If you want, please send me a message!

So far I've held the Jumping Back Into Eternal Rome tour. We would definitely be interested in paying less/or getting a more private tour.

 

[skoi]

Welcome dicecatt and venny.


Sorry all for not keeping up, but I've been super busy doing nothing. Seriously. Looking into a trip into the Sahara on camels to camp out over night has been the most productive/useful activity of the weekend. Yeah, I can see my Disney cruise spoiled kids in the desert with no toilets...

I'll add the newcomers to the list.

Still have room for a tour of the Amalfi Coast without Pompeii. I know, everyone wants to see Pompeii.

Julie

 

[Dicecatt]

Welcome dicecatt and venny.


Sorry all for not keeping up, but I've been super busy doing nothing. Seriously. Looking into a trip into the Sahara on camels to camp out over night has been the most productive/useful activity of the weekend. Yeah, I can see my Disney cruise spoiled kids in the desert with no toilets...

I'll add the newcomers to the list.

Still have room for a tour of the Amalfi Coast without Pompeii. I know, everyone wants to see Pompeii.

Julie

Yes, sorry, we are doing the Amalfi coast drive but WITH Pompeii! Where are you going involving the Sahara and camels? I spent 12 days in Egypt last January...one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and my favorite picture involves a camel

 

[skoi]

Yes, sorry, we are doing the Amalfi coast drive but WITH Pompeii! Where are you going involving the Sahara and camels? I spent 12 days in Egypt last January...one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and my favorite picture involves a camel

Morocco. We leave March 6th, just the two big kids and I. We'll be visiting my Arabic teacher's family in Fes, then working in a children's hospital in Rabat for two weeks. We're thinking of a quickie excursion to the desert, which I hear a lot of volunteers do. Either that, or Marrakech.

Would love to go to Egypt. Oldest daughter is trying to decide between a senior trip to Egypt or England/France. And dh wants to go for our 20th anniversary, but we'll see. Spending a lot of money this year...

Julie

 

[Dicecatt]

Would love to go to Egypt. Oldest daughter is trying to decide between a senior trip to Egypt or England/France. And dh wants to go for our 20th anniversary, but we'll see. Spending a lot of money this year...

Julie

You will have an amazing time!

If you ever do Egypt, feel free to contact me...I not only have thousands of pics but a website devoted to it and a huge list of guides, as well as information about a ton of hotels and Nile cruisers. I am extremely picky

 

[alltheparks]

My computer has been on the blitz all week, it better decide to work correctly for my final bookings!

 

[shushh]

Well, I'm at work and hoping that my boss won't mind me being on the DIsney site...

 

[shushh]

ARGHHH!!! HELP!!!
The Disney site crashed and then tells me that my reservation is unavailable!