7/9/11 - Summer Magic in the Med

[nemo123]

nemo,

It depends on your flight departure time, how many people in your party and your dinner seating. If you have an early flight you can plan on getting off the ship at 7:00. Taxi's are an easy solution for a small party with minimal luggage. Disney transfers are an easy solution for larger parties. Hiring a shuttle service is somewhere between. If you have first dinner seating you'll have early breakfast and could be off the ship as early as 7:00. Late dinner - a little later. You can usually stall and take your time getting off, but they rush you through. Hope that helps.

Thanks, Monstro! We don't actually fly out at all that day, we are sticking around in Spain a little longer, so will plan accordingly to your dining assignment advice!

 

[Love to Cruise DCL]

Thanks, Monstro! We don't actually fly out at all that day, we are sticking around in Spain a little longer, so will plan accordingly to your dining assignment advice!

When we did the Baltic last year we did a debarkation day excursion and it was awesome and then the bus took us back to our hotel in London. This year we are planning to do the 1/2 day Montserrat Debarkation day excursion and the bus back to the Disney hotel we are staying at in Barcelona is included in the price of the excursion.

Steph

 

[corbett744]

OH, We loved Monsterrat. For sure take your camera. It is amazing!!!

 

[PVA]

Okay, we are getting close now, I have two concerns I would appreciate any and all comments on; 1) I still can't make a decision on a pre and post Cruise Barecelona Hotel and 2) do I have us overbooked on excursions.

I have two main issues with hotels; 1) Do we stay in an upscale international branded hotel (W Barcelona or Hotel Arts) mainly because of ease of use after a long trip, or 2) a smaller more European style hotel in the heart of things (Grand Marina, Praktic Ramblas, Hotel Costanza, or your favorite) for the local flavor. We are there one night before the cruise and will likely be exhausted (we get in about 4pm after leaving LA at 3pm the day before) and two nights afterwards. Doesn't have to be the same hotel for both, I would appreciate any thoughts.

Second concern, here is what our itinerary looks like for the cruise (I chose Disney Excursions because of good experiences in the past and our absolute lack of familiarity with Europe ( I speak passable Los Angeles Spanish, but no other languages);

Malta- Highlights of Malta
Palermo- Palermo and Palazzo Federico
Naples- Mt Vesuvius by 4x4 hike and waine tasting and Pompeii
Rome- Jumping back into Eternal Rome
La Spezia- Florence and Pisa
Corsica- No activities
Villefranche- Monte Carlo and Eze

Like I said, all are Disney excursions (although I am looking at some independent replacements, but they will likely duplicate the Disney excursion if we switch); any of these not worth it? We want to see as much as possible (but not to the point of overload) and although we aren't seasoned "international" travelers, we are pretty seasoned travelers. Again, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

My countdown clock says 41 days until we leave LA! Very excited.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone.
Thanks again, and looking forward to meeting you all.
Paul

 

[MagicCanuc]

We are staying at the Barcelona Renasance Hotel. I chose this one because all 4 of us can stay in one room and we have free transfers to and from the airport and to/from the port. They also have a bus to the city for a fee.

From PVA """"I chose Disney Excursions because of good experiences in the past and our absolute lack of familiarity with Europe""" I totally agree with you!!!!

We are taking Disney excursions for every port except Rome (we're having a private tour). My DH believes we will never be back to Europe so we have to see as much as possible. I, on the other hand, believe we will be the most exhausted family on the ship and I'll be needing at least two spa treatments!!!

Looking forward to seeing y'all!!!!

 

[JannasMamma]

We'll join you in the exhausted tent. ABD excursions in every port, for the same reason as you....quality and a once in a lifetime trip.

Countdown is in the 30's now...it will go by so fast!

Carri-Ann

 

[Dazed]

We're booked at Hotel Inglaterra near the top of les Ramblas. Chosen because of price, location and includes breakfast. Most places don't have tea/coffee stuff in room and I can't get moving without my first cup of tea! Your flight is quite late arriving and with your post cruise days to enjoy Barcelona you could just chill out in an up market hotel to get over the jet lag or go somewhere cheaper like this and enjoy a local stroll or drink on the roof terrace. I had a bit of trouble finding a twin -left it too late-but noticed there were a few triples.

We're doing mainly DIY at the ports but just added 'Monreale' at Palermo as I wasn't feeling overly confident about using the HO-HO bus there.

