6/29/15 Magic to Norway & Iceland

[Just love Eeyore]

We would like to join the FE

Disboard name: Just love Eeyore
Stateroom: Do know yet
Adults: 2
Kids: 2 boys age 2 & 9

 

[booger73]

Wow.. some port excursions filled up crazy fast :>

 

[din]

I agree..... Palo brunch is showing as an option but when you try to book is say there is no room. :-(

 

[3princessMommy]

This cruise is full of platinums and lots of golds too.

 

[Patinmn]

Palo brunch, Balfour Castle, Bike ride, artic circle, lyles fjord cruises. All of the were sold out, and I was in the system right at 00:00 ET.

I am working on the artic circle flight through a different vendor.

I have 11:00 am board time, so I will run to Palo to try and score a brunch.

I am so glad I had some alternatives ready before hand.

 

[Pens Fan]

Are both of the Lysefjord excursions sold out (Stavenger)? There was a land and sea version and then a strictly water version.

 

[newfamilyman]

Are both of the Lysefjord excursions sold out (Stavenger)? There was a land and sea version and then a strictly water version.

Yes, they are both sold out.

 

[Pens Fan]

Bummer. But thanks for the quick reply!

 

[lhalem]

Hi All!! We would love to join the FE. We are 2 adults and 2 kids. Cabin unknown yet. My son will be 8 on the trip, and my daughter 5. Thanks!!! Lily

 

[Patinmn]

Below is the current list of sold out excursions as of today.

Oslo, Norway - Day 3 Tue, Jun 30
Oslo By Private Vehicle - 4 Hour Van With Driver (OS28)
Oslo City Walk And Ice Bar (OS20)

Kristiansand, Norway - Day 3 Wed, Jul 1
Cooking Class at Glad Kjøkken (KR08)
Lillesand By Land & Sea – Adult Only Departure (KR13)
River Rafting – Kristiansand (KR07)

Stavanger, Norway - Day 4 Thu, Jul 2
Lysefjord By Land & Sea (SV08)
Lysefjord Cruise (SV01)
Stavanger By Private Vehicle — 4 Hour Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle With Driver Only (SV28)
Stavanger Helicopter Sightseeing (SV06)

Reykjavik, Iceland (Day 1) - Day 6 Sat, Jul 4
Countless Craters Helicopter Sightseeing (RY04)
Let's Go Volcano (RY05)
Let's Go Volcano And Bathing At The Blue Lagoon (RY06)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle – Van With Driver - 4 Hours (RY33)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle – Van With Driver - 8 Hours (RY34)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle — 6 Hour Small Super-Truck With Driver Only (RY43)

Reykjavik, Iceland (Day 2) - Day 7 Sun, Jul 5
Countless Craters Helicopter Sightseeing (RY04)
Glacier Safari 4x4 & Ice Cave (RY24)
Let's Go Volcano (RY05)
Let's Go Volcano And Bathing At The Blue Lagoon (RY06)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle – Van With Driver - 4 Hours (RY33)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle – Van With Driver - 8 Hours (RY34)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle – Wheelchair-Ramp-Equipped Mini-Bus With Driver - 8 Hours (RY40)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle — 6 Hour Large Super-Truck With Driver Only (RY46)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle — 6 Hour Small Super-Truck With Driver Only (RY43)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle — Mini Bus With Driver — 8 Hours (RY37)
Reykjavik By Private Vehicle - 4 Hour Small Super-Truck With Driver Only (RY42)

Akureyri, Iceland Day 8 Mon, Jul 6
Akureyri By Private Vehicle - 6 Hours With Driver/Guide (AK24)
Local Food And Gourmet (AK06)
Polarflight To Grimsey Island (AK01)

Kirkwall, Scottland Day 10 - Wed, Jul 8
A Special Invitation To Balfour Castle (KI06)
Cruise Scapa Flow (KI16)
Kirkwall By Private Vehicle – 4 Hour Sedan With Driver (KI17)
Neolithic Cycling Tour (KI07)
Orkney Isles Nature Photography (KI10)

 

[Patinmn]

btw... I was able to go back in and get a Palo brunch reservation for 10:00am for the morning that we get into Reykjavik. You might want to check to see if any more opened up.

 

[Pens Fan]

Thanks to everyone that's keeping us poor silvers informed! It makes the planning a lot easier.

 

[alldiz]

I would think this would just force more people to take private tours?

I know I am anxiously awaiting to see if this cruise is offered 2016....

Disney just might push me out of my comfort zone and book a private tour....
If there was no choice.
Kerri

 

[Pens Fan]

I would think this would just force more people to take private tours?

I know I am anxiously awaiting to see if this cruise is offered 2016....

Disney just might push me out of my comfort zone and book a private tour....
If there was no choice.
Kerri

Just a friendly tip. Even a lot of the private tours are booked up at this point. We chose to go the private route for all ports except Stavenger and Kristiansand. The operator we are using in Kirkwall has been sold out for months. Disney made an itenerary change a few weeks ago, switching the Akueryi and Rekyavik port dates, and I was only able to rebook 2 out of 3 excursions with the original tour operator. For the third I had to switch to a different company. All of our tours are private (as in just the three of us), so that probably makes things more difficult. I imagine a group tour might be easier to still book at this point. But my point in all this is that if someone waits until the DCL booking window opens to check their availability, they may be too late in some of the smaller ports to book what they want privately.

