7/13/13 ~~ Eastern Mediterranean Mouseketeers!

[WDW Princess 71]

We arrive to Barcelona on the 10th, so it sounds like this strike won't affect us, unless there are residual effects from the strike on the 8th. I guess we'll see... nothing we can do about it.

Oh, I can't wait to start reading trip reports from the first Greece cruise!!!

Can you all believe we are getting on the ship SO soon!! Safe travels to everyone!

Yes, we'll all keep our fingers crossed that nothing changes and it goes smoothly for all of our dates! What is crazy is how much we all spend on airfare, for that amount you'd think you'd get royal treatment of VIP service, top shelf drinks, flat beds & pampering- alas, for $1366/each (in our case) that gets you a cramped tiny seat for 8 hours, unsavory USAirways customer service, and just a hope/prayer that for you and your luggage will make it there in one piece on time! Crazy when you think about it lol.

 

[LovesToRun]

Yes, we'll all keep our fingers crossed that nothing changes and it goes smoothly for all of our dates! What is crazy is how much we all spend on airfare, for that amount you'd think you'd get royal treatment of VIP service, top shelf drinks, flat beds & pampering- alas, for $1366/each (in our case) that gets you a cramped tiny seat for 8 hours, unsavory USAirways customer service, and just a hope/prayer that for you and your luggage will make it there in one piece on time! Crazy when you think about it lol.

LOL!!! That was funny! No kidding... you'd think, huh??

Well, with the airlines, you have to pay like $6,000+ per seat for an international flight in business or 1st class to get any kind of royal treatment... (and no, we're not paying that at all!!), but when people pay a measly $1366 (note the sarcasm!!) on a cattle car seat (again, note the sarcasm!), they get no royal treatment... sadly.

I'm with you... seems like paying that much money for that very small uncomfortable piece of real-estate, essentially (because that small seat is your little home for the time you're on the flight), you would get royal treatment...

 

[LovesToRun]

Here is some good info on VAT Tax refunds (if you make purchases off the ship... that is if it is correct we won't be charged VAT tax on the ship for our cruise). It sounds like it's a complicated process to get a refund, but I like his tip on if you're making a bigger purchase to choose a store that knows how to start the process of a VAT tax refund, or choose a store that says, "tax free" (which means they won't charge VAT tax). Anyway, this is worth the read...

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/vat.htm

 

[pennymike]

End of school year caused me to get WEEKS behind! Ugh! Now that I'm caught up, here are some questions I have for you all....

1. Anyone know what movies are going to be on board? We are hoping for "Lone Ranger" and "Monsters U". Any insights?

2. What is the carry-on policy in Barcelona? We know in Port Canaveral you can purchase alcohol and carry it onto the ship; We will be in Barcelona for a day before boarding....hoping we can 'stock up' without paying the on board prices for wine bottles. Anyone with a clue? Let us know! Thanks!

Penny

 

[Eleblanc]

End of school year caused me to get WEEKS behind! Ugh! Now that I'm caught up, here are some questions I have for you all....

1. Anyone know what movies are going to be on board? We are hoping for "Lone Ranger" and "Monsters U". Any insights?

2. What is the carry-on policy in Barcelona? We know in Port Canaveral you can purchase alcohol and carry it onto the ship; We will be in Barcelona for a day before boarding....hoping we can 'stock up' without paying the on board prices for wine bottles. Anyone with a clue? Let us know! Thanks!

Penny

To carry on alcohol in Barcelona from what I hear is the same as it is in Port Canaveral. (Sorry, we have only been on Disney cruises around Europe!) Just put it in your carry on bags when you check in at the port.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

LOL!!! That was funny! No kidding... you'd think, huh??

Well, with the airlines, you have to pay like $6,000+ per seat for an international flight in business or 1st class to get any kind of royal treatment... (and no, we're not paying that at all!!), but when people pay a measly $1366 (note the sarcasm!!) on a cattle car seat (again, note the sarcasm!), they get no royal treatment... sadly.

