All Good Things Come To Those That Wait - A Pre-trip Report

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Oh what a lovely day it's going to be! I love it when you have been somewhere before actually. You get to enjoy it so much more imao. You can relax and take in the finer details! It looks a lovely stop. I look forward to reading about it

I love 'The Dig' at The Atlantis and this looks like it blows that out the water excuse the pun!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Great waistcoats, they'll look fab.

Thanks

Oh what a lovely day it's going to be! I love it when you have been somewhere before actually. You get to enjoy it so much more imao. You can relax and take in the finer details! It looks a lovely stop. I look forward to reading about it

I love 'The Dig' at The Atlantis and this looks like it blows that out the water excuse the pun!

I really looking forward to finally getting the chance to properly explore Chankanaab. All the previous visits consisted on an animal interaction of some kind, some time spend snorkeling and a dip in the fresh water pool. I have to admit I almost caved and actually looked at the deals they have for the dolphin interactions, but I stayed strong.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

This is slightly off topic, but then again I plan booking this while I am on this cruise so it sort of fits. I am so excited, I am ready to burst.

Disney Cruise Line has finally released the itineraries for summer 2015 today and I spotted the perfect cruise when browsing the itineraries. Strange enough it is a 15 night Transatlantic, which we normally never would have seriously considered, but the itinerary is something special. The cruise sets sail from Port Canaveral then calls at New York; St. John's, Newfoundland; Reyjavic; Oslo and finishes with an overnight stop in Copenhagen. Unless the prices are absolutely crazy, we will book this when we are on the Wonder in May.

I am now not so patiently waiting for the autumn itineraries. We are thinking about doing both the Eastbound and Westbound Transatlantic to save on flights as a return ticket to the USA is much cheaper than a one-way.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

This is slightly off topic, but then again I plan booking this while I am on this cruise so it sort of fits. I am so excited, I am ready to burst.

Disney Cruise Line has finally released the itineraries for summer 2015 today and I spotted the perfect cruise when browsing the itineraries. Strange enough it is a 15 night Transatlantic, which we normally never would have seriously considered, but the itinerary is something special. The cruise sets sail from Port Canaveral then calls at New York; St. John's, Newfoundland; Reyjavic; Oslo and finishes with an overnight stop in Copenhagen. Unless the prices are absolutely crazy, we will book this when we are on the Wonder in May.

I am now not so patiently waiting for the autumn itineraries. We are thinking about doing both the Eastbound and Westbound Transatlantic to save on flights as a return ticket to the USA is much cheaper than a one-way.

Corinna

That cruise does look amazing doesn't it!

 

[dolphingirl47]

That cruise does look amazing doesn't it!

It sure does. I have been watching the opening day pricing thread to get an idea and somebody just reported a 11A for two adults at $3293.18, which is right at the top end of my budget.

Corinna

 

[Chilly]

I liked the look of that TA cruise as well.

Speaking of the 2015 cruises I was showing them to DH last night and he's now changed his mind and will consider doing a PC cruise one year, yeah!

I'm loving all the 2015 cruises and hope they do them again in future years as we won't be cruising next year we're WDW bound.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I liked the look of that TA cruise as well.

Speaking of the 2015 cruises I was showing them to DH last night and he's now changed his mind and will consider doing a PC cruise one year, yeah!

I'm loving all the 2015 cruises and hope they do them again in future years as we won't be cruising next year we're WDW bound.

That is great news that your DH is now considering a PC cruise. It really is an amazing cruise and this is the one itinerary that you can be pretty sure to be returning. They can't make the Mexican cruises work and Alaska seems to be very successful for them. So they logical consequence is that there are two Panama Canal crossings a year.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

It sure does. I have been watching the opening day pricing thread to get an idea and somebody just reported a 11A for two adults at $3293.18, which is right at the top end of my budget.

Corinna

Wow, that is a lot more than I was expecting. For the WBTA I have booked opening day prices for the inside cabins was about $1200, some got it for even less by switching an onboard booking. I booked an Oceanview about a week later for $2100. Sadly I'm going to have to cancel it, my eyes ended up being bigger than my wallet this year. A TA will have to remain on my bucket list a little longer.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Wow, that is a lot more than I was expecting. For the WBTA I have booked opening day prices for the inside cabins was about $1200, some got it for even less by switching an onboard booking. I booked an Oceanview about a week later for $2100. Sadly I'm going to have to cancel it, my eyes ended up being bigger than my wallet this year. A TA will have to remain on my bucket list a little longer.

Oh, what a shame that you won't get to do the WBTA this year. Maybe it will work out for next year. I would love cruising with you.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Cartagena has been on my bucket list for a long time and I am really excited that I finally get to see this. I have always been interested in history and Cartagena has this in spades. Cartagena is also well known for its rough Emeralds and I am hoping that I will be able to find a nice one that will feature in a piece of custom jewellery at some point.



