April 10 2010 Disney Magic EBTA "Bound for Barcelona" - Part 5

[bound2travel]

I even have a photo of an older man riding a bike in Barcelona, Spain ....... NAKED!!! Annette almost choked on her water.

I'll post more later.

Now how did I miss that?

Kristi

 

[bound2travel]

Hi everyone, I'm posting from the hotel in London. I don't fly home until tomorrow (Thurs). Unfortuantely, I have a terrible cough and finally hit the wall with it. Instead of doing fun stuff in London, I'm stuck here at the hotel trying to rest so that the flight home tomorrow won't be a terrible as I am fearing.

Why couldn't the cough show up on Friday?

Anyway, I had a great time on the cruise and a pretty good 3 days in London. I spent Sunday visiting my cousin in Newark (near Nottingham). I got there by a train at King's Cross. Monday was the British Museum (exhausting) and going back to King's Cross to find platform 9 3/4. It's pretty cool and these guys took my picture "pushing" the trolley through the platform - lol. Tuesday was the Tower of London. I didn't get there as early as I wanted because I wasn't feeling good. The crown jewels are quite something to see. I had to keep resting because of all the dang stairs - haven't they heard of elevators? LOL

Well, my time is almost up on the internet. I'll try to post more when I get home and get to feeling better.

Kristi

 

[KrisannB]

Just a quick hello to everyone - not home yet - Disneyland Paris was great - the hotel (Marriott Villages was WONDERFUL - thanks to whoever told me about it!)

We buy insurance everytime we travel and I have never had to use it - on this one trip 3 issues - one being we are in Nashville instead of home as I should be - but food, hotel, etc. are all taken care of through the insurance - and hubby has a MIA bag which looks like will not be found - how can you loose a bag on a direct flight!

Off to breakfast - I have been up since 4:30 am - my times are screwed up - I did not know 4:30 am really existed in Tennessee!

Krisann

 

[katypop]

So sad to be home. Stayed in Barcelona Saturday night, thank goodness. Flights home were OK except the 3 hour delay in Chicago. Swiss Air is great!
This was the first cruise that we went on and had conversed on the disboard. It made all the difference in the world. We had such a great time. It was amazing how many more things we enjoyed just because we had new friends to enjoy them with.
Because of the fabulous time we had, we scraped the Pannama cruise and are doing the repo from LA to Vancouver and the first Alaska cruise. Why you ask? We know people that are doing it too (Jackie and Monica). So thanks to our table mates, Linda, Dee, Kathy, & Carla. Our new afternoon friends, Jackie, Monica, Pam, Kathy(again). Of course handsome Daniel, Doug, Holly, & Ponz.
Why isn't there a amimal towel on the bed and a chocolate on my pillow? Oh yeah, I'm home.
Cheers, Jennifer

Yay, looking forward to seeing you guys next year!

Glad you made it home safe and sound!

Kathe

 

[katypop]

Just a quick hello to everyone - not home yet - Disneyland Paris was great - the hotel (Marriott Villages was WONDERFUL - thanks to whoever told me about it!)

We buy insurance everytime we travel and I have never had to use it - on this one trip 3 issues - one being we are in Nashville instead of home as I should be - but food, hotel, etc. are all taken care of through the insurance - and hubby has a MIA bag which looks like will not be found - how can you loose a bag on a direct flight!

Off to breakfast - I have been up since 4:30 am - my times are screwed up - I did not know 4:30 am really existed in Tennessee!

Krisann

Krisann, I'm glad you enjoyed Disneyland Paris! Sorry you have needed your insurance, but glad you had it. I thought I had lost a bag for a few minutes too, but it turned up. Someone must have collected it by accident, realized it wasn't theirs and just left it where they were Nothing was missing, I would have been very upset if my Ducky pic had been gone Hope your hubby's bag shows up.

 

[katypop]

It's 5 o'clock here...why aren't we at Diversions having a cocktail?

.

Or a Guinness

 

[Beauty & the Best]

Hi all!
We just got home today from 3 days in Madrid and 1 night at the ASMO before we picked up our dog today.
Madrid was just wonderful and we had smooth sailing taking the train from Barcelona & getting to our hotel. Really enjoyed staying in that city - it is more like Paris than Barcelona...more of a cultured feel I guess and we will be back someday.
We absolutely loved our 1st disney cruise! We will continue cruising on other lines but whenever the opportunity arises, we would love to cruise on dcl again - probably w/ a longer itinerary like another TA or better yet, a panama canal cruise.
Thanks to everyone who organized and printed lanyards - it made it much easier to spot the friendly faces. And it was so nice meeting everyone!

