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

[Eeyore3838]

Well DH and I just booked this cruise! The rate right now for the Cat12 GTY is too good to pass up! We have never been to Europe and are very much looking forward to this journey. It will be our 5th DCL trip, 2nd on the Magic.

 

[rav4lcrv]

It looks like we'll have plenty of room to roam on the ship with this lite turn out on the DIS, This is our third cruise on the Magic so that will be nice, being used to the ship, got the air schedule emailed to use on Wednesday so it's all starting to seem real.

 

[eva]

Well DH and I just booked this cruise! The rate right now for the Cat12 GTY is too good to pass up! We have never been to Europe and are very much looking forward to this journey. It will be our 5th DCL trip, 2nd on the Magic.

Isn't this exciting? I agree with rav4lcrv. It appears that we will have a lot of room on the cruise. All cat's seem to still be open. Glad you got such a great rate and are able to join the cruise. Happy Planning!

 

[eva]

Hey Karen, are you starting to firm up your plans? I just realized that you can make your excursion and Palo reservations on the 30th of this month. Anyone else able to make their reservations 120 days out? We have to wait till 90 days out.

Hope that the excursions we are looking at are still open on May 30th. It looks like the excursion we want in Tunis is pretty popular. There is a post on the cruise board about this port and a lot of people are wanting Carthage with either Medina or Sidi Bou Said. We are looking at the Sidi Bou Said and Carthage tour. I found a book on Tunis and the description of the Medina doesn't thrill Steve or me too much. We've been going over our plan lately and here is what we have so far:

Malta - Walking tour of Valetta (on our own)
Tunis - Sidi Bou Said and Carthage Tour (DCL)
Naples - Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast (private tour)
Civitavecchia- Italian Countryside and Olive Oil (DCL)
La Spezia - Cinque Terre (private tour)
Corsica - Still up in the air on this one
Villefranche - Nice and Eze with Wine and Cheese (DCL)

I found a great walking tour of Valetta on Lonely Planet. We may do something similar in Ajaccio when in Corsica. We aren't too keen on the excursions that DCL is offering there. We are also kicking around the idea of just staying on the ship when we are at Civitavecchia. We spent 4 days in Rome just a little over a year ago with ABD. It was fabulous. But the 3 hours of travel to get there and back isn't something we would look forward to.

Is anyone else working on their tour plans? I'd love to hear what everyone is doing.

 

[eva]

Eeyore3838, from your list of trips it appears that you may be a DVC member. If so, where do you own? Funny, if you are a member, than all four of us on this thread are members.

 

[Eeyore3838]

Hi Eva,

Yes, we are DVC members. We own at BLT.

We haven't made any decisions on excursions yet. Looking to do something big in Rome. We will be booking at 90 days out.

 

[rav4lcrv]

Have any of our small group considered ABD for this cruise? We booked that right away to save the head ache of choosing separate tours . Guess we'll see how well it works. Looking forward to April trip reports.

 

[eva]

Have any of our small group considered ABD for this cruise? We booked that right away to save the head ache of choosing separate tours . Guess we'll see how well it works. Looking forward to April trip reports.

The ABD trip that we did a little over a year ago was wonderful. But we are not looking to return to Rome or Florence again this time. So that would kill two of the tours. I also love the idea of doing private tours. We are doing private tours in two ports and are really looking forward to them. But you sure can't go wrong with ABD. I am sure it will be great!

PS - I am a major planner. And while I loved our ABD trip, I felt I missed out a bit on the research and planning. For me that is half the fun of the trip. But there are many that love to avoid all the planning. It can sometimes be a little stressfull.

 

[CustardTart]

Hello, hello, hello!

Back from Barbados after ten incredibly fabulous days of sun, sea, sand and rum punches!!! And, as this is the next trip my DH and I will be taking together, time to focus!!!

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to sailing the Magical Med...

 

[eva]

Hello, hello, hello!

Back from Barbados after ten incredibly fabulous days of sun, sea, sand and rum punches!!! And, as this is the next trip my DH and I will be taking together, time to focus!!!

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to sailing the Magical Med...

How wonderful! I am jealous. Three weeks from tomorrow we will be on our way to WDW. I guess I can live with that.

Are you getting your plans for excursions and such ready for the 30th? Again, I am jealous. We have to wait till the end of May.

 

[rav4lcrv]

I know this topic has been beat to death but I was wondering what you thoughts are on formal dress? Last cruise we skipped all sit down meals because we wanted to be comfortable, considering ordering a suit to be delivered to the ship if they do that over there-(ordered TUX 1st cruise).

My wife just suggested I plan 1 trip at a time, (Disneyland in 3 weeks) but planning is half the fun.

A little concerned about ABD being canceled. If there's not that much interest than we'll be to late to get in on the good tours.

 

[CustardTart]

How wonderful! I am jealous. Three weeks from tomorrow we will be on our way to WDW. I guess I can live with that.

I guess you can!!! Those 3 weeks will fly by!!! Barbados is a dim and distant memory now as we're back in the swing of things - mainly house training our pup, Fred!!! I'd forgotten how challenging that could be...

Are you getting your plans for excursions and such ready for the 30th? Again, I am jealous. We have to wait till the end of May.

Today I'm intending to go over the details one more time then I'll leave it all alone until booking time.

