August 13, 2011 Med - Mickey's Marauding Mates

[mikki.young]

Great pics peeps!!! Some of you look to be a leeetle craftier than I am!! I can't even hardly put a button back on a shirt!! Well done!!

Mine came from ebay

 

[mikki.young]

Morning all! Has anyone heard of Underthe TuscanSun tours? They are quoting 500 euros to go to Florence and Pisa which is a lot of money (probably the right amount but a lot to risk!)

 

[Anal Annie]

Morning all! Has anyone heard of Underthe TuscanSun tours? They are quoting 500 euros to go to Florence and Pisa which is a lot of money (probably the right amount but a lot to risk!)

Morning Mikki!! I had not heard of them but did a quick search on Trip Advisor to see if there were any reviews and I found this: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187895-d1839131-Reviews-Under_The_Tuscan_Sun_Tours-Florence_Tuscany.html. You might check for them on Frommers & Cruise Critic too to see if you can find anything else but the reviews on TA seemed favorable. I don't have time to look right now 'cuz DS has swim practice this morning & I need to get moving. Maybe I can look some more later...

That IS a lot of money but it seems that port is higher than Rome & Naples for the private tours - probably due to the distance they have to drive to get to Florence?! Maybe?! I had priced romeinlimo.com for that port and for 2 people their price was 550 euro, 3-4 people 600 euro and up to 6 was 650 euro etc. (They do offer a 50 euro discount if you use them in more than 1 port.) But so this place you've found is just a tad bit cheaper. These decisions are hard to make sometimes aren't they?!

OK, gotta run...will check in again later!!

 

[mikki.young]

Thanks Annie. I had seen the trip advisor reviews but am struggling with cruise critic. I may not be searching right! What is frommers?

 

[MallenBeadle]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to add our family to the list of people going on this cruise. Whilst we're been to Disney parks many times, this will be our first cruise adventure

Cruising with me will be DW and two DD's (aged 9 & 5 - by cruise time)

Looking forward to it already

Jon

 

[Anal Annie]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to add our family to the list of people going on this cruise. Whilst we're been to Disney parks many times, this will be our first cruise adventure

Cruising with me will be DW and two DD's (aged 9 & 5 - by cruise time)

Looking forward to it already

Jon

Welcome aboard Jon!! Come chat with us any time!!!! Lots of UK peeps on this boat!!! We're turning into planning FOOLS here now!!

Mikki - I didn't get much time to look at Frommer's yesterday (it's another travel guide) - they publish books and have a website. Anyway, I peeked at their Italy forum a little last night before I went to bed...there wasn't much chatter going on & I tried to search for this tour company you're looking at and I didn't see anything about it. I haven't been on Cruise Critic to search yet...

I got an idea for something to make for our door & went about trying to figure out how to make it. Went to Michael's (a big craft store in the US) to pick up some supplies...if it turns out OK & doesn't look TOO homemade when I'm done I'll post pics!! Like I've said before I am NOT a crafty person so we'll see....give me sharp shiny objects to play with and watch out!!

 

[Joanne Hollyoak]

He looks great!

we might take our pirate gear - we got some for the Pirate and princess party and mine is light enough to pack although dh might just take the headgear!


May 31 by mikki.young@btinternet.com, on Flickr

dh is carrying Figaro while I have the stunt kitten!

Love the photo where was this taken?

 

[mikki.young]

Love the photo where was this taken?

Toontown princess meet and greet during a pirate party (back of the big shop that was there)

 

[Anal Annie]

Hey peeps! What's up?! I am STILL futzing with what insurance to buy. I am just too obsessive sometimes!

50's today & tomorrow here...then 60's on Thursday then supposed to be about 70 on Friday!! Just a few more degrees & I might actually be able to stand working outside in my shirt sleeves.

Out of curiosity I peeked at the DLP website to see how the prices were compared to the package I booked - WOW!! They're not offering any discount right now so what we booked is well over $200 more now. Glad I grabbed that package when I did!! Looked at the DCL website too to see if anything has shown up for Mallorca yet but still nothing. Prices appear to be holding steady for our sail date.

I also wondered how full our ship is so I did a little pretend booking! It appears that most all categories are still available with the exception of Concierge levels and the 4C's. I discovered that the 5C, 4E and 9D categories are now in a GTY status so that's a sign - someone booking those categories now might get an upgrade. The GTY 9D costs less than the 10A's now and there are only 2 more 11B's left. And there was one "secret verandah" Cat 7A open (#6134). Who was it here that said they were in a Cat 7A? Mikki? Was that you? That is a prime room worth snagging since there are only 4 of these with the clear railing (6134, 6634, 7120 and 7620)!!!

I saw Castway_JP post on another thread yesterday...he got moved from the US to Bucharest OK...said he's still waiting on his vacation leave to be approved - hope he's able to come and that he will back to chat with us soon.

Luke - where are you these days??

Jeff??

 

[Kels Sem]

I know I can't believe that they have nothing posted for Majorca yet. I think that there are some UK resident rates available. The other thing I can't believe is that we're getting near the final payment date Has anyone paid in full yet?

