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

[grlzmom]

Reservists can take advantage of the military deal. They have to show active duty orders (active duty papers must be dated as of January 1st of the previous year to qualify). Since a deployment is usually a year for reservists you potentially could have a whole another year to use the discount.

We fax the stuff to DCL ahead of time since DH active duty deployments are not typical (usually stateside and usually 6-8 weeks at a time). They are always very nice about it, call us back the next day and tell us if we are good to go. They seem to be getting a little better with figuring it out because a few years ago when dh became reserve, they were clueless

I was catching up on TA thread and saw about the meet at Port Canaveral hotel night before sailing. We are probably going to be arriving from one of the parks in the afternoon and would love for my kids to meet some other DIS kids.

 

[auntlynne]

We happy to tag along and let you be our tour guide. You know Tony, laid back and goes with the flow.

Do you have plans for any of the other ports? I'm soliciting ideas (and people) that don't involve a lot of riding around in vans or buses and allow time for Karen to take tons of photos.

We are planning on taking the train into Rome & Pisa, also - all three Italian ports will be on-our-own with train travel. Hope they don't decide to have a strike.

Would love to have the empty ship for a few hours, it's my kids favorite part of a back to back, sitting in the Cove Cafe feeling all adult like....

Any chance they will have a kids/youth area open for the adults to use the computer games?

...plus I have never played Bunco, and I really want to learn. Is there a beginner's table?...

I'm thinking most of the tables are beginner's table (but you change tables after each "round"). I've never played and I am so looking forward to it.

- Lynne

 

[alltheparks]

I am so excited about the possibility of the TA too, that I have spent all morning checking out flight options and shore excurisions. I really must get off this computer, and go clean my house, so when DH comes home tonight he will be in a good mood. Then I can say, "Let me spend $2500 on a vacation, you don't get to go on." I will let you know how it goes!

 

[NC_Tink]

Good luck Lara!!! Now - go clean that house!!

 

[grlzmom]

We are planning on taking the train into Rome & Pisa, also - all three Italian ports will be on-our-own with train travel. Hope they don't decide to have a strike.


Any chance they will have a kids/youth area open for the adults to use the computer games?


I'm thinking most of the tables are beginner's table (but you change tables after each "round"). I've never played and I am so looking forward to it.

- Lynne

Last back to back the Oceaneers Lab was getting a deep cleaning between cruises. However, you can sign in as a visitor to the Lab and play when you want to. I imagine they won't be very full with kiddos all week. Probably more kids in the Club than the Lab. There are also computer games in Ocean Quest.

The kids however during back to back were allowed in the Cove Cafe and Quiet Cove area and boy they enjoyed that little moment of feeling like big people. It is a great time for picture taking with an empty ship.

We also are Bunco Babies and will need instruction.

We are doing Pisa on our own (like a bunch of us here, yeah!) and that looks easy to get a train. Still debating on Rome and Pompeii we are doing with DCL.

I am so excited about the possibility of the TA too, that I have spent all morning checking out flight options and shore excurisions. I really must get off this computer, and go clean my house, so when DH comes home tonight he will be in a good mood. Then I can say, "Let me spend $2500 on a vacation, you don't get to go on." I will let you know how it goes!

Yeah, hope you join us for the TA! More back to back cruisers, Yeah!

 

[TheCruisers]

Are we doing FE's and if so, do we have an approximation of numbers?

Thanks
Eleasa

 

[auntlynne]

Are we doing FE's and if so, do we have an approximation of numbers?

Thanks
Eleasa

Right now we have 9 families/10 cabins, 18 adults, 19 kids (37 people).

I would like to keep it in groups of 12 families or so. That is a very reasonable size and doesn't take up a lot of suitcase room going or coming home.

 

[grlzmom]

That's one of the reasons I'm not thrilled with the military discounts from Disney. We're a reserve family, and would only be eligible for it when he was deployed, and then we can't use it without him being with us. So it's never good for us.
Julie

Are you all ready for your Morocco trip? I can't wait to see pictures and details. Will you have internet and be able to blog from there?

WE are buying the 2 day pass for the hoho bus and are hoping to spend both days visiting the sites that we just saw from the bus last time. Last trip we just had time to ride all three loops and our half day was over. This time I want to see Park Guell, Casa Batillo, Casa Mila, Picasso, La Sagrada Familla and Parc de Montjuic, plus the fountains. Optimistic?

That sounds like a great plan. I might recommend it to my mother and father in law who are joining us for the TA and spending an extra day in Barcelona after.

Right now we have 9 families/10 cabins, 18 adults, 19 kids (37 people).

I would like to keep it in groups of 12 families or so. That is a very reasonable size and doesn't take up a lot of suitcase room going or coming home.

