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

[CustardTart]

are there any other people on this board with younger children? I remember reading about someone with teenagers but no one else seems to have little ones - am i crazy to bring mine????

I guess that might be because many children have returned or are about to return to school when this cruise sets off...? Also the Med cruises are very port intensive and I know this has put some parents of younger ones off. However, only you know your children and what they can cope with so, no - you're not crazy and I'm sure you'll have a great time...

 

[melir]

Hi all!

My boyfriend (31) and I (32) will be joining you on this cruise!!!
Second Disney cruise for us (7 night Eastern Sept. 2009).
We've never been to Europe before, I'm so excited!

I still have not booked flights and hotel in Barcelona or looked at excursions, so I have lots of planning to do!

Are we there yet?!

Melissa

 

[CustardTart]

aboard, Melissa!!!

Nice to have you with us and enjoy that planning!!!

BTW, my DH and I did an Eastern Caribbean cruise in Sept 2009 - which one were you on??

 

[friend of tinkerbell]

Hello Cruisers!

Just returned from our cruise 4/24-5/5. It was wonderful!!!

A note though for anyone with the Pompei/Amalfi excursion.

This was a fantastic excursion, however, if you are on it be sure to sit on the right side of the bus. The right side enjoys the beautiful sea views, while the left views mainly consist of a rock wall and other tour busses.

Hope your cruise is as magical as ours was!

Michaela

 

[CustardTart]

Hello Cruisers!

Just returned from our cruise 4/24-5/5. It was wonderful!!!

A note though for anyone with the Pompei/Amalfi excursion.

This was a fantastic excursion, however, if you are on it be sure to sit on the right side of the bus. The right side enjoys the beautiful sea views, while the left views mainly consist of a rock wall and other tour busses.

Hope your cruise is as magical as ours was!

Michaela

Thank you, Michaela!!! Glad you had a wonderful cruise..

I, for one, cannot wait for our turn.
Do you know if there are any Med Navigators posted - I would love to take a peek...?

ETA: I found this link....

 

[CustardTart]

So I've studied the 11 Night Med Cruise Navigator and found that the itinerary doesn't match with the one I initially saw on the DCL website... I am very confused as I don't know which is correct!!!

The Navigator lists the itinerary as follows:

Day 1: Barcelona. Let The Magic Begin Menu.
Day 2: At Sea. Formal Night. Prince & Princess Menu.
Day 3: Valetta, Malta. Rotational Menu.
Day 4: Tunis, Tunisia. Rotational Menu.
Day 5: Naples, Italy. Rotational Menu.
Day 6: Civitavecchia, Italy. Master Chef Menu.
Day 7: La Spezia, Italy. Pirates In The Caribbean Menu.
Day 8: At Sea. Semi-Formal. Villains Menu.
Day 9: Ajaccio, France. Flavours of the Mediterranean.
Day 10: Villefranche, France. Captain's Gala Menu.
Day 11: At Sea. Till We Meet Again Menu.

The itinerary shown on the DCL website shows Day 7 as an At Sea day. According to this itinerary, we are in La Spezia a day earlier and there's 1 rather than 2 semi-formal evenings..

 

[Eeyore3838]

So I've studied the 11 Night Med Cruise Navigator and found that the itinerary doesn't match with the one I initially saw on the DCL website... I am very confused as I don't know which is correct!!!

The Navigator lists the itinerary as follows:

Day 1: Barcelona. Let The Magic Begin Menu.
Day 2: At Sea. Formal Night. Prince & Princess Menu.
Day 3: Valetta, Malta. Rotational Menu.
Day 4: Tunis, Tunisia. Rotational Menu.
Day 5: Naples, Italy. Rotational Menu.
Day 6: Civitavecchia, Italy. Master Chef Menu.
Day 7: La Spezia, Italy. Pirates In The Caribbean Menu.
Day 8: At Sea. Semi-Formal. Villains Menu.
Day 9: Ajaccio, France. Flavours of the Mediterranean.
Day 10: Villefranche, France. Captain's Gala Menu.
Day 11: At Sea. Till We Meet Again Menu.

The itinerary shown on the DCL website shows Day 7 as an At Sea day. According to this itinerary, we are in La Spezia a day earlier and there's 1 rather than 2 semi-formal evenings..

It was notated on the DCL website that certain sailings had an alternate itinerary, and the 4/24 Med was one of them. Unless weather/other circumstances make it so that it changes, we will still have the sea day after Civitavecchia and prior to La Spezia.

I am no help on the 1 vs. 2 semi-formal days. That one was a surprise to me with the length of the cruise. We may need to wait on the info from the 5/15 Med cruise as they are the next 11 night one and I believe they share the same itinerary as us.

