7/25/2013 Med. Mickey's 12 Night Italian Job - with Nice, Valletta and Dubrov !

[thestewarts]

Garak, any info you need on the Scottish ports let me know. We live about 20minutes away from Greenock so can certainly point you in the direction of loads to do and see when here. Edinburgh too as I spent a fair amount of time there with work a while ago.

John, wish you a speedy recovery.

Not done much on the planning side as it still seems so far away, suppose since we've done some of the ports last year we have an idea on some bits and pieces but haven't seriously thought about anything so far.

Alex

 

[jgura]

Hi Everyone, long time now post! Welcome to the new additions!

Judy, sorry to see you go, but I know exactly where you are coming from. We are off to Disneyworld in October and then OH wants to go skiing after Christmas and it all starts to look a bit extravagant and expensive. We still have our inside cabin, but would love to change it to a window, not sure that will happen though

To be honest, we haven't thought much about this trip yet, have no idea what we will do and where, we had thought about getting married on board but not done anything about it yet, probably need to look into it, but I fear that will be expensive. Maybe when our October trip is out the way, I will have more time. Having said that, I have done no planning, apart from book MNSSHP for one night. I need to get a move on, we still have three days where we have no accommodation booked!!

Wow - what a long post, probably won't hear from me again for another month

Kate

I like your thoughts!!!! Birthdays and weddings? Why not? You could do it at one of the ports perhaps too. You only have a 2 1/2 hour direct flight to Austin for those 3 nights of accommodations!

 

[jgura]

Kate, it would be great if our dds can get together... this way she'll have someone to hang out with at the clubs and we can have some downtime to hit the spa or whatever...

John, hope you're feeling better. Take your time updating the roll call... No big rush since the trip is still so far away.

I've started booking things (can get very productive when I'm trying to avoid work during the late night hours). My husband and I have enough points combined with United to get 3 tickets to Barcelona. YAY! They had award tickets available with the Super Saver points (required a lot less points than normal for a one way trip) so I pounced on it.

I also booked our hotel for before and after in Barcelona (again, using hotel points). We're staying at the Le Meridien which I believe is a starwood property.

Lastly, I purchased the newest edition of the Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports guide book and have been reading up on all the different ports and trying to figure our which ones I think we can do on our own and which ones we'll want to book excursions for. However, before we make up our minds, we'll need to see what Disney is offering and how much it'll all cost. Ahhh, if only I can win that lottery before next July...

Have a goodnight all.

We stayed at the Meridien after our cruise in 2011. This was the only cab ride (port to hotel) we were ripped off on. MAKE SURE to get a quote BEFORE you get in the cab. I was in such a comfort zone from the cruise, it was the only time I did not state the fare prior to the ride. I fairly know my way around the area and the cabby drove us WAY out of the way and there was no traffic. Maybe you can arrange the transportation ahead of time. The hotel will NOT let you in the room early. So be prepared to leave your bags and sight see. I had booked a room for 4 people and we were supposed to have 2 beds. We had one bed and it was miserable because also the power went out for hours. The hotel was not accommodating at all. Other than all that the location, room and style were very nice. You can not beat anything with points.

My dream is to stay at the tall W by the water, but I'll be dreaming about it from some other hotel I'm sure!

 

[Pavilion 2000]

We stayed at the Meridien after our cruise in 2011. This was the only cab ride (port to hotel) we were ripped off on. MAKE SURE to get a quote BEFORE you get in the cab. I was in such a comfort zone from the cruise, it was the only time I did not state the fare prior to the ride. I fairly know my way around the area and the cabby drove us WAY out of the way and there was no traffic. Maybe you can arrange the transportation ahead of time. The hotel will NOT let you in the room early. So be prepared to leave your bags and sight see. I had booked a room for 4 people and we were supposed to have 2 beds. We had one bed and it was miserable because also the power went out for hours. The hotel was not accommodating at all. Other than all that the location, room and style were very nice. You can not beat anything with points.

My dream is to stay at the tall W by the water, but I'll be dreaming about it from some other hotel I'm sure!

jgura, Thanks for your feedback on this hotel. Do you (or anyone else) know if Le Meridien is a Disney preferred hotel? Does anyone know what the preferred hotels are next year?