I'm with you... seems like paying that much money for that very small uncomfortable piece of real-estate, essentially (because that small seat is your little home for the time you're on the flight), you would get royal treatment...

It so true! I had the amazing experience of flying business class on my trip to Australia/New Zealand in 2011. It only cost me 100,000 FF miles which isn't hard to rack up when you have the credit card and do some domestic cross country flights which add up quick. I literally had a bed for the 14 hour flight from LA to Tokyo (yea, the think with miles is sometimes they route you oddly, like Tokyo on the way to NZ, but it actually worked out cool that I got 1 day in Tokyo and had a blast!), then another bed for the 10 hours down to NZ, and same thing on the way back. I slept for hours. It was one of those double decker planes. The meals were delish, drinks and snacks on demand, the bathroom was so big you could walk around in it. Not to mention the awesome business class lounges you had access to in the airport. Australia & NZ were great but the flights were a huge part of my vacation experience too! It was so surreal. I can't wait to do it again. I had enough points to do it for this trip but I decided to pass. After flying in the "bed" to the other side of the world I decided it would be wasteful to use it for only an 8 hr flight lol. 100K to go to Asia or south pacific is such a better steal, esp. when you consider you can pay 50K for a domestic regular first class ticket which is hardly better than coach. So, I'm saving the points for an Asia trip hopefully in 2015.

 

[LovesToRun]

End of school year caused me to get WEEKS behind! Ugh! Now that I'm caught up, here are some questions I have for you all....

1. Anyone know what movies are going to be on board? We are hoping for "Lone Ranger" and "Monsters U". Any insights?

2. What is the carry-on policy in Barcelona? We know in Port Canaveral you can purchase alcohol and carry it onto the ship; We will be in Barcelona for a day before boarding....hoping we can 'stock up' without paying the on board prices for wine bottles. Anyone with a clue? Let us know! Thanks!

Penny

Penny, I don't know the answers to these, but I have these exact same questions!!! We are hoping to bring some good bottles of wine on board... and, yes, I also totally hope for the same movies (and so are our kids!!). I bet you anything they will have Monsters U for sure.

It so true! I had the amazing experience of flying business class on my trip to Australia/New Zealand in 2011. It only cost me 100,000 FF miles which isn't hard to rack up when you have the credit card and do some domestic cross country flights which add up quick. I literally had a bed for the 14 hour flight from LA to Tokyo (yea, the think with miles is sometimes they route you oddly, like Tokyo on the way to NZ, but it actually worked out cool that I got 1 day in Tokyo and had a blast!), then another bed for the 10 hours down to NZ, and same thing on the way back. I slept for hours. It was one of those double decker planes. The meals were delish, drinks and snacks on demand, the bathroom was so big you could walk around in it. Not to mention the awesome business class lounges you had access to in the airport. Australia & NZ were great but the flights were a huge part of my vacation experience too! It was so surreal. I can't wait to do it again. I had enough points to do it for this trip but I decided to pass. After flying in the "bed" to the other side of the world I decided it would be wasteful to use it for only an 8 hr flight lol. 100K to go to Asia or south pacific is such a better steal, esp. when you consider you can pay 50K for a domestic regular first class ticket which is hardly better than coach. So, I'm saving the points for an Asia trip hopefully in 2015.

We have flown to Australia before (in coach.... good ol' cattle car!), and let me tell you, I can see why (after that 15 hour flight for us) going business class would have been a huge part of your experience on that trip!! I would have given anything to go business class on that trip, but that was a long time ago, and we hadn't traveled enough yet to get enough miles, and we definitely weren't going to pay $9,000 per person...

What a great experience for you!! It really is fun when you get that kind of pampering experience, where you just truly appreciate every moment.

My husband gets tons of miles with British Airways because of his work travel, so he is pampering the 4 of us and he booked us all in business class round trip for this Med Cruise trip all on British Airways!! I'm SOOOOOO excited (and our kids I think are even more excited!) The kids and I have never ridden business class on a 747... we've gone first class before on 737 domestic flights, but that is nothing compared to being able to lay flat , being waited on, and be pampered just like you describe.

