August 28, 2010 Pirates of the Barbary Coast - 11 nights in the Mediterranean

[CustardTart]

Hi yes there is my son sister and I!:: We went in 2007 and just luved it!!!! so here we are going to Med : 2010 see you soon!

aboard!!!!!!!

 

[eva]

Nearly on page 4, so I thought I would give us a little bump.

 

[CustardTart]

And a *bump* from me too...

 

[eva]

Yikes! On page 3 again.

Karen, Hope your building project is moving along. Looks like we are pretty busy right now. I guess there isn't much planning we can do until it gets closer to making reservations for Palo and excursions. Still quite some time for that.

 

[CustardTart]

Yikes! On page 3 again.

Karen, Hope your building project is moving along. Looks like we are pretty busy right now. I guess there isn't much planning we can do until it gets closer to making reservations for Palo and excursions. Still quite some time for that.

Hi Eva! Hope you guys are good... Would you believe our flippin' building project has come to yet another temporary halt as we've had some issues with the construction (thanks to our hapless architect - I could cheerfully smack that man - hard!!! ) which have raised concerns with the Building Control officer. And he's the local official you have to keep sweet...

Sooo, the architect has to produce some revisions on paper and have those approved before work can get underway. Which takes time. Which delays the build yet again. Which costs money. Which p's me off. Well, you get the gist!!!

On top of that, Samuel had to have an operation yesterday. Nothing too major but he had to go under general anaesthetic which is always a worry for a Ma.. Fortunately, it went well and he's home recuperating now so that's one less thing to worry about...

Anyway, that's life in a nutshell at Taylor Towers!!! And I really don't think this cruise can come a moment too soon...

 

[eva]

And I really don't think this cruise can come a moment too soon...

I totally agree! I just got a new boss and he has doubled all our metrics. Wouldn't be so bad if the extra work doubled our pay!

 

[eva]

Giving us a little bump.

I was just looking at weather.com to get some idea of what type of weather to expect in most of our ports. I took numbers from August and September since the cruise will likely be an average of the two numbers. Here's a bit of what I found:

Barcelona
Average Highs - 82 August, 78 September
Average Lows - 67 August, 62 September
Precip - 1.4" August, 2.5" September

Tunis
Average Highs - 90 August, 85 September
Average Lows - 69 August, 66 September
Precip - .3" August, 1.3" September

Naples
Average Highs - 85 August, 79 September
Average Lows - 64 August, 59 September
Precip - 1.6" August, 3.9" September

Rome
Average Highs - 87 August, 81 September
Average Lows - 62 August, 57 September
Precip - 1.4" August, 3.0" September

Villefranche
Average Highs - 80 August, 75 September
Average Lows - 68 August, 63 September
Precip - 1.2" August, 2.6" September

 

[CustardTart]

Temperatures in the 80s sound sooo good to me right now!!! I am so sick of this winter - it seems to have been going on forever...

 

[eva]

Temperatures in the 80s sound sooo good to me right now!!! I am so sick of this winter - it seems to have been going on forever...

I was thinking the exact same thing. We got another 3" of snow last night. I am so tired of snow and cold weather. It also appears that the weather won't be too awful hot on the cruise. Tunis may be in the 90's. But unless that time of year is unseasonable warm in the Med, it looks like we will be having fabulous weather in the low 80's. But be prepared for it to be a bit cooler too. When we went the second and third week of September on our ABD tour of Itay it was in the low 80's the first week, but the high's were around 70 the second week. We even needed jackets during the afternoon on some days.

 

[CustardTart]

Giving us a little *bump* as we're on page 4!!!

Eva, I've just realised I didn't get back to you about Richard and I joining you and Steve on your tour of Cinque Terre!!! I am SO sorry!!! I have been a little preoccupied lately and I'm ashamed to say it totally slipped my mind. I will definitely talk to Richard about it when he gets back from seeing his family later today..

Anyway, it looks like we're at around the 6 months stage - in fact, my DCL countdown says it's 181 days until we set sail!!!

I need to remind my son to make a FINAL decision about this cruise as I still haven't cancelled his reservation and it can't be too long before we need to make that final payment...

 

[eva]

Giving us a little *bump* as we're on page 4!!!

Eva, I've just realised I didn't get back to you about Richard and I joining you and Steve on your tour of Cinque Terre!!! I am SO sorry!!! I have been a little preoccupied lately and I'm ashamed to say it totally slipped my mind. I will definitely talk to Richard about it when he gets back from seeing his family later today..

Anyway, it looks like we're at around the 6 months stage - in fact, my DCL countdown says it's 181 days until we set sail!!!

I need to remind my son to make a FINAL decision about this cruise as I still haven't cancelled his reservation and it can't be too long before we need to make that final payment...

That's right, you can make reservations for Palo and excursions at 105 days out. My countdown for the first day of the cruise says 181 days too. That gives you about 75 days to get that taken care of. Time sure is going by fast. It's amazing that we are less than half a year away.

