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

[liberty6201]

Oh Amanda in that one sentence you have made me feel so much better!! I am cruising with my 2 boys - 2 and 6yo and was really beginning to panic that no one else was taking their children. Also this is my first vacation as a single Mom and i was really worried that everyone else would be part of a couple or 'traditional' family. how many kids do you have? What ages are they? Have you been on vacation alone before? Sorry for all the questions i'm just so excited it isn't just me!!!

Actually just editing to say that in my excitement i didn't read your signature - i am guessing you have one son?

 

[Tyler'sDisneyMom]

I am just as excited as you are! I have one son who is 6 (turning 7 on the day we are in Rome!) It is so amazing that you are traveling as a single mom too. I am 34 and have been a single mom since my son was 1 month old. We love to vacation, but I usually treat another family member to come along for the ride in order to keep me company. Tyler & I have taken two trips without additional fam. I am so nervous to be traveling around Europe with just Tyler. I am very glad to meet you! Especially since we have 6 year olds! I will private message you.

 

[melir]

Thanks for the welcome ladies!

I was on the Magic from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2009. Is this the same for you?

Does anyone think about doing excursions on their own? If so, on which ports?

I've started reading about ports of call. I don't know yet what we're going to do. There are so much interesting places to see! Choices will be difficult to make!

 

[CustardTart]

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I will also join you all aboard this summer. It will be our first Disney cruise. We both are from the Netherlands and are huge Disney fans (I think some of you have heard of Amsterdam?). We stay about 4 times a year at Disneyland resort Paris and we are really looking forward to this magical cruise!

Raoul en Tatjana

P.s. I am sorry for any bad English.

aboard, Raoul & Tatjana!!!

As Disney fans, I am sure you will love the cruise and have a wonderful trip..
I have always wanted to visit Amsterdam - despite living in London I have just never made it...

PS: Your English is fine...

Hi All,
I am joining all of you on the cruise. I wanted to see if there were any other single parents cruising......

Best,
Amanda

aboard, Amanda & Tyler!!!

 

[CustardTart]

Thanks for the welcome ladies!

I was on the Magic from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2009. Is this the same for you?

We were on the Tortola cruise couple of weeks earlier...

Does anyone think about doing excursions on their own? If so, on which ports?

We are currently planning on doing our own thing in Malta, Naples and Villefranche. We are also just using DCL transport to get to/from Rome as we want to experience the city rather than see the sights...

I've started reading about ports of call. I don't know yet what we're going to do. There are so much interesting places to see! Choices will be difficult to make!

Definitely!!! Happy planning!!!

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Welcome Uncle Scrooge, We spent about a week in Amsterdam, beautiful city, did the tourist things, Anne Franke, etc. Hope you enjoy the Magic

aboard, Raoul & Tatjana!!!

As Disney fans, I am sure you will love the cruise and have a wonderful trip..
I have always wanted to visit Amsterdam - despite living in London I have just never made it...

Thank you both for the warm welcome! I really enjoy reading all the posts here and everybody's plans....! We are still not sure about the excursions we would like to do. Taste of Rome and Highlights of Monaco & Monte Carlo are not so expensive and sound like fun..!! I think we are also going to do some excursions on our own.

I never been to London either so don't be ashamed. lol

 

[CustardTart]

We were way down on page 3 so giving us a little *bump*...

I think (not great with numbers ) that we have just 15 weeks to go tomorrow until we board the Magic!

DH and I have decided to avoid the potential volcanic ash cloud threat and travel to Barcelona overland! We're taking the train to Paris from London a couple of days before and then the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona arriving early Saturday morning. Can't wait!!!

 

[eva]

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I will also join you all aboard this summer. It will be our first Disney cruise. We both are from the Netherlands and are huge Disney fans (I think some of you have heard of Amsterdam?). We stay about 4 times a year at Disneyland resort Paris and we are really looking forward to this magical cruise!

Raoul en Tatjana

P.s. I am sorry for any bad English.

Hi All,
I am joining all of you on the cruise. I wanted to see if there were any other single parents cruising......

Best,
Amanda

Aboard Everyone!

No bad English that I can see!

 

[eva]

Thanks for the welcome ladies!

I was on the Magic from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2009. Is this the same for you?

Does anyone think about doing excursions on their own? If so, on which ports?

I've started reading about ports of call. I don't know yet what we're going to do. There are so much interesting places to see! Choices will be difficult to make!

On our own we are doing a walking tour of Valetta, Malta that I found on Lonely Planet. We are also doing a private tour in Naples and in La Spezia. In Naples, Karen (CustardTart) and her husband are joining us for a private tour of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. In La Spezia Steve and I have booked a private guide from the Cinque Terre National Park system to show us the Cinque Terre area. We are still undecided on Corsica and Civitavecchia. We were just in Rome the fall of 08. So we are looking at doing something else in Civitavecchia. We are leaning towards the Italian Countryside and Olive Oil tour by DCL in Civitavecchia. But no final decisions yet. And I just can't seem to get excited about any tours in Corsica. The only DCL excursions I know for sure are in Tunis and Villefranche. Happy Planning!

 

[eva]

We were way down on page 3 so giving us a little *bump*...

I think (not great with numbers ) that we have just 15 weeks to go tomorrow until we board the Magic!

DH and I have decided to avoid the potential volcanic ash cloud threat and travel to Barcelona overland! We're taking the train to Paris from London a couple of days before and then the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona arriving early Saturday morning. Can't wait!!!

Karen, that is probably smart. That volcano sure has me nervous about our flights. I'm am pretty sure that we will be taking the insurance on our points, just in case we can't get out of the states before the cruise.

Oh no! Only 15 weeks? I still have 25 pounds to lose. I may need to be happy with 20. I have lost 10 pounds over the last 5 weeks. But I am not sure if I will continue to lose at this rate.