My advice would be to go ahead and book what you want privately as soon as they are taking reservations. Then buy travel insurance (it was very inexpensive) to cover the cost of those tours. That way you are covered if for some reason the ship doesn't dock. You will save a ton of money over what Disney is charging. We laughed out loud at the prices Disney is charging for private tours (even without a guide, just a driver!). In some cases it's double what we are paying for private guided tours. In other cases we are paying about the same for a private tour as we would pay Disney for three spots on a giant bus tour.

 

[alldiz]

Just a friendly tip. Even a lot of the private tours are booked up at this point. We chose to go the private route for all ports except Stavenger and Kristiansand. The operator we are using in Kirkwall has been sold out for months. Disney made an itenerary change a few weeks ago, switching the Akueryi and Rekyavik port dates, and I was only able to rebook 2 out of 3 excursions with the original tour operator. For the third I had to switch to a different company. All of our tours are private (as in just the three of us), so that probably makes things more difficult. I imagine a group tour might be easier to still book at this point. But my point in all this is that if someone waits until the DCL booking window opens to check their availability, they may be too late in some of the smaller ports to book what they want privately.

My advice would be to go ahead and book what you want privately as soon as they are taking reservations. Then buy travel insurance (it was very inexpensive) to cover the cost of those tours. That way you are covered if for some reason the ship doesn't dock. You will save a ton of money over what Disney is charging. We laughed out loud at the prices Disney is charging for private tours (even without a guide, just a driver!). In some cases it's double what we are paying for private guided tours. In other cases we are paying about the same for a private tour as we would pay Disney for three spots on a giant bus tour.

How far in advance can you book a private tour? Also is there no penalty to cancel say when my Disney booking window opens?
Thanks
Kerri

 

[Pens Fan]

How far in advance can you book a private tour? Also is there no penalty to cancel say when my Disney booking window opens?
Thanks
Kerri

It depends on the tour operator. I was able to book the majority of our excursions last summer/fall. There was only one operator that I really wanted who wasn't taking reservations until the first of the year. Of course, wouldn't you know it, that was the one I ended up cancelling due to DCL rearranging the iteneray! Oh well. As for cancellation policies, again it will vary by company. It varied from paying 100% in advance with no refund, to paying a tiny deposit with the option to cancel last minute (and everything in between!) Just be sure and do your homework. I used Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic primarily to choose our tour operators, and as I said in my previous post, purchased trip insurance to cover the cost. It may sound confusing, but I actually had a ball researching all of our options. And boy am I glad I did it now! I think we would have been shut out of a lot of the excursions we wanted to do. Plus, we really weren't excited about going the bus tour route for areas we most likely will never have the opportunity to return.

If Disney does this itenery next year, I would suggest booking Kirkwall first. Some wonderful person on this board posted very early on that those tours were getting filled up and I got to work. It's a small town and there aren't a lot of options for tour operators. Especially after the Mouse gets his share!

 

[Pens Fan]

Question - has anyone looked into doing Stavenger's Lyesfjord cruise on your own? Everything I find sends me back to Rodne and their earliest tour available online starts at 10 AM. For a three hour cruise, that won't work. With the DCL version sold out, I'm wondering if anyone has come up with any other options?
TIA!

 

[alldiz]

It depends on the tour operator. I was able to book the majority of our excursions last summer/fall. There was only one operator that I really wanted who wasn't taking reservations until the first of the year. Of course, wouldn't you know it, that was the one I ended up cancelling due to DCL rearranging the iteneray! Oh well. As for cancellation policies, again it will vary by company. It varied from paying 100% in advance with no refund, to paying a tiny deposit with the option to cancel last minute (and everything in between!) Just be sure and do your homework. I used Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic primarily to choose our tour operators, and as I said in my previous post, purchased trip insurance to cover the cost. It may sound confusing, but I actually had a ball researching all of our options. And boy am I glad I did it now! I think we would have been shut out of a lot of the excursions we wanted to do. Plus, we really weren't excited about going the bus tour route for areas we most likely will never have the opportunity to return.

If Disney does this itenery next year, I would suggest booking Kirkwall first. Some wonderful person on this board posted very early on that those tours were getting filled up and I got to work. It's a small town and there aren't a lot of options for tour operators. Especially after the Mouse gets his share!

Thanks for the great advice. The research is half the fun
Kerri

 

[3princessMommy]

The Lyesfjord cruise excursion opened back up again today. So check it again to see if there's still availability. It may be that DCL can work with the operator to add more capacity as they book up this early. So don't despair yet, more slots may open up the closer we get.

 

[3princessMommy]

Current FE list:

Cabin #-------------DISName---------------------#Adults-----#Kids-----Misc.
2058.........3PrincessMommy & BigAWL .................2..............3
GTY............KathyinCitrus....................................2..............0........Nothing Fancy
GTY............Wendy151950...................................2..............0
GTY...............JenGud..........................................2..............2........Nut Allergy
GTY................Megs2..........................................2..............3
6608..............Wrabitdad.....................................2..............0
1037..............Disneyxpert...................................2..............0
GTY................Patinm..........................................2.............0
GTY..............JustLoveEeyore................................2.............2
GTY..............IHalem............................................2.............2