 

[mikki.young]

I'm a cat 7 navigator verandah. That was the room with the deal. 6638 I think. Will have to look and see if available to change Update: Not showing as available - mine is the only one on deck 6 it seems.

 

[Goofygoof]

hello peeps,

Cant believe final payment is due next month , its going to be an expensive month we' re travelling Easter time ( just me and DS) to visit family in Egypt Easter tickets were so expensive .
Anyway saw something today in the shop that looks like the fisher extender thingy - i got it just in case as it was cheap - Annie are we doing a FE or not ?

 

[west&east]

Hi Mates,
As Annie informed you, I have been pretty ill the last three weeks. Today is the first day I feel mostly back to myself. Welcome to all the new people joining us on the cruise. I feel so far behind on planning. I was getting very deep into picking a hotel for BCN and then got sick so I have lots to do.

For those of you who don't know me, I am Karen (41) traveling with DH (42) and kids DD(12) and DS(8) at time of cruise. My kids have been on a few cruises but never to Europe and never on Disney. We are huge Disney fans and huge fans of cruising so are super excited. Actually, the kids don't know we are going yet! They know we are headed to BCN but so far we told them that we don't know for sure what we will be doing once we get there. I think we will go ahead and tell them soon. We are also traveling with some good friends with kids of similar ages. I'm still trying to get my friend to join the roll call!

Annie- how do you like your Keurig? I've had one for a couple of years now and really wish I bought some stock in the company. They are going gangbusters especially with the recent news that Starbucks will be making k-cups!

Glad to be back in the mix. Take care everybody.

 

[Anal Annie]

I know I can't believe that they have nothing posted for Majorca yet. I think that there are some UK resident rates available. The other thing I can't believe is that we're getting near the final payment date Has anyone paid in full yet?

NO!! But I'm certainly thinking about it!! I am torn on how to pay. I have a "vacation account" that I have the money stashed in right now & I COULD pay directly from there... But if I put it on my Mastercard (which is what we used for our deposits) we could get some additional travel insurance...it involves 2 different banks tho. Problem is that the Mastercard card is melting bcuz I've been using it so much lately!! Anybody need a Redskins ticket?! DH got the bill for those & still has 1 to sell 'cuz the couple that usually took a pair just had another baby so they opted out for next year. And now the stoooopid NFL may not even play but we still gotta pay for the tix up front! Those tix drive me crazy!! I close my eyes & see $$ signs floating out the window!!

I'm a cat 7 navigator verandah. That was the room with the deal. 6638 I think. Will have to look and see if available to change Update: Not showing as available - mine is the only one on deck 6 it seems.

Darn - somebody must've snatched it up - it's a sweet deal. Too bad.

hello peeps,

Cant believe final payment is due next month , its going to be an expensive month we' re travelling Easter time ( just me and DS) to visit family in Egypt Easter tickets were so expensive .
Anyway saw something today in the shop that looks like the fisher extender thingy - i got it just in case as it was cheap - Annie are we doing a FE or not ?

I don't know!! Just 'cuz I come out here & blabber on & on everyday doesn't mean I'm in charge!! We still didn't get everyone to weigh in with a yes or a no... I think we're all torn about it.

Hi Mates,
As Annie informed you, I have been pretty ill the last three weeks. Today is the first day I feel mostly back to myself. Welcome to all the new people joining us on the cruise. I feel so far behind on planning. I was getting very deep into picking a hotel for BCN and then got sick so I have lots to do.

For those of you who don't know me, I am Karen (41) traveling with DH (42) and kids DD(12) and DS(8) at time of cruise. My kids have been on a few cruises but never to Europe and never on Disney. We are huge Disney fans and huge fans of cruising so are super excited. Actually, the kids don't know we are going yet! They know we are headed to BCN but so far we told them that we don't know for sure what we will be doing once we get there. I think we will go ahead and tell them soon. We are also traveling with some good friends with kids of similar ages. I'm still trying to get my friend to join the roll call!

Annie- how do you like your Keurig? I've had one for a couple of years now and really wish I bought some stock in the company. They are going gangbusters especially with the recent news that Starbucks will be making k-cups!

Glad to be back in the mix. Take care everybody.

YAY! Karen's back!! Hope you are feeling better!!

We're liking the Keurig BUT it's certainly a lot more expensive than buying the bulk thing of Folger's at Costco!! GOODNESS it's not cheap stuff!! I ordered 2 large 108-count cartons from Costco (no tax or shipping) for about $53 each! Holy Moly tho!! I like the Kona blend and DH is partial to the Newman's. He really liked the Emeril's that we tried too but I haven't found it in bulk for as cheap as the others yet. Where do you get your k-cups from?! I refuse to just buy those little boxes of 18.

 

[west&east]

Annie, I get our k-cups mostly from Costco- the Neuman's Own stuff. I do buy some of the small boxes of the more specialty stuff- chai latte that my dd loves, green tea that I like sometimes, or some flavors here and there for company. I used to have the subscribe&save from amazon for the tullys french roast but then it got discontinued. If there is a flavor you really like, you might want to check out the subcribe&save from amazon.

