7/14/2014 - 12-Night Mediterranean Cruise (with Greece) Venice to Barcelona

exactly.....have to think it out so much....and compare everything....without knowing what we are doing before the cruise really messes it up too!!!

Gonna look at trains from France to Venice too....have to find out the name of the city our friends have their summer home in....

so many possibilities....
 
I'm having a hard time with that too, all the possibilities. One of my clients told me about finding a stopover that allows for multi-day layovers, like Dublin or Iceland where you just need a hotel, no additional air costs.

At this rate, i'll be traveling all summer.
 
I'm having a hard time with that too, all the possibilities. One of my clients told me about finding a stopover that allows for multi-day layovers, like Dublin or Iceland where you just need a hotel, no additional air costs.

At this rate, i'll be traveling all summer.

This is what we did for our Med cruise in July. We booked our return ticket from Barcelona to Seattle, and the stop-over was London since there is no direct flight from Barcelona. So, we booked a 10-day layover in London all on the same Barcelona -> Seattle ticket. So, we didn't have to pay for an extra ticket to spend this time in London. If you have the time to do it, this is a great way to see another city/country without adding more airfare costs! :thumbsup2
 
Wow!! LOTS of valuable, new information here. Thank you so much to everyone who is sharing their experience based on previous travel and for sharing what you are finding out about flights as you learn information.

I really wish we could spend more time in Venice before the trip or at least three days in Barcelona after the cruise, but it looks like we'll arrive in Venice Saturday morning and depart Barcelona Sunday morning, so that Howard only has to take off 10 days from work. EEK! That seems like so much!
 

exactly.....have to think it out so much....and compare everything....without knowing what we are doing before the cruise really messes it up too!!!

Gonna look at trains from France to Venice too....have to find out the name of the city our friends have their summer home in....

so many possibilities....

Do you know what the change fees are for mileage tickets on American Airlines (which sounds like the airline you are hoping to book with)? I'm asking because sometimes the change fees for mileage tickets are not that high, so if this is the case, you could just book a mileage ticket on a route you "think" you may want to go to before the cruise, so you know you have airfare and you are for sure getting to Europe (which is the goal because of the cruise), and then as you figure out your pre-cruise/post-cruise plans, if you decide you want to arrive to a different city than where your tickets are booked for, at that time, you could see if there are mileage seats open for that route and just pay the change fee (if it's not very much) to change your tickets to the new route.

Just a thought... but it might be the change fees are too high to have that make sense. But, some airlines do have low change fees.

British Airways is $40.00 for a change fee, I think. Not horrible, and cheaper than a one-way plane ticket you might have to buy getting to the destination you actually want to go to once you figure that out (if it's different than where you book your ticket to).
 
I haven't started looking at my flight options yet, but I knew where I wanted to stay in Venice so yesterday's discussion pushed me into contacting my Pensione, https://www.facebook.com/HotelGuerrato and happily they have a room for us.

Having stayed there a number of years ago on a Rick Steves tour, I knew ahead of time that I'm ok with a shared bathroom, heck I had a part of a 15th century fresco in my room, and Murano Glass chandeliers and it's a fantastic location very near the Rialto bridge. But I know that it's not to everyone's taste.

100 Euro a night, rooms with bathrooms en suite are available for a higher price, oh and it includes a continental breakfast.

Right now, I'm planning on spending 4 night there before the cruise. This will make me pack light for sure cause I'll have to lug the luggage to the vaparetto.
 
Yep, hearing about the already booked larger rooms got me looking as well. I know there are very few rooms in each hotel that can accommodate 3 or 4 but was still surprised by the number of places completely booked all classes. We ended up with the Junior Suite at the Hotel Ca' Formenta, water view, buffet breakfast, internet, map, drink and concierge at 210 euro per night (includes all taxes). It is 1/2 mile east of Piazza San Marco and a straight shot north to central Venice. Also have 48 hour cancellation policy so if something makes us change our minds did not have to pay in advance.
 
I haven't started looking at my flight options yet, but I knew where I wanted to stay in Venice so yesterday's discussion pushed me into contacting my Pensione, https://www.facebook.com/HotelGuerrato and happily they have a room for us.

Having stayed there a number of years ago on a Rick Steves tour, I knew ahead of time that I'm ok with a shared bathroom, heck I had a part of a 15th century fresco in my room, and Murano Glass chandeliers and it's a fantastic location very near the Rialto bridge. But I know that it's not to everyone's taste.

100 Euro a night, rooms with bathrooms en suite are available for a higher price, oh and it includes a continental breakfast.

Right now, I'm planning on spending 4 night there before the cruise. This will make me pack light for sure cause I'll have to lug the luggage to the vaparetto.