Here's hoping we'll sail w/ each other in the future!!

Liz

p.s. Who else almost cried at the "Remember the Magic" show??

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

Hi Everyone!

I inadvertently created a trip report thread for our trip. If you are interested in visiting and adding your thoughts, you can find it here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2454017

Happy Wednesday!

 

[StaciJo]

Did anyone else have issues on the way home because their passport wasn't stamped in Barcelona when they got off the boat? There were several folks from the cruise on our flights home, and most said that either the customs folks didn't notice or questioned them and let them go by. The Switzerland (yes, I know going home via Switzerland isn't even close to direct) customs folks were completely weirded out Sunday morning by our family with no stamps whatsoever in their passports. They wanted to know how we got there - we were in that portion of the airport that clearly indicated we just flew there, so I'm not sure what answer they were expecting (we dug our way there??). At one point, the flustered customs person asked us if we were citizens of Switzerland, despite our US passports. After we explained the transatlantic cruise, and how there were no customs official there to stamp our passports, they wanted to know if we had proof of our cruise. I offered the proof of my Disney Transatlantic Cruise sweatshirt, complete with dates, but that was not sufficient. I, of course, had packed everything we wouldn't need on the flights home, as it made little sense to carry our cruise tickets home in my purse. My in-laws had fortunately taken the flight to Switzerland with us, and were able to produce their bill from the cruise. We were informed that this was NOT sufficient, however (only a cruise ticket would do), and we were sent off with the customs police, who came to collect us and brought us to a special area to wait while they figured things out. This seemed like cruel and unusual punishment, as it was by a restroom, but we'd been told to not leave that spot, so we just got to stare at the restroom. Twenty minutes later, the customs police woman came out and told us that they were going to let us go back to the US, but refused to stamp our passport, as there was no proof that we were there in Switzerland legitimately. Riiiight. We barely caught our 100% full flight to the US (so full DH had to/got to sit in a different row than me and DD5), but it worked out ok. I was just confused: I know lots of folks took flights home via Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday - how could they have not come across this problem yet?? There's no way we were the first ones they came across. Were we just the only ones to get a customs person who noticed and cared enough to call the customs police folks over? And really, did they think that I am crafty and talented enough to make that sweatshirt myself??

Anyway, we're home, and as a bonus, our last bag finally made it home last night. I'm still completely unsure of the time of day, as I'm positive my clock keeps lying to me, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. This was the first cruise where I did not spend days convinced that the land was moving afterward. What an absolutely fantastic vacation, made all the better by all the wonderful folks we met beforehand. Thank you all for making our trip that much better.

Staci

 

[JLSE50]

The customs official at the Barcelona airport seemed surprised that we had no customs stamp but he did not add one. New passports and no stamps. We did get one in Atlanta though when we got to US soil.

 

[stlkeeler]

The customs official at the Barcelona airport seemed surprised that we had no customs stamp but he did not add one. New passports and no stamps. We did get one in Atlanta though when we got to US soil.

The customs person in BCN asked me about the stamp. He kept saying, "No stamp? No stamp?" I just said, "No stamp" and he stamped my passport and let me go through. So, I have one from BCN and Atlanta.

Did anyone have any trouble because of the volcano?

I downloaded all my pics to my photobucket account, if anyone is interested. I did it quick as I didn't have much time. I need to go back and add discriptions but if you want any, you're welcome to copy them. The link is in my siggie.

 

[annekevdbroek]

Just got home last night. The cruise was awesome. It was our first cruise and we will be taking another for sure. After the cruise we caught a flight from Barcelona to Seville, where we stayed for 3 nights. We caught the last night or so of the April Festival in Seville, which was AMAZING. I love Seville - this was our second visit to the city this year.

Did anyone else find the lines at the Barcelona airport to be out of control? There was self check-in but it didn't seem to work for anyone and as a result we stood in line for something like 90 minutes to check-in. Otherwise the flight to Seville was quick. We had no issues with passport stamps. After Seville we headed to Rota (a navy base near Cadiz) and got a military flight home, which was also uneventuful and suprisingly also left on time.

Today I am still unpacking and trying to restore order. The 6 year old woke up at 2 a.m this morning thanks to jetlag, so I am anticipating an afternoon full of meltdowns.