Do you still want to link reservations for dinner? If so, maybe we ought to see which night each of us is doing Palo. We may want to make sure they are on different nights. When we linked reservations with two people in the past, they gave us a table to ourselves. If that happens and we both make Palo reservations on different nights, we will each get at least two nights of dinner as a couple. Hope that makes sense.

If Samuel is going to go, let me know. I will need to change the Amalfi excursion to 5 people.

I can't believe that it is only 63 days till we leave for WDW.

 

[CustardTart]

That's right, you can make reservations for Palo and excursions at 105 days out. My countdown for the first day of the cruise says 181 days too. That gives you about 75 days to get that taken care of. Time sure is going by fast. It's amazing that we are less than half a year away.

And worthy of a glass of wine, I think!!! Cheers!!!

Do you still want to link reservations for dinner? If so, maybe we ought to see which night each of us is doing Palo. We may want to make sure they are on different nights. When we linked reservations with two people in the past, they gave us a table to ourselves. If that happens and we both make Palo reservations on different nights, we will each get at least two nights of dinner as a couple. Hope that makes sense.

That would be great!!! What night were you thinking of going to Palo? We were considering Pirate Night as it's our least fave menu but happy to be flexible...

If Samuel is going to go, let me know. I will need to change the Amalfi excursion to 5 people.

Will do. He said recently that if he did join us he'd be more than keen to just stay on the Magic when we go on excursions.

However I'm not so sure he will - especially as his brother asked last weekend if he could return home in May!!! If Matty's around I can imagine Samuel would prefer to stay home. I think I'd like him to as well - then it's possible the dogs wouldn't have to go into kennels which would save us a pretty penny!!!

I can't believe that it is only 63 days till we leave for WDW.

That's not long at all - how exciting!!! I don't know about you but it seems like it's been a l-o-n-g winter to me!!! Did you go for the Yacht/Beach Club in the end - my brain's all mushy and I don't remember!!

My girl friend and I celebrated our '99 days until WDW' milestone with lunch and a couple of white wine spritzers on Wednesday!!!

 

[eva]

And worthy of a glass of wine, I think!!! Cheers!!!

It's morning here. But I will be sure to have a couple glasses with dineer tonight!

That would be great!!! What night were you thinking of going to Palo? We were considering Pirate Night as it's our least fave menu but happy to be flexible...

Do you know which night that might be? I've been thinking of going the night we are in Civitavecchia. The next day is at sea. So if I over indulge I can sleep in a bit. The night in Villefranche might be nice too.

Will do. He said recently that if he did join us he'd be more than keen to just stay on the Magic when we go on excursions. However I'm not so sure he will - especially as his brother asked last weekend if he could return home in May!!! If Matty's around I can imagine Samuel would prefer to stay home. I think I'd like him to as well - then it's possible the dogs wouldn't have to go into kennels which would save us a pretty penny!!!

We don't mind Samuel joining us on the excursion. I just need to make sure we add him. They are saying that they made note of us wanting a minivan and we should be able to get one. But if we have 5 they will have no choice. I know how it is nailing kids down for an answer. It took us months getting people to commit to our WDW trip last year.

That's not long at all - how exciting!!! I don't know about you but it seems like it's been a l-o-n-g winter to me!!! Did you go for the Yacht/Beach Club in the end - my brain's all mushy and I don't remember!! My girl friend and I celebrated our '99 days until WDW' milestone with lunch and a couple of white wine spritzers on Wednesday!!!

Yes, we are going with the Yatch Club. We've stayed at BCV many times. So we are familar with the area. But I haven't stayed in a regular hotel room at WDW in a dozen years. So this is going to take a bit of adjusting. But I am very excited to take my DGD to see the characters and princesses again. She loves the rides too. So I am happy that she is just tall enough to ride things like Soarin and Test Track.

 

[CustardTart]

It's morning here. But I will be sure to have a couple glasses with dineer tonight!

Excellent!!

Do you know which night that might be? I've been thinking of going the night we are in Civitavecchia. The next day is at sea. So if I over indulge I can sleep in a bit. The night in Villefranche might be nice too.

According to my schedule, Pirate Night is on the Ajaccio evening. Tho' I'm not exactly sure how I would know this but I must have got the info from somewhere.. I actually think the Civitavecchia evening would be a good choice as lots of people on the excursions will be late back so the dining rooms might be rather .. er.. chaotic!

We don't mind Samuel joining us on the excursion. I just need to make sure we add him. They are saying that they made note of us wanting a minivan and we should be able to get one. But if we have 5 they will have no choice. I know how it is nailing kids down for an answer. It took us months getting people to commit to our WDW trip last year.