I believe there's another Starwood property in Barcelona (Four Points, I think it is)... would this be a better option? It's not too late for me to make changes to the hotels... it's still early, thank goodness.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

We stayed at the Meridien after our cruise in 2011. This was the only cab ride (port to hotel) we were ripped off on. MAKE SURE to get a quote BEFORE you get in the cab. I was in such a comfort zone from the cruise, it was the only time I did not state the fare prior to the ride. I fairly know my way around the area and the cabby drove us WAY out of the way and there was no traffic. Maybe you can arrange the transportation ahead of time. The hotel will NOT let you in the room early. So be prepared to leave your bags and sight see. I had booked a room for 4 people and we were supposed to have 2 beds. We had one bed and it was miserable because also the power went out for hours. The hotel was not accommodating at all. Other than all that the location, room and style were very nice. You can not beat anything with points.

My dream is to stay at the tall W by the water, but I'll be dreaming about it from some other hotel I'm sure!

That is too funny! We stayed at the Meridien also in 2010 and the same thing happend to us. We needed two cabs to get to the port from the hotel since there were six of us and both of our cabs were ripped off!!! When I finally got to the port I had to wait for DH's cab. As I was waiting, I asked another family what their cab charge was and explained that I was just completely overcharged. The husband told me that they had been in Barcelona for a few days with another family who was robbed twice! The first time their purse was stolen with all of their money and passports.
I would highly recommend being extremely aware and cautious while in Barcelona. I saw many people walking around with their backpacks worn on their front rather than back. The car service driver that took us from the port to the airport explained that the unemployment rate was either 21 or 23% which caused alot of pickpocketing.

 

[jgura]

Disneymomjen - haha, where will you stay this time?

Pavillion - After our last post I went online and actually booked the W. I think being so far out they have not raised the prices yet. I think the points requirement was not bad either. You might want to take a look. That being said, after my research, the customer service at the W sounds no different than the Le Meridien. I think in the US we just get our booties kissed anytime there is the slightest issue.

According to the photos, my kids should be able to sleep on the sofa/bench at the W and it is on the beach. However, we'll need a cab to get us off the property. (I will not ripped off)
At the Le Meridien you can walk to many cool things.
Both hotels have the awkward glass bathroom walls. Beware at the Meridien, the apartments across the narrow street are in plane sight. We saw many people scantily dressed who you wished you'd never seen. My kids thought it was funny though.

I'm not sure about the Four Points, I'll have to look.

Jill

 

[bitocas]

hi!
the hotels that are recomended by disney are Hilton Dioagonal Mar,and the Renessaince Barcelona.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

Disneymomjen - haha, where will you stay this time?

Not sure yet. I have not done much research for this cruise yet since I was focused on our Alaskan cruise we went on this past August and DH is saying he is not sure if he wants to do this Med cruise since he has been to Venice already! No one else in our family has. We have to talk more.

The Le Meridien was a Disney recommended hotel. The hotel itself was fine and I got a great price through priceline (or a website like that). We were even able to check in for the cruise at the hotel since it was a Disney hotel. That was a good convenience.

 

[Figment_Fan]

I threw in the towel last week and scheduled our flights and land transfers through Disney.

DW and DD are going on the Dream in December. DW scheduled the flights through Spirit Airlines and got a really good price. They have now cancelled the flights and rescheduled them at different times. DW is working with them now to reconfigure her hotel and transfers due to the change. I know I paid a premium for scheduling through Disney for the Med, but at least we shouldn't have this type of headache.

I also put us on a waiting list for an overnight in Barcelona. We'll see how this goes.

 

[jakenick]

We will be on the cruise too. We have three boys, ages 13, 11, and 9 and total 6 (including myself, my husband, and his mom).

 

[Pavilion 2000]

DisneyMomJen, did you make reservations for a private car service company to take you to the airport? We'll need transportation to/from airport and was wondering if it would be better to hire a car service rather than just taking a taxi. Since they're going to rip me off anyway, might as well pay the same price for a more comfortable, relaxed ride..

jgura, I'll look into the W. Although, this is our first time in Barcelona and we plan to do a little bit of sightseeing. We're only going to be there 2 days before we sail (we get in Tuesday morning and ship sails on Thursday). We liked the location of the Le Meridien because we figured on the first day, we would just walk around Las Ramblas and take it all in. The second day, we would take the hop on/hop off bus to go to the different sites. I'm even thinking of maybe attending a Flemenco dinner/show one of those nights. For a Category 5 hotel, you would expect better service.

bitocas, thanks for the info on the Disney recommended hotels. So there's only 2 right now huh. I have enough points for one night at the Renaissance but that won't be enough. Oh well...

Figment Fan, sorry you're having to already deal with flight changes.