Cartagena has two drawbacks. It is in Colombia, which is not precisely the world's safest place. The tourist areas of Cartagena are meant to be OK, but it is not recommended to stray off the beaten path. I have also heard and read that street vendors are plentiful in Cartagena and can be pretty aggressive. For both of those reasons, we have decided to go with a Disney Cruise Line Excursion.

I had originally planned on booking the Historic Cartagena and Old Town Walking Tour, but there was one thing that I really wanted to see, which was not included in this tour. This is the La Popa Monastery. I have seen photos of La Popa Monastery and the buildings look really beautiful. The main reason I wanted to go there though is that the views over the city and port are meant to be absolutely stunning.





La Popa Monastery is going to be our first stop. Then it is off to the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas, which is meant to be the most important work of Spanish Military engineering in South America. We are just having a photo stop there.



The next proper stop is Las Bovedas, which are the former dungeons. At one point, this was also the armoury. Today it is a craft and souvenir market. I have read on Trip Advisor that this is a good place to get Emeralds so I will have a look for those.



We will then have a look at the Church of San Pedro Claver and the narrow streets and squares in this area. Apart from La Popa Monastery, this is the element that I am looking forward to the most. We are then moving on to the Naval Museum, where we will watch a traditional folkloric show and get some refreshments. I am not quite sure what I will make of this, but I will go there with an open mind.





The tour finishes with half an hour free time in the Old City. This is the part of the tour that I am looking forward to the least. This is probably where we will be swamped with street vendors. After this, it is back to the ship. I think this is a nice variety of points of interest.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I agree that TA cruise looks great. If you think those prices are high you should see the Norway prices! Omg! I nearly fell off my chair. Surely there is a surplus zero on the end....

Cartagena looks nice but glad you are doing DCL excursion. Very wise move. I just adore emeralds I hope you bag a lovely specimen complimentary to your lovely dresses. It would be nice to get little emeralds too and decorate a bow tie for Graham!

That Monastery looks well worth a visit

 

[Chilly]

It looks a beautiful city. I think it was this stop that interested my DH the most about a PC cruise.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I agree that TA cruise looks great. If you think those prices are high you should see the Norway prices! Omg! I nearly fell off my chair. Surely there is a surplus zero on the end....

Cartagena looks nice but glad you are doing DCL excursion. Very wise move. I just adore emeralds I hope you bag a lovely specimen complimentary to your lovely dresses. It would be nice to get little emeralds too and decorate a bow tie for Graham!

That Monastery looks well worth a visit

I know. Those prices are insane. Graham quite liked the Copenhagen to Dover repositioning itinerary, but the prices for that are just silly.

I am really looking forward to Cartagena, but I would not do it by myself. Funnily enough, our neighbour across the hall is from Cartagena, but we have not seen him since we booked that cruise.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for a nice rough emerald that does not break the bank. I love the idea with the bowtie.

It looks a beautiful city. I think it was this stop that interested my DH the most about a PC cruise.

This was definitely the main pull for me apart from the actual crossing. When we did the cruise in 2011, we had an overnight stop in Aruba as we could not dock at Castaway Cay because of high winds and then stopped at Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Manzanillo, Puerto Vallerta and Cabo San Lucas. I would have loved to get another chance to see Costa Rica, Cartagena is a big attraction for me.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

We did Cartagena on the EBPC on the Magic in'08. We were greeted in the port by traditional dancers, then went on a tour almost exactly the same as you! The monastery very indeed very beautiful!

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh, what a shame that you won't get to do the WBTA this year. Maybe it will work out for next year. I would love cruising with you.

Corinna

I would love to cruise with you too, I know it's just a matter of time for dates to cross

I thought long and hard about the WBTA and it was a hard decision to come to. For a while I knew it should be the Fantasy or the WBTA and the Fantasy won out per mom's request. I'm still quite sad about it but know it was the right decision from the financial point of view.

 

[Pinkocto]

I love the look of that tour, I think those historical buildings are so beautiful.

I hope you can find an emerald without much trouble

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice looking tour for Cartagena and I'm jealous that you get to go emerald shopping. Hope you find something real nice.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

The Roy O Disney suite is only $48,000 on the Denmark to Dover cruise you like. Quick get in early to avoid disappointment...

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Roy O Disney suite is only $48,000 on the Denmark to Dover cruise you like. Quick get in early to avoid disappointment...

There's at least 3 x zero's too many there for me.

 

[Pinkocto]

The Roy O Disney suite is only $48,000 on the Denmark to Dover cruise you like. Quick get in early to avoid disappointment...

I needed a good belly laugh!