Yep, hearing about the already booked larger rooms got me looking as well. I know there are very few rooms in each hotel that can accommodate 3 or 4 but was still surprised by the number of places completely booked all classes. W ended up with the Junior Suite at the Hotel Ca' Formenta, water view, buffet breakfast, internet, map, drink and concierge at 210 euro per night (includes all taxes). It is 1/2 mile east of Piazza San Marco and a straight shot north to central Venice. Also have 48 hour cancellation policy so if something makes us change our minds did not have to pay in advance.

That is so great both of you have found accommodations in Venice, and for decent prices! I agree, MPS516, that if your party is more than 2 people, you have to book very early if you want to stay in Venice and not pay a ridiculous amount of money. But, I think for parties who are just 2 people (or 1 person), it's easier to find accommodations and you do not necessarily have to book super early, but the earlier you book, chances are you'll get a better deal... BUT I do think the nice and affordable accommodations do book up very fast, regardless if you are looking for a room for just 2 people or a family of 3 or 4.

The place we booked also has a full cancellation policy of 48 hours to arrival (I only book places with cancellation policies like this... too risky to book a non-refundable room at least this early. Anything unexpected in life can happen! Or, you might find an even better place for a better price you want to change to. :) ).

For our Med cruise this past July (our pre-cruise part of our trip where we visited Venice before heading to Barcelona), I looked back in my email to see when I booked the room we stayed in that fit our family of 4 (a family suite at Hotel Canal Grande, which is already sold out now), and I see I booked our room 14 months prior to us arriving!! So, it made sense why now, just 11 months away, the family suites in that hotel are already booked the days before our ship leaves, which we were bummed about because we wanted to stay there again, but found a different place that seems just as nice!

If anyone needs a recommendations for a hotel in Venice that only has rooms for 2 people, the first time we went to Venice, it was just my husband and me, and we stayed in this hotel, Hotel La Calcina:

https://www.lacalcina.com/

We LOVED it! It was right on the main canal (I forget the name of the canal, but the canal where the cruise ships and big ferries/ships come in and out of), and had an amazing water view (from the lobby and from their water view rooms). We had an excellent experience here and would have stayed here again, but we would have had to book two rooms because they do not have any rooms that fit more than 2 people (nor do they have connecting rooms). And, we didn't want our kids to be staying in their own room by themselves at their age.

But, if you are just two people, and this place is in your budget, we had an excellent experience there. :) Or, if you are a family of 4 and your kids are fine in their own room, you could book two rooms here. It's a very cute little place and a good location.
 
We are happy with the price so far, when we looked at a 3 person room at Best Western (there are 3) the price ranged from 230 to 450 euro per night depending how close to Piazza hotel was. Best Western room was 1 queen and 1 twin, Ca' Formenta we have 1 queen, 2 twins and a couch, feeling pretty good still.
 
We are happy with the price so far, when we looked at a 3 person room at Best Western (there are 3) the price ranged from 230 to 450 euro per night depending how close to Piazza hotel was. Best Western room was 1 queen and 1 twin, Ca' Formenta we have 1 queen, 2 twins and a couch, feeling pretty good still.

You got a great deal for 210 Euros, including taxes! You should be feeling pretty good!! :) I can't believe Best Western wanted 450 Euro per night for 1 queen and 1 twin (assuming all in the same room). That is crazy.

We paid less than 450 Euros per night (including taxes) in July for a 1-bedroom suite (we had our own bedroom with a door, the kids slept in the living area with a pull out couch) with a canal view, full breakfast and internet access... but it was near the train station. But, worth the long walk to San Marco's Square! :)

But, you did get a great deal for the location you are at! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2
 
Sorry, all but we are out. My brother could not get the dates off. My mother and my brother's family are going on a Celebrity cruise on August 4th going round trip from Rome. I can't get those dates off and am not sure I could bring myself to go on another line besides Disney anyway. :(
 
Sorry to hear you can't make it. We have cruised 5 different lines and only sail something different if DCL has no chance of ever going there and find ourselves constantly noting that Disney would do this better or nicer.
 
Sorry, all but we are out. My brother could not get the dates off. My mother and my brother's family are going on a Celebrity cruise on August 4th going round trip from Rome. I can't get those dates off and am not sure I could bring myself to go on another line besides Disney anyway. :(

I'm so sorry you had to cancel!! I was looking forward to having you back on the cruise since we met on the July Med cruise. Hopefully you can make it back to the Med again in the future... I'm sure Disney will be going back given the popularity.

I agree... We can't get ourselves to go on another cruise line (we have sailed other cruise lines before we discovered Disney, and since we've discovered Disney, when we choose a cruise vacation, we only cruise where Disney goes).

Best wishes.
 