My husband flies business class on all his international business trips, so that is how he racks up the miles so fast (because when you pay for a business class seat, you get a TONS of bonus miles) and he comes home from his work trips telling us about his business class experience, as we are salivating hearing about it. So, he wanted us to have the same experience, so he used his miles to for all of us in business class for this trip ... I have a feeling that our experience will be like your Australian experience... that the flight will be part of the whole trip experience.

But, I told our kids, "do NOT get used to this.... our next vacation will be coach!!!" LOL!!! They know it's an extra special thing.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

What a great experience for you!! It really is fun when you get that kind of pampering experience, where you just truly appreciate every moment.

My husband gets tons of miles with British Airways because of his work travel, so he is pampering the 4 of us and he booked us all in business class round trip for this Med Cruise trip all on British Airways!! I'm SOOOOOO excited (and our kids I think are even more excited!) The kids and I have never ridden business class on a 747... we've gone first class before on 737 domestic flights, but that is nothing compared to being able to lay flat , being waited on, and be pampered just like you describe.

My husband flies business class on all his international business trips, so that is how he racks up the miles so fast (because when you pay for a business class seat, you get a TONS of bonus miles) and he comes home from his work trips telling us about his business class experience, as we are salivating hearing about it. So, he wanted us to have the same experience, so he used his miles to for all of us in business class for this trip ... I have a feeling that our experience will be like your Australian experience... that the flight will be part of the whole trip experience.

But, I told our kids, "do NOT get used to this.... our next vacation will be coach!!!" LOL!!! They know it's an extra special thing.

Kathy, that is so awesome that your whole family will experience the international business class together! You will have a blast. I remember thinking on my flights that the only thing that could have possibly topped the experience was having my mom (we're best friends!) in the bed next to mine so we could laugh and have fun together!!

 

[Amy Fran]

1. Anyone know what movies are going to be on board? We are hoping for "Lone Ranger" and "Monsters U". Any insights?

2. What is the carry-on policy in Barcelona? We know in Port Canaveral you can purchase alcohol and carry it onto the ship; We will be in Barcelona for a day before boarding....hoping we can 'stock up' without paying the on board prices for wine bottles. Anyone with a clue? Let us know! Thanks!

Penny

Disney ships play first-run movies onboard so if it's playing on land, it will play on ship. All that to say I can almost guarantee Lone Ranger will be playing for our sailing. On previous cruises we've stayed up for the midnight showing of movies premiering on land like Brave and Pirates 4. However, Lone Ranger will premier on land before we sail so we won't have to wait till 12:01!

I'm also guessing that the carry-on policy is the same for alcohol as it is in Florida since the ship's registry hasn't changed.

 

[calihannah]

I'm also guessing that the carry-on policy is the same for alcohol as it is in Florida since the ship's registry hasn't changed.

I know I can go search....but does anyone know what this is off the top of their heads?

 

[pennymike]

I know I can go search....but does anyone know what this is off the top of their heads?

In Port Canaveral, you can carry on any alcohol you wish as long as it is in carry on bags/luggage. NOT in checked bags.

 

[disneycrazy2004]

I am pretty sure someone on the Facebook thread posted the movies for the cruise and Monsters University and Lone Ranger were both on the list.

 

[boardergirl]

cccceeee

 

[ky71]

Does anyone know what sports channels will be broadcast on the ship?

Specifically my DH wants to view the Fox soccer channel so he can see the Australian "State of Origin" league final...If it was showing live we would be at sea that day and DH thinks it would be a nice way (not for me) to spend a few hours. So what channels if any, are shown?

 

[pennymike]

Does anyone know what sports channels will be broadcast on the ship?

Specifically my DH wants to view the Fox soccer channel so he can see the Australian "State of Origin" league final...If it was showing live we would be at sea that day and DH thinks it would be a nice way (not for me) to spend a few hours. So what channels if any, are shown?