 

[eva]

Anyone know where they are keeping the Med navigators for the April and May cruises? I can't find them on the normal Navigator page.

 

[CustardTart]

Anyone know where they are keeping the Med navigators for the April and May cruises? I can't find them on the normal Navigator page.

There's these ones, Eva - I haven't seen any others yet...

 

[CustardTart]

Karen, that is probably smart. That volcano sure has me nervous about our flights. I'm am pretty sure that we will be taking the insurance on our points, just in case we can't get out of the states before the cruise.

Good idea. I just couldn't face the stress of anything going wrong this end as not only is there the volcanic ash issue but also British Airways cabin crew keep striking so nothing is certain...

Oh no! Only 15 weeks? I still have 25 pounds to lose. I may need to be happy with 20. I have lost 10 pounds over the last 5 weeks. But I am not sure if I will continue to lose at this rate.

Why not settle for 15lbs as a lb per week is achievable. Then anything else is a bonus!!!

 

[CustardTart]

If anyone wants to check out an alternative view of the first Med cruise, here's a link to a trip report I'm enjoying at the moment...

 

[rav4lcrv]

After listening to the pod cast of dinners on the cruise I'm a little concerned about the reviews for bad meals (I'm not a foody)-We will be on the ABD package so at least one night we will be eating at Polo's with a wine tasting-it sounds like a few nights, meals will be done serving by the time we board anyway-guess there's always Pluto's on deck 9

 

[CustardTart]

After listening to the pod cast of dinners on the cruise I'm a little concerned about the reviews for bad meals (I'm not a foody)-We will be on the ABD package so at least one night we will be eating at Polo's with a wine tasting-it sounds like a few nights, meals will be done serving by the time we board anyway-guess there's always Pluto's on deck 9

FWIW I don't think I've had a poor dinner onboard the Magic or the Wonder. I've had menus that haven't appealed (the Pirate Night one is my least fave) but never a bad meal and I can't see why that would change now.

I'm actually looking forward to trying the new menus on this cruise so think I shall avoid listening to the podcast reviews and remain optimistic ...

 

[eva]

FWIW I don't think I've had a poor dinner onboard the Magic or the Wonder. I've had menus that haven't appealed (the Pirate Night one is my least fave) but never a bad meal and I can't see why that would change now.

I'm actually looking forward to trying the new menus on this cruise so think I shall avoid listening to the podcast reviews and remain optimistic ...

I agree. On all our past DCL cruises we have had some meals that were better than others. But I really never hated any of them. I'm not sure why, but we have always had good luck with fish and lamb dishes. However, this past cruise I tried a baked chicken dish that ended up being my favorite meal on the cruise. The beef I find a bit hit or miss. Palo has always been great. I wonder if it will be possible to get one or two extra nights there after boarding. We are going to try.

I'm not too concerned about the reviews. DCL has always had both good and bad reviews on the food. I think that some people are expecting signature restaurant type dining each night. You will get that experience in Palo. But I find the main dining rooms have food similar to the restaurants in WS. Think the French restaurant or LeCelliers and you will be happy.

-it sounds like a few nights, meals will be done serving by the time we board anyway-guess there's always Pluto's on deck 9

If you have early seating this will probably be true. But most ports we are to be onboard prior to late seating. Only two ports have sail times after 7:00 pm. And I doubt that most people will wait till 9:00 pm to be back on the ship those nights. We have late seating and I plan on us being back on the ship for all the dinners.

 

[eva]

Not sure if anyone has been watching the Euro lately. I am so excited that it is now 1 Euro = $1.2699 U.S. On our ABD trip about 18 months ago it was nearly $1.5 to the Euro. I sure hope it continues to go down. I am going to keep a watch on it. We will be exchanging with our bank prior to leaving. We did this last time and got a much better rate than the people that used ATM's in Rome. We just called our bank and they ordered whatever we needed. Then we just went in and picked it up. We'll have to start thinking about how much we will need. The private tours that we are taking only except Euros, no credit cards or checks. I believe the company in Naples takes travelers checks. But we won't do that. I've heard the exchange rate on travlers checks is awful. What is everyone else doing?

 

[CustardTart]

Not sure if anyone has been watching the Euro lately. I am so excited that it is now 1 Euro = $1.2699 U.S. On our ABD trip about 18 months ago it was nearly $1.5 to the Euro. I sure hope it continues to go down. I am going to keep a watch on it. We will be exchanging with our bank prior to leaving. We did this last time and got a much better rate than the people that used ATM's in Rome. We just called our bank and they ordered whatever we needed. Then we just went in and picked it up. We'll have to start thinking about how much we will need.

I've been keeping an eye on the £/€ for ages and it's finally going (albeit slightly) in the right direction for us. So am about to pre-order cash for delivery in August which gives me a much more favourable rate than generally available...

The private tours that we are taking only except Euros, no credit cards or checks. I believe the company in Naples takes travelers checks. But we won't do that. I've heard the exchange rate on travlers checks is awful. What is everyone else doing?

I'm glad you brought that up, Eva - I've kept meaning to ask how much we'll need..?

 

[eva]

I'm glad you brought that up, Eva - I've kept meaning to ask how much we'll need..?

The total for the tour of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast is 670 Euros. So each couple will pay 335 Euros. That includes the private guide in Pompeii. They do recommend a tip. But that will be up to you on the amount. I have read anywhere from 10 to 20 percent or so. When I asked about lunch on the tour, I was informed that they normally give you a number of suggestions in Positano. But there are no autos allowed inside the city. So we may have to walk 10 or 15 minutes to get to lunch. They also said that we can bring "refreshments" in the van. They are picking us up at port at 9:00 am. We should return around 6:00 or 7:00 pm.