 

[katypop]

Hi all!
We just got home today from 3 days in Madrid and 1 night at the ASMO before we picked up our dog today.
Madrid was just wonderful and we had smooth sailing taking the train from Barcelona & getting to our hotel. Really enjoyed staying in that city - it is more like Paris than Barcelona...more of a cultured feel I guess and we will be back someday.
We absolutely loved our 1st disney cruise! We will continue cruising on other lines but whenever the opportunity arises, we would love to cruise on dcl again - probably w/ a longer itinerary like another TA or better yet, a panama canal cruise.
Thanks to everyone who organized and printed lanyards - it made it much easier to spot the friendly faces. And it was so nice meeting everyone!

Here's hoping we'll sail w/ each other in the future!!

Liz

p.s. Who else almost cried at the "Remember the Magic" show??

Welcome home Liz! It was a pleasure meeting you and your hubby Glad you enjoyed your extended stay in Madrid. Hope we sail together again some day.

Kathe

 

[joius24]

Did anyone else have issues on the way home because their passport wasn't stamped in Barcelona when they got off the boat?
Staci

Yes Staci
Some of the dissers on our flight were questioned and others (like me) were not at all.... not consistent ....
Sorry you had trouble and glad you are home safe..
I agree... Dissers were a great part of my trip!

 

[katypop]

Staci,

Sorry you had so much trouble

I flew Barcelona to Frankfurt to Toronto without incident. They stamped my passport in Frankfurt and sent me on my way.

 

[katypop]

The customs person in BCN asked me about the stamp. He kept saying, "No stamp? No stamp?" I just said, "No stamp" and he stamped my passport and let me go through. So, I have one from BCN and Atlanta.

Did anyone have any trouble because of the volcano?

I downloaded all my pics to my photobucket account, if anyone is interested. I did it quick as I didn't have much time. I need to go back and add discriptions but if you want any, you're welcome to copy them. The link is in my siggie.

Hi Linda,

Welcome home! Thanks for sharing your pics,sure wish I was back onboard!

 

[kileybeth]

We were given a stamp at BCN without incident and again in Dublin as we transferred once we touched down in JFK as well. I had given my passport to Guest Services on the ship to try and get stamps at our Ports of Call but no go (I could almost tell when I turned it in they were not even going to try.) We had done this on the 7nite west carribbean and it worked beautifully) Oh well.

So sorry for the trouble some had. We had an incident years ago shortly after 9/11 with our kids and Canada of all places. Totally our fault and a funny story with our then 7 year old. We were drving back from Minnesota and decided to go by Niagra Falls. Crossed over in Michigan someplace no problem. Coming home totally forgot we had no ID with us for the 4 children we had with us. One child offered up his library card (so cute) but the real kicker was when they hauled us inside and looked at our very tired, travel weary crew; they picked our 7 year old daughter to question and asked her "do you know these people?" (meaning us) as they pointed over her head. She turned around, saw another group of people and said in a very loud, very clear, very nervous voice "I have never seen them in my life!" oiy!

Today almost feels normal! Makes me rather sad. Finally emptied the suitcases yesterday. The laundry is today's chore. And on to planning our WDW Dec trip I guess. Not quite a cruise but better then nothing right?

 

[woody73]

What a terrific cruise! We enjoyed seeing so many people from prior cruises, and meeting new people too.

We're still traveling through Spain, but miss being on the ship.

Thank you to those who left FE items for our friends' son. He really enjoyed the many gifts.

Woody

 

[Missymowse]

Back to Reality......Reality Bites!! Disney is all that matters .
Back from three days in Dublin and a VERY long flight home.
I just wanted to say Thank You to everyone for everything.
My husband is still looking for the person who told me to put the green tags on our luggage before we left home; Warning: he'd like to kiss you!!
We did have a most amazing time. I have been to Disney 15+ times and never thought I'd find a vacation to top it but this was unbelieveable. Despite the fact that they lost my child, my bathroom filled with raw sewage and my CC denied my room charges (this last one was easily rectified with a nasty phone call to add to the three I made before I left home!!) I would do this again in a heartbeat (and just priced next years which unfortunately does NOT coincide with our April vacation) Anyone else thinking ahead??
I hope everyone came home to find things just as they left them and had the safest of trips. I hope all still onboard are enjoying for the rest of us!!
I wish I had had time to do more "DIS" stuff and meet more of you....Next time!! Thanx for all you do to make others vacation all the more special!! You guys ROCK!!

 

[realfam]

We got home monday night after spending a few extra days in Barcelona.
What an amazing cruise It was a pleasure meeting some of you and wanted to thank everyone that participated in FE group 1 for there fantastic FE gifts. My kids loved everything, and we have many memories of our DIS friends thorughout the house now.
Look forward to cruising with some of you again in the future. We booked onto the Dream while aboard for next August 28, 2011