I know this topic has been beat to death but I was wondering what you thoughts are on formal dress? Last cruise we skipped all sit down meals because we wanted to be comfortable, considering ordering a suit to be delivered to the ship if they do that over there-(ordered TUX 1st cruise)...

If I remember rightly, this cruise has 1 formal and 2 semi-formal nights so DH is bringing a suit (not a tux) and 3/4 shirts. I have a couple of little black dresses which pack small and just require accessories to make them a little more formal...

The rest of the time we're all about cruise casual!!!

 

[CustardTart]

Right, all done!!! After much thought, we're not going make it difficult for ourselves and have factored in two beach excursions either side of the more intense sightseeing days. We'll save the gut-busting Palo Brunch experience until the end of our trip and are keen to substitute dinner at Palo's for the Pirate Night menu... So here's our final plan!

Day 1 ~ Barcelona: Get onboard the Magic!!!
Day 2 ~ At Sea: Spa treatments.
Day 3 ~ Valletta, Malta: Beach Club.
Day 4 ~ Tunis, Tunisia: Bardo Museum, Medina, Carthage & Sidi Bou Said.
Day 5 ~ Naples, Italy: Private Tour.
Day 6 ~ Civitavecchia: Rome On Your Own.
Day 7 ~ At Sea. Spa treatments.
Day 8 ~ La Spezia, Italy: Portofino and Santa Margherita.
Day 9 ~ Ajaccio, Corsica: Beach Break. Palo for dinner.
Day 10 ~ Villefranche: Independent leisurely lunch and sightseeing.
Day 11 ~ At Sea: Palo Brunch.
Day 12 ~ Barcelona: Go Home!!!

 

[Eeyore3838]

Hello again fellow Med cruisers! I am officially in planning overdrive for this cruise!

Flights: We are likely going to fly in the day of the cruise, just like you Eva. I am not thrilled about this, but I am already taking off 10 days from work, and am about out of vacation time. I think it just might have to do. I am concerned about customs and immigration. The best flights I have seen so far from Orlando to Barcelona stop on Toronto on Air Canada. I am not sure how much layover time to give us there or if we have to do anything different if we take Air Canada for the entire trip.

Hotel: We are staying one night post-cruise in Barcelona and have looked at a few possible hotels. We are considering the AC Diplomatic - EUR 155. I know that it is a DCL approved hotel (would not be booking through them though).

Excursions: This is our first trip to Europe! We have decided on Jumping Back into Eternal Rome while in Rome. In Naples, I considering Amalfi Coast Drive and the Ruins of Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius Hike and Pompeii, and Mt. Vesuvius by 4x4, Hike, Wine Tasting & Pompeii. I haven't even started too much research elsewhere yet.

On the ship: We will definitely be booking spa treatments, and we are interested in booking Palo one night for dinner. We tried brunch for the first time on the Wonder, and we decided that we preferred the dinner to brunch.

That's all I have so far. Happy planning all!

 

[rav4lcrv]

We've been pre and post cruise booked into the AC Diplomat through
Disney, been reading reviews, seems like a pretty fair hotel. Our plan is to hang out at the hotel and relax. It's hard to let Disney do the planning since I recently handled all arrangements for 21 people in Fort Wilderness and 11 people at POP Century but we will see how it goes.

 

[CustardTart]

Eva, I've just read this on DVCnews.com:

Reports indicate that the main pool slide at Disney's Beach Club Villas will be closed for maintenance beginning Sunday, May 2, 2010. Disney Vacation Club members with confirmed reservations at the Beach Club in May 2010 have begun receiving notices informing them of the closure. Shuttle service will be provided for those who wish to pool hop to the Luna Park pool at Disney's BoardWalk Villas.

The full duration of the refurbishment has not been established but the slide is expected to re-open in late-May.

I guessing this will affect your upcoming trip and I am so sorry...

 

[eva]

Everyone's plans sound great! Now comes the hard part, waiting to make reservations.

Karen, thanks for the heads up. They just sent us a letter letting us know. I wasn't too sure if Lexy would go down that slide anyway. In the letter the kiddie slide is still open. She will just have to make do. At SAB she really likes the sandy are the best. I think Steve will miss the slide the most.

YIKES: Edit from some to sound. This new job has me in a daze.

 

[CustardTart]

Karen, thanks for the heads up. They just sent us a letter letting us know. I wasn't too sure if Lexy would go down that slide anyway. In the letter the kiddie slide is still open. She will just have to make do. At SAB she really likes the sandy are the best. I think Steve will miss the slide the most.

Oh that's good to know!!! I was really fed up for you when I read the announcement - but I'm sure Steve will cope...

As far as this cruise goes, now we're all sorted, I CANNOT WAIT to make the necessary reservations...

 

[Tyler'sDisneyMom]

Hi,
My six-year-old, Tyler, and I will be joining you on the 11 night med cruise on Aug 28th. We vacation with Disney a few times a year since he was two, but this is our first cruise. He will be turning 7 the day we are in Rome. I am lookig forward to getting as much info as possible prior to the trip.

Best,
Amanda

 

[CustardTart]

Hi,
My six-year-old, Tyler, and I will be joining you on the 11 night med cruise on Aug 28th. We vacation with Disney a few times a year since he was two, but this is our first cruise. He will be turning 7 the day we are in Rome. I am lookig forward to getting as much info as possible prior to the trip.

Best,
Amanda

aboard Amanda & Tyler!!!