Only 40 days

 

[Love to Cruise DCL]

I am combining some conversations
We are flying in the day of the cruise...
We are staying at the AC Diplomatic after the cruise for a couple of days
We have booked all excursions through DCL but my DH wants me to check out a private guide we read about in T&L..did anyone else see this article?
We are doing the following:
Gozo Experience
Erice & Segesta
Pompeii, Sorrento & Capri for Families
Jumping Back into Eternal Rome
Portofino & Santa Margherita
Corte-The Former Capital of Corte
Monaco, Monte Carlo & Eze
DO you thing anyone is going to be awake on that Day 7 at sea???
Two spa treatments already booked...thinking about a 3rd
Very excited to see the Fish Extender goodies I ordered
I think I am going to burst I am so excited!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day!
Steph
aka Loves to Cruise DCL

 

[Minniespec]

We're doing Disney excursions in almost every port as well. Who knows if we'll ever be back? We have to make the most of the time we'll have!

Do we have a fairly certain count for the fish extender? But I'm thinking that I should probably find the fish extender contraption itself before I even go in search of gifts.

The cruise seems to be approaching out of nowhere-- for a long time it seemed like July 9th would never come and now I'm not sure where all that time went!

 

[lcsmom]

Checking back in! School's out!
35 days. Aaack!! Who's in charge of fish extenders? Have we decided if/how we might limit it? Can only put so much in the suitcase. Hmmm, must go shopping for new shoes to put in the suitcase. Please, those who have been to the Med, tell me it will not be a 100 degrees everyday. It's just now June and I'm tired of it!
Just a little scattered here........

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Hi, all. My family and I are on this cruise and I have a question.

I thought a couple of weeks ago the all aboard time for Naples had been moved up to like 7 p.m. but now when I look at the site it is back to 9 p.m.

So is this correct, we have until 9 p.m. to get back on the ship? I sure hope so!

TIA!

On a side note, looks like the ship is nearly full, too. I have to say I was hoping it would be a little light

 

[Monstro]

Hi, all. My family and I are on this cruise and I have a question.

I thought a couple of weeks ago the all aboard time for Naples had been moved up to like 7 p.m. but now when I look at the site it is back to 9 p.m.

So is this correct, we have until 9 p.m. to get back on the ship? I sure hope so!

TIA!

On a side note, looks like the ship is nearly full, too. I have to say I was hoping it would be a little light

Hi bibbidi.... Welcome! Yes i saw that asa well. We will have untill 9:00 in Naples. Rome was also changed. We now have to be on the ship at 7:00 PM on our day in Rome.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Hi bibbidi.... Welcome! Yes i saw that asa well. We will have untill 9:00 in Naples. Rome was also changed. We now have to be on the ship at 7:00 PM on our day in Rome.

OK. Thanks! This actually works better for us because we are doing Capri and Pompeii on our own and I need as much time as possible!

 

[emma2]

It is getting nerve racking - making sure I do not forget to do something. Finally reserved a taxi from our hotel to port and port to airport - since we are 5 did not want to deal with two taxi's. Also booked our private tour - Malta. Just purchased the beer mug for my husband and the rainforest pass for both of us.

Need to get a packing list together. Since we love to pick up items when we travel, I plan to put two small rolling suitcases into two medium ones. Last time we cruised with DCL, my kids won things on the cruise that ended up taking up a lot of room.

Too much going on over seas. The ecoli outbreak, the demonstrations in Barcelona didn't look good on the news, bad euro rate. Hopefully all will calm down.

 

[sk8ingmom]

So will there be a prize for the first family completely packed for this trip? If so, I win.

I have to have everything packed no later than June 21. You see, this cruise falls smack in the middle of our move from DC to Detroit. Our packers are coming June 22, so anything that I don't have in a suitcase for the cruise will get packed into a box and I won't see it again untill sometime in August. On top of that, DS12 is leaving on a 100 mile canoe trip in MN on 6/25, so he has to also be completely packed for that as well. He'll return 24 hours before we all fly to Barcelona on 7/7. We'll be back from Europe on 7/23, just in time for me to drive the kids to our new house outside of Detroit on 7/24 for hockey tryouts.

In summary, I will be pre-packing camping gear, formal wear, cruise supplies and hockey gear somewhere between 2 weeks and a month ahead of time, then schlepping it all 500 miles in my car.

Have I mentioned that we are boarding our dog in Ohio? Oy. Bartender, what is the Drink of the Day? I'll take 4.

 

[lcsmom]

So will there be a prize for the first family completely packed for this trip? If so, I win.

I have to have everything packed no later than June 21....., then schlepping it all 500 miles in my car.

Have I mentioned that we are boarding our dog in Ohio? Oy. Bartender, what is the Drink of the Day? I'll take 4.

Sk8ingmom, You WIN.

Makes my 3 horse shows, choir camp, and big family 4th of July get together, before we start traveling on the 6th, look easy. We do get home on July 21 and head out for another horse show on the 22nd. I'll probably be doing laundry and packing until we head out the door.