Just in case anyone is looking for hotels in Venice that is reasonably priced (reasonable for Venice, that is) and has rooms for families of 3, 4 or 5, friends of ours stayed here recently and said it was a great hotel and very close to San Marcos Square, and it was reasonably priced, and they had family rooms that fit 3, 4 and 5 people. She said it wasn't super fancy, but it had a really nice breakfast, WiFi and was really clean and comfortable and the location was perfect. They had no complaints and the price was cheap for San Marco Square area (for a family of 4).

http://www.anticavenezia.com/index.html
 
JJJ, i'm sorry to hear you won't be making it for 2014, but 2015 bookings are right around the corner, so maybe that will help appease the pain! :D

the hotel links are all awesome. I am having trouble finding information on the reliability of wifi at the hotels, and I need it for work, unfortunately. Are wifi hotspots as reliable/plentiful in Venice as they are in Barcelona, does anyone know?

My daughter and I are also looking into doing a photo/walking split tour (3 hours at dawn, 3 at dusk), before the cruise. I just started researching it; there are a couple of photographers who have really caught my eye. One of my favorites also has an excellent blog about how to enjoy the best of Venice as well: http://gintenreiter-photography.com/blog/venice-travel-tips/ I don't know if he takes small groups, but I can ask if anyone wants to join up with us and split the cost. There are a couple of others too, this guy just looks like he has incredible follow up with his participants.

Started to look at airfare and most sites don't seem to want to post to the end of July just yet for what I am looking for. It's killing me! LOL!
 
Sorry, all but we are out. My brother could not get the dates off. My mother and my brother's family are going on a Celebrity cruise on August 4th going round trip from Rome. I can't get those dates off and am not sure I could bring myself to go on another line besides Disney anyway. :(

Sorry you cannot make it.
 
the hotel links are all awesome. I am having trouble finding information on the reliability of wifi at the hotels, and I need it for work, unfortunately. Are wifi hotspots as reliable/plentiful in Venice as they are in Barcelona, does anyone know?


I'm sure each hotel in Venice is different, but we found the WiFi at our hotel (and it was a 4-star hotel) very spotty. I was constantly kicked off and had to constantly log back on.

We did find most restaurants had WiFi if you asked for the password (ie, they will give you the password if you order something, even just a drink). But, again, even the restaurants were spotty... not all of them. We found a few restaurants where WiFi was great, but overall, I'd say it was spotty. That was our experience. But, we weren't trying to use WiFi for work or all the time. We were in Europe for 5 weeks (took the Med Cruise right in the middle of our 5 week trip), and so we wanted to be on WiFi to update Facebook to keep our friends and family back home connected with how we were doing, etc. But, if we had to work and had to rely on WiFi in Venice, that would have been hard, I think. But, again.... each hotel I'm sure is different. I would look at Trip Advisor when you choose the hotel/lodging you want to stay at, and see what people say there about the WiFi. I knew the WiFi at our hotel would be spotty because a lot of people wrote that on Trip Advisor, but it wasn't a huge deal to us, just more frustrating when I'd be updating my Facebook and then I'd get kicked off, and I'd have to re-write the update when I logged back on. LOL!!

I WILL say that I discovered the WiFi was MUCH better in the lobby of our hotel in Venice, so if you find your WiFi is spotty in your room, try going to the lobby of your hotel and see if that is better.
 
Hello Everyone!
We were booked on the July 5th cruise but after considering airfare my wonderful DH bumped us over to this one. If we are paying that much for airfare we might as well cruise longer. Yea!:cool1:

My name is Rita and I will be sailing with my DH, DD17 and DS20.
We have two rooms across from each other.
This will mark our 6th Dis cruise and we have been to east and west carib, mexico, Med, and Baltics. All cruises have been on the Magic except east carib on the Fantasy.
I just sent my request for the FB sign up and will be sending info for the FE.

I will be going back and reading all pages and look for to sailing with all of you!
 
Welcome Rita :wave2: Glad to have you aboard.

Baltic, this is one of our must do's, hoping DCL goes back in 15 or 16 or we might have to hop a different line :crazy2:
 
There is alot of really useful info on here. Thanks for sharing.
We are starting to look for a room in Venice and this will really help.

For the FE, I am not sure of our room numbers as of yet. We booked one cabin with DVC points and the other with cash and DH had to make several phone calls, couldnt all be done at one time so not sure if that is done yet.

Disneeats (SP?) love the photos od Venice!
Tammy, sorry your not going, I have sailed with you before.
Lyn, have I sailed you? Your name looks familiar.

My DH will only use Dis excursions. He trusts them and the one time we decided to go off on our own, on Sunday, in Finland, everything was closed!
So we just use them.

So do I just say we want to be in on the FE or do I need to send info to someone?
Thanks!
 

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