As a general rule, the sports channels are ESPN and ABC sports....um....which coincidentally are Disney owned! Imagine that! However....seeing how we will be on the other side of the planet...who knows?

 

[Stimpy]

If you go to Diversions they are sometimes able to get other channels for sports events also on the satellite. We were able to watch several baseball games last time. They also played some of the big world cup soccer games on the big screen on deck during the Baltic which was a lot of fun.

 

[canadakath]

Just back form the June 15 cruise so hope I can help:

End of school year caused me to get WEEKS behind! Ugh! Now that I'm caught up, here are some questions I have for you all....

1. Anyone know what movies are going to be on board? We are hoping for "Lone Ranger" and "Monsters U". Any insights?

2. What is the carry-on policy in Barcelona? We know in Port Canaveral you can purchase alcohol and carry it onto the ship; We will be in Barcelona for a day before boarding....hoping we can 'stock up' without paying the on board prices for wine bottles. Anyone with a clue? Let us know! Thanks!

Penny

MonstersU PremEARed on board at 12:01 a.m. on June 21. Unfortunately that was the night before Athens for us - no way were my kids staying up for it! But they showed it lots more times the rest of the cruise and we managed to see it on a sea day - very cute! I imagine Lone Ranger will be on as well.

Alcohol carry on policy is the same as PC. We bought wine in Barcelona and at the Duty Free shop at Kusadasi port. Was disappointed the new terminal at Athens wasn't quite finished and no Duty Free shop there - didn't have time to pick up any wine during our excursion. Villefranche and La Spezia are probably the other easy ports to get some drinks before reboarding.

Does anyone know what sports channels will be broadcast on the ship?

Specifically my DH wants to view the Fox soccer channel so he can see the Australian "State of Origin" league final...If it was showing live we would be at sea that day and DH thinks it would be a nice way (not for me) to spend a few hours. So what channels if any, are shown?

Sports TV was a big letdown for DH! They actually were showing the CARIBBEAN version of ESPN - we managed to catch SportsCentre one sea day at noon, but otherwise there was a LOT of cricket.... I would tell your DH not to get his hopes up... In some areas (close to Barcelona) it would not allow for some of the satellite channels and would only show the pre-recorded channels on loop (I love old Mickey Mouse cartoons as much as anyone, but they are showing the same 5 or 6 that they were showing 2 years ago on our first cruise...and my DS loves them)

If anyone else has questions I will try to check this board.

 

[buddwaur]

My husband flies business class on all his international business trips, so that is how he racks up the miles so fast (because when you pay for a business class seat, you get a TONS of bonus miles) and he comes home from his work trips telling us about his business class experience, as we are salivating hearing about it. So, he wanted us to have the same experience, so he used his miles to for all of us in business class for this trip ... I have a feeling that our experience will be like your Australian experience... that the flight will be part of the whole trip experience.

But, I told our kids, "do NOT get used to this.... our next vacation will be coach!!!" LOL!!! They know it's an extra special thing.

Wow!! That sounds FABULOUS!!! Enjoy all the pampering!! Sounds sooo wonderful! Some day I hope that hubby and I can fly business class and get to experience all those great perks!

Will you feel just a teensy weensy guilty about not being in the CATTLE section?! LOL!!

-sophia

 

[Y-GRO-UP]

we/I do for the family/kids to make it special like you guys are doing? Any get togethers? don't know if i'll have time to finish all the postings. it's me DW, DS 14, DD 11.... you guys seems like professionals.

Suggestions? thanks a bunch.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

we/I do for the family/kids to make it special like you guys are doing? Any get togethers? don't know if i'll have time to finish all the postings. it's me DW, DS 14, DD 11.... you guys seems like professionals.

Suggestions? thanks a bunch.

I would suggest making door magnets to decorate your door. this adds "magic" always coming back to the room to admire them.

There is a meet and greet at 2:30 PM on embarkation day at Studio Sea. We'll all chat and put faces with names, kids can meet other kids their age, and matching wristbands will be given out.