 

[ohMom]

our Rome day has been shortened!!! booo!!!

i am not keeping up with the news, what's going on in Barcelona? oh dear...

i'm ready to get serious. just borrowed a couple suitcases from my parents, that's first on the agenda to figure out the luggage plan. then i think i need to print out a packing list and start getting those incidentals and setting things aside. woohoo!! it's really getting to be time!

you all have so crazy summer schedulings happening....whew...made me tired things are fairly calm at my house in June. my oldest DD (nearly 19) just moved out this weekend so younger DD is changing rooms. my youngest is going on a mission trip June 18-25 so i'll have the week to really get situated for the trip then, for sure, just in case i procrastinate too much!

 

[Kaleigh]

In trying to solidify our transfer for getting back to Barcelona, I had a few questions for the veterans out there. First off, is it recommended to even book this in advance, or better to chance it with grabbing a taxi? Just confused about what time to offer to someone, as I'm not really sure a realistic estimate for when we will be getting off the ship. I know it says 7AM, but can't imagine that everyone actually gets off then? Any advice would be much appreciated =)

You can pretty much get off the boat as early as you want. Taxis are plentiful and metered (aka, they can't cheat you)

Okay, we are getting close now, I have two concerns I would appreciate any and all comments on; 1) I still can't make a decision on a pre and post Cruise Barecelona Hotel and 2) do I have us overbooked on excursions.

I have two main issues with hotels; 1) Do we stay in an upscale international branded hotel (W Barcelona or Hotel Arts) mainly because of ease of use after a long trip, or 2) a smaller more European style hotel in the heart of things (Grand Marina, Praktic Ramblas, Hotel Costanza, or your favorite) for the local flavor. We are there one night before the cruise and will likely be exhausted (we get in about 4pm after leaving LA at 3pm the day before) and two nights afterwards. Doesn't have to be the same hotel for both, I would appreciate any thoughts.

Second concern, here is what our itinerary looks like for the cruise (I chose Disney Excursions because of good experiences in the past and our absolute lack of familiarity with Europe ( I speak passable Los Angeles Spanish, but no other languages);

Malta- Highlights of Malta
Palermo- Palermo and Palazzo Federico
Naples- Mt Vesuvius by 4x4 hike and waine tasting and Pompeii
Rome- Jumping back into Eternal Rome
La Spezia- Florence and Pisa
Corsica- No activities
Villefranche- Monte Carlo and Eze

Like I said, all are Disney excursions (although I am looking at some independent replacements, but they will likely duplicate the Disney excursion if we switch); any of these not worth it? We want to see as much as possible (but not to the point of overload) and although we aren't seasoned "international" travelers, we are pretty seasoned travelers. Again, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

We stayed in Hotel Regina, right of the Place de Catalunya, for 130 a night. It had the comforts we needed, with a touch of character.

We'll join you in the exhausted tent. ABD excursions in every port, for the same reason as you....quality and a once in a lifetime trip.

We're doing Disney excursions in almost every port as well. Who knows if we'll ever be back? We have to make the most of the time we'll have!

As far as excursions go, if you are a smart traveler, you can do Europe on your own and, in my opinion, enjoy it more. Who wants to spend their trip with a bus of other people, waiting on all those who need the restroom, who want to shop, who walk slow? Not me. We were international virgins last year on our Disney cruise and, through a little research, were able to do it by ourselves and saved a bundle. I think you see more because you can move at your own pace. I have a theory that one of the reasons we Americans think of these trips as once in a lifetime is because we spend so much uneccesarily when we do go. If anyone is interested in how to do any port on your own, all the research that I did for last year and this year is compiled on my website/blog. (in my signature) I hope you all have wonderful trips, and if you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to PM me.

 

[lcsmom]

I saw the Rome time change a while back. Why 7 instead of 9? The next day is a sea day. Rome is the one city I was fairly comfortable doing on our own. I thought we had plenty of time to walk past/stroll through several sites after our 10:30 Vatican tour. Now, I'm trying to pick one! On the other hand, Naples is now 9pm. Makes a non-Disney tour much more attractive.
Love the idea of borrowing a suitcase. I wonder if one of my dear, sweet world traveler cousins would lone me one of theirs? Which brings up a question. Is it possible to store large suitcases while on board? This is our fourth cruise, but I've never thought about bringing "the biggest suitcase the airline allows."

 

[PVA]

Got our travel documents on Saturday! One question; the documents indicated that I had not signed my daughter up for any youth activities but could do so on-line. My daughter Peyton is 11 and is planning on the Tween club. Is there something I am missing or do we just sign up when we get there? Thanks!

Paul