For those who've been to Barcelona before, is there a good hotel by the airport that you would recommend? Because of the flight schedules, we're staying an extra after the cruise. Right now we have Le Meridien booked that night too but not sure if it would be better to be closer to the airport since we have an early morning flight the next day. Although we will have a whole day, practically, to hang out in the city on the day back from the cruise. Ahhhh, decisions, decisions...

Welcome to all others who've just joined this cruise.

 

[bitocas]

the disney parks blogs,just realease a sneak peek for the port aventures,in venice.sounds fun!

 

[Celestine]

the disney parks blogs,just realease a sneak peek for the port aventures,in venice.sounds fun!

Hmmm. We did the Baltics cruise where there was a similar evening trip to St Catherine's Palace - sadly way beyond my budget, and I'm guessing this will be too

 

[K8T]

I have just booked our flights with Monarch and found that they don't fly out the day before, so we will have to have two nights in Barcelona now (shame!). Easyjet haven't got their dates out for July, but to be honest, don't think we would risk them.

If anyone else is booking with Monarch, use the code GETAWAY and it gives a £20 discount.

Now looking for hotels - honestly it never stops this holiday planning, still in full Florida mode!!!

Celestine, we don't book any DCL trips, most of the Med. ports really are easy to do on your own.

 

[Celestine]

I have just booked our flights with Monarch and found that they don't fly out the day before, so we will have to have two nights in Barcelona now (shame!). Easyjet haven't got their dates out for July, but to be honest, don't think we would risk them.

If anyone else is booking with Monarch, use the code GETAWAY and it gives a £20 discount.

Now looking for hotels - honestly it never stops this holiday planning, still in full Florida mode!!!

Celestine, we don't book any DCL trips, most of the Med. ports really are easy to do on your own.

I agree about trips. On the baltics the only DCL tours we did were in Russia because of ease with visas etc. On the Panama canal the only one we did was in Colombia (thought it was the safest way to visit that port). The Doges palace sounds great, and an opportunity to see it without rushing with hoards of tourists is appealing, but the cost will I'm sure be prohibitive, so it will be join the masses for us!

Waiting to book our flights until after our Xmas holiday when we will have enough airmiles for all 4 of us

 

[K8T]

I agree about trips. On the baltics the only DCL tours we did were in Russia because of ease with visas etc. On the Panama canal the only one we did was in Colombia (thought it was the safest way to visit that port). The Doges palace sounds great, and an opportunity to see it without rushing with hoards of tourists is appealing, but the cost will I'm sure be prohibitive, so it will be join the masses for us!

Waiting to book our flights until after our Xmas holiday when we will have enough airmiles for all 4 of us

Us too, although I have been to Venice several times and Doges twice. Not sure what we will be doing, loved going over to Murano, felt like a real adventure.

We just used all our airmiles up going to DLP on Eurostar, always kept trying to spend them on Barcelona flights, but anytime we wanted to go, the flight wasn't available, so best of luck with that one!

 

[GA-yaya]

Hi Everyone!

We just booked this cruise while onboard the Dream. I'm sooo excited!

We are Peggy, Roger (DH), and our 2 college-age kids Sean & Erin. We got a separate room for them - a small price for our sanity! We told them they would be in steerage and would have to shovel coal as part of the room deal.

We have sailed on the Magic for a 10-night Med cruise in 2010 (fabulous), and on the 2011 WBTA (even more fabulous). So we are definitely looking forward to this cruise. Very happy to be getting to spend some time in Venice and Dubrovnik - also, Malta was one of our favorites!

Looking forward to getting to know everyone.

 

[GA-yaya]

We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar to past 2 times we have been in Barcelona. It is a beautiful hotel, but it's a little out of the way. If you don't mind taking the Metro or a taxi in to the town center, it's a great place.

We will be staying there again.

 

[Doingitagain]

We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar to past 2 times we have been in Barcelona. It is a beautiful hotel, but it's a little out of the way. If you don't mind taking the Metro or a taxi in to the town center, it's a great place.

We will be staying there again.

We have stayed at the Diagnol Mar as well in 2007 and it is a nice hotel. The rates for 2013 from DCL are good compared to what I can book on my own, so we can use the money we save to use taxis or other transportation if we need it.

 

[Bunless]

We're In! Dh and I just booked... so excited. I have a big grin on my face.


Doingitagain... I think we talked to you on this year's Alaska cruise. At the DisMeet we talked about the Mediterranean cruise. DH is the guy with a bald head and all the tatoos... aka the guy who waited until the morning of to pack.