Sounds great Lynne, I was hoping at some point there would be a cut off number wise or date wise since some of us leave much a few weeks earlier for the TA cruise.

 

[Brooklyn]

We would like to do the FE for this cruise.

 

[skoi]

Well, we'll almost ready for the Morocco trip, meaning we're not ready at all.

We leave in a little over two weeks. I have to buy some pants since I seem to only have sweats and skirts.

Good thing is that I got a new mini netbook, which I'm still getting used to. We'll have internet access in Fes via internet cafes (so no farmville for me) and the place where we'll be staying in Rabat has wireless. I'll definitely be blogging on the teamskoi blog and uploading some photos. I've been trying to practice Arabic dialogues on the blog, but my Arabic teacher won't correct them. I guess they're just that bad.

Julie

 

[auntlynne]

Somebody asked for magnets with the "normal" princesses instead of the ones making faces, here are some ideas:

 

[auntlynne]

and the others:

 

[auntlynne]

For anyone wanting something else to do to get ready for the cruise, this is a link for mouse ears + hats to put around on your stateroom door.

Instructions are given in the 1st post:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2172891

 

[skoi]

Lynne-

They're all so incredibly brilliant. I wish I could do things like that. Maybe I need a Mac next time?

The kids are debating over t-shirts. And we haven't even started working on the magnets yet. When we get home we'll do them. My kids are huge fans of a Japanese series called Naruto, so we always have some Naruto themed magnet.

Julie

(two weeks until we're off to Morocco...)

 

[auntlynne]

Lynne-

They're all so incredibly brilliant. I wish I could do things like that. Maybe I need a Mac next time?

The kids are debating over t-shirts. And we haven't even started working on the magnets yet. When we get home we'll do them. My kids are huge fans of a Japanese series called Naruto, so we always have some Naruto themed magnet.

Julie

(two weeks until we're off to Morocco...)

I wish I was as incredibly brillant as the woman who thought (and knew how) to do them. All I do is present them to you. For most of us, there's always someone who is better at "x" than us - if not, it would be pretty boring, though !

 

[auntlynne]

If anyone is looking for a tour company for Rome, you might want to check out Miles & Miles

http://www.toursofrome.it/

Even if you're not looking for a tour, their website has a youtube video, which gives you a glimpse into visiting Rome (video is so different than flat photos).

Seems they take you where you want; not so much a guided tour as transportation around Rome.

Makes me reconsider my plans (which are sketchy at best), although I am still thinking train + Metro + foot.

 

[Michelle2]

I am planning to also do the train, metro, foot tour too. But its familiar to me and I have done it before, so I go for the chipper chicken.

 

[salboz]

If anyone is looking for a COLOR]

Even if you're not looking for a tour, their website has a youtube video, which gives you a glimpse into visiting Rome (video is so different than flat photos).

Seems they take you where you want; not so much a guided tour as transportation around Rome.

Makes me reconsider my plans (which are sketchy at best), although I am still thinking train + Metro + foot.

We ( 2 older ladies) have booked a tour with them. They pick up at the ship and return to the ship. Some of the stops included are the Spanish Steps, Colliseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Catacombs, Pallantine Hills, Roman Forums, Vatican, Baths of Carccalla and more. There is room for 4 people. If 2 join us the cost per person is $163.00US dollars, and if there are 4 cost is $117. Tour is 9 hours. Anyone interested, call me at 1-800-892-8694 or post on here.

 

[susanowen27]

We ( 2 older ladies) have booked a tour with them. They pick up at the ship and return to the ship. Some of the stops included are the Spanish Steps, Colliseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Catacombs, Pallantine Hills, Roman Forums, Vatican, Baths of Carccalla and more. There is room for 4 people. If 2 join us the cost per person is $163.00US dollars, and if there are 4 cost is $117. Tour is 9 hours. Anyone interested, call me at 1-800-892-8694 or post on here.

Does that include admissions and do they purchase the tickets in advance so that you are not standing in long lines? If so we would be interested.

 

[susanowen27]

We ( 2 older ladies) have booked a tour with them. They pick up at the ship and return to the ship. Some of the stops included are the Spanish Steps, Colliseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Catacombs, Pallantine Hills, Roman Forums, Vatican, Baths of Carccalla and more. There is room for 4 people. If 2 join us the cost per person is $163.00US dollars, and if there are 4 cost is $117. Tour is 9 hours. Anyone interested, call me at 1-800-892-8694 or post on here.

Okay obviously it does not include admission, do you know if they have special connections to get your tickets or are you just looking at the outside, which is pretty cool. I did want to see inside the vatican and colliseum.