I'll get an answer from him asap. He's so funny. He got all antsy with me about booking this cruise and actually said "Mom, stop including me on your trips - I might want to do something different!!" Which, of course, is fair enough - he's a teenage boy for goodness sake!! Now however, as the time gets nearer, he's sounding all wistful when we talk about it so I don't know...

Yes, we are going with the Yatch Club. We've stayed at BCV many times. So we are familar with the area. But I haven't stayed in a regular hotel room at WDW in a dozen years. So this is going to take a bit of adjusting. But I am very excited to take my DGD to see the characters and princesses again. She loves the rides too. So I am happy that she is just tall enough to ride things like Soarin and Test Track.

It'll be fab - Sophie and I stayed at YC in October 2007 and really liked it! Tho' I do find the rooms a little bit smaller than conventional DVC studios it's really not a hardship. And May's my absolute favourite time to visit WDW...

 

[eva]

According to my schedule, Pirate Night is on the Ajaccio evening. Tho' I'm not exactly sure how I would know this but I must have got the info from somewhere.. I actually think the Civitavecchia evening would be a good choice as lots of people on the excursions will be late back so the dining rooms might be rather .. er.. chaotic!

That is true. I'll talk with Steve to see which night he prefers. But it looks like we won't be choosing the same night.

I'll get an answer from him asap. He's so funny. He got all antsy with me about booking this cruise and actually said "Mom, stop including me on your trips - I might want to do something different!!" Which, of course, is fair enough - he's a teenage boy for goodness sake!! Now however, as the time gets nearer, he's sounding all wistful when we talk about it so I don't know...

Don't pressure him too much. I'm sure we can add someone for awhile still.

It'll be fab - Sophie and I stayed at YC in October 2007 and really liked it! Tho' I do find the rooms a little bit smaller than conventional DVC studios it's really not a hardship. And May's my absolute favourite time to visit WDW...

That's what I am afraid of. We have only stayed in a studio one time in 12 years. And Steve said never again! Some of the reasons are really funny. He wasn't too found of the queen sized bed. But this trip it won't matter to much. DGD and I will be sharing a bed. He will get the second queen bed all to himself. But his major complaints were:

1. Sharing a vanity area with me.
2. No second nightstand. Since we both wear glasses and like to have a bottled water by the bed each night, this one really irritated me too.
3. The lights for reading in bed are wall scones, not lamps.
& 4. No real dishes and coffee mugs

As you can see, we are a tad bit spoiled. But I know that we will have a wonderful time.

 

[eva]

Yikes! I can't believe we ended up near the bottom of page 3 so quickly.

 

[CustardTart]

Happy March Monday!!!

OK, I've had a proper chat with Samuel and I think we're set. He won't be joining us on the cruise so no need to amend our Amalfi tour... Now to email our TA and get him removed from the booking...

 

[eva]

Happy March Monday!!!

OK, I've had a proper chat with Samuel and I think we're set. He won't be joining us on the cruise so no need to amend our Amalfi tour... Now to email our TA and get him removed from the booking...

March already?!? I can't believe that our Princess Tour of WDW is less than 9 weeks away! I need to go back and look over all my ADR's this week to see if any changes are necessary. Our little Lexy asked about going to the Biergarten and I can't remember if I made ADR's there. She says she wants to do the chicken dance. She also asked if she could wear a dress on the boat. I was totally confused. Then she said, "Remember Grandma, when we saw the fireworks and I wasn't scared?" Yikes! We took the family on an Illuminations cruise last year. Probably too late for that one. I will need to check on how far out you can make reservations. I feel bad. I have been spending more time planning the Med cruise and have let the WDW trip go a bit.

I hope that we didn't pressure Samuel into making too quick of a decision.

 

[CustardTart]

March already?!? I can't believe that our Princess Tour of WDW is less than 9 weeks away! I need to go back and look over all my ADR's this week to see if any changes are necessary. Our little Lexy asked about going to the Biergarten and I can't remember if I made ADR's there. She says she wants to do the chicken dance. She also asked if she could where a dress on the boat. I was totally confused. Then she said, "Remember Grandma, when we saw the fireworks and I wasn't scared?" Yikes! We took the family on an Illuminations cruise last year. Probably too late for that one. I will need to check on how far out you can make reservations. I feel a bit bad. I have been spending more time planning the Med cruise and have let the WDW trip go a bit.

Bless her!!! Don't forget to check out the Illuminations/Wishes cruise sharing thread if you get no joy booking yourself...

I know what you mean about planning priorities tho' - I've found myself thinking quite a bit about our Alaskan cruise and have even reserved a private whale-watching tour in Juneau already!!!

I hope that we didn't pressure Samuel into making too quick of a decision.

No - he's a guy!! He responds well to suggestions and plans being made for him - most of the time!!!

 

[CustardTart]

It's all official - Samuel's off the cruise!!! He's actually had a better offer as Sophie and her DF have asked him to go on a Spanish road trip with them in July so he's extremely happy to he committed to jumping ship...