What's the deal with the Redskins ticket? Is it a season ticket? Just one? DH may be interested in tix to individual games...

 

[Anal Annie]

Annie, I get our k-cups mostly from Costco- the Neuman's Own stuff. I do buy some of the small boxes of the more specialty stuff- chai latte that my dd loves, green tea that I like sometimes, or some flavors here and there for company. I used to have the subscribe&save from amazon for the tullys french roast but then it got discontinued. If there is a flavor you really like, you might want to check out the subcribe&save from amazon.

What's the deal with the Redskins ticket? Is it a season ticket? Just one? DH may be interested in tix to individual games...

Thanks - I will look at the amazon thing sometime. I am pretty stocked up for the moment tho.

Redskins ticket - yes - just one! DH has 4 seats and it was always him, our neighbor and this couple that we know. Well, she just had a 2nd kid in January so when the invoice came they said they couldn't take them this year. So then DH asked his brother if he wanted 1 of them - he is in the Army - currently stationed in Laurel at Ft. Meade...not sure how long they will be here tho...but he loves the Redskins too....so it ended up that he split 1 ticket with the guy from the couple so that they'll each have however many games. I guess there's 8 home games right, so 4 games each. The seats are in the lower level of the stadium smack dab IN one of the end zones. So DH is looking for 1 other person...he said he has a guy at work who is also interested in maybe splitting the other tix with someone - but at the moment there is nobody else and this guy hasn't committed yet one way or the other! I don't know how they're gonna figure out who gets which games...I think DH was gonna let them talk that out...And of course there's no schedule yet...and now who knows about the season. Usually they all met up somewhere to carpool 'cuz there's only 1 parking permit (the couple lives in VA). With the parking & the taxes & service fees & all the crap that they add in etc. each seat comes to $1,182.75!! ($87.50 of that is parking 'cuz the whole season of parking is $350! CRAZY huh?! That could be backed out if someone wasn't interested in carpooling...but then I don't know where they'd park?!) But so anyway if your DH is interested in the whole tix or even in splitting with this other guy or something I could have DH lean on the guy at his work about making a decision!! (That would be a long way to drive for a game!! )

 

[west&east]

DH has a plant in Fredericksburg that he has to check on regularly. He has the ability to coordinate the plant visit with games...
He's on the road this week but I will mention it to him and see if he's interested. He is a diehard fan and of course the guys can get to know eachother on our trip! DH has been so busy lately that I'm not sure how aware he is of the NFL issues. Actually, who am I kidding. I am sure he is more on top of it then the Japan earthquake/ tsunami!

 

[Anal Annie]

DH has a plant in Fredericksburg that he has to check on regularly. He has the ability to coordinate the plant visit with games...He's on the road this week but I will mention it to him and see if he's interested. He is a diehard fan and of course the guys can get to know eachother on our trip! DH has been so busy lately that I'm not sure how aware he is of the NFL issues. Actually, who am I kidding. I am sure he is more on top of it then the Japan earthquake/ tsunami!

Oh THAT would be really SLICK!!! I think DH said whoever splits they would each get an equal # of Division games (whatever that means). Last year's schedule sorta sucked in that they had 3 night games and they were all home (2 Sunday & 1 Monday)!! DH HATES those!! I think they usually only have like 2 night games so that was weird. But he doesn't get home until like 2:00 am from those so it makes the next day rough. Let me know!!

 

[jd99]

Hullllllooooo

Long time not chat.

Been really busy with work and enjoying the one sport I follow like a lunatic. College basketball in general and Pitt Panther college basketball specifically. Was supposed to go to the first round of the NCAAs this weekend in Cleveland but then Pitt got placed unexpectedly in Washington DC. Games are Thursday/Saturday which just doesn't work for me so I can't make it down there Annie!

The cruise has to be paid off next month? Yikes. I have to make a travel insurance decision before then. Last year we got a policy (through insuremytrip.com) pretty reasonable cost - but this year it seems to be MUCH higher. But I think I have to get it before I pay off....

We have most of our arrangements made.
Air to Athens - check
Hotel on the Greek island (Andros) - check
Hotel in Athens - still deciding
Air from Athens to Barcelona - check
Hotel in Barcelona - Check
--A note - we were able to get a room for all four of us at the Hotel Arts this year. Not sure why they changed their policy but this year it worked and was reasonable - esp. for that hotel!
Travel insurance - still contemplating.
Cruise payoff - guess it's just about time, huh?
Excursions - haven't even looked yet but we started talking about what everyone wants to do over the weekend.

Alright - back to work for me! Now that I learned I have to pay soon for this trip....

 

[MallenBeadle]

Just thought you would all like to know what's on the news in the UK at the moment in case anyone was worrying

Spanish airport strikes called off

"A strike by Spanish airport workers has been called off after a preliminary deal was reached between the airport authority AENA, and trade unions."

Jon

PS : My wife's name is Amanda & DD(9) is Charlotte & DD(4 - but will be 5 by August) is called Katie if you want to update your front page