HTH

 

[eva]

Hi all!

My boyfriend (31) and I (32) will be joining you on this cruise!!!
Second Disney cruise for us (7 night Eastern Sept. 2009).
We've never been to Europe before, I'm so excited!

I still have not booked flights and hotel in Barcelona or looked at excursions, so I have lots of planning to do!

Are we there yet?!

Melissa

I'll second Karen's -- Welcome Aboard!!

 

[eva]

are there any other people on this board with younger children? I remember reading about someone with teenagers but no one else seems to have little ones - am i crazy to bring mine????

I guess that might be because many children have returned or are about to return to school when this cruise sets off...? Also the Med cruises are very port intensive and I know this has put some parents of younger ones off. However, only you know your children and what they can cope with so, no - you're not crazy and I'm sure you'll have a great time...

I agree with Karen. A lot depends on the ages and type of child you are taking. If they are interested in European history and love to be on the go, you will probably have no problems at all. Do your kids enjoy WS at WDW? It is a very port intensive cruise. But if you will take shorter excursions and return earlier in the day for the younge ones to swim and rest, you may be just fine.

Now that being said, I just got back from 6 days at WDW with our 4-year old DGD. She was a delight. But she did have a couple of meltdowns. It was completely my fault for not taking the time to let her rest back in the room each day. She always wanted to swim when we returned to the room mid-afternoon each day. Not smart, she really needed a nap after the parks and heat. Do remember that some of the average highs during our cruise will be in the 80's and 90's. So plan appropriately with the little ones.

We lived in Europe for 3 years and took our two girls all over the place. But we only did it for a couple days at a time. Eleven days is a long time, even for some adults. Personally, I wouldn't have taken them on such a long trip that required so much running around until they were at least 10 or 12 years old. But every family is very different. If your children are used to these type of trips, you will probably be just fine.

And no, you are not crazy!

PS - You might post this question on a couple of other threads for Med cruises that were just completed. The trip will be fresh in the parents minds and they may have some really good feedback for what to expect.

 

[eva]

Well as I posted above,we just got back from our Princess Tour of WDW. It was wonderful. Our little Lexy was so sweet. She even waited patiently for over an hour to see Tinkerbell. We did find that a few rides that she love last year, she was a bit frightened on this year. Not sure why that was. But we had a wonderful and tiring trip. I ened up with a pretty bad cold the last couple of days. But it was all worth it.

Now on to Med cruise planning!

I can't beleive that it is only about 3 weeks till we can make our reservations for Palo and excursions.

Off to read some of those Navigators now!

 

[CustardTart]

It was notated on the DCL website that certain sailings had an alternate itinerary, and the 4/24 Med was one of them. Unless weather/other circumstances make it so that it changes, we will still have the sea day after Civitavecchia and prior to La Spezia.

D'oh! Thank you for clarifying that!!! I got myself all confused...

I am no help on the 1 vs. 2 semi-formal days. That one was a surprise to me with the length of the cruise. We may need to wait on the info from the 5/15 Med cruise as they are the next 11 night one and I believe they share the same itinerary as us.

HTH

True.

 

[CustardTart]

Well as I posted above,we just got back from our Princess Tour of WDW. It was wonderful. Our little Lexy was so sweet. She even waited patiently for over an hour to see Tinkerbell. We did find that a few rides that she love last year, she was a bit frightened on this year. Not sure why that was. But we had a wonderful and tiring trip. I ened up with a pretty bad cold the last couple of days. But it was all worth it.

Now on to Med cruise planning!

I can't beleive that it is only about 3 weeks till we can make our reservations for Palo and excursions.

Off to read some of those Navigators now!

Welcome back, Eva!!! Glad you had a fab trip with Lexy!!! Sorry to hear you caught a cold tho' - hope you feel better asap...

 

[CustardTart]

I just found this information regarding boarding...

• Guests pass through security check point with x-ray as they enter the building.
• Check-in for the cruise begins at 10:30am.
• Guests are greeted by a Disney Cruise Line representative and directed to the appropriate check-in station.
• Only one member of the party needs to go the check-in station with all of the required documentation to receive Key to the World Cards for each family member.
• Embarkation begins at approximately 1:00pm and the Lifeboat Drill is at 5:00pm.
• All Guests onboard by 9:30pm for the ship departure at 9:30pm.
• Guests may leave and return to/from the ship at any time as long as they are onboard by the scheduled Onboard time.
• Guests board by group (i.e. Concierge, Castaway Club) or by boarding pass number.
• Guests board the ship on Deck 3.
• Your luggage will be delivered to your stateroom prior to 6:30pm. While you are waiting to embark the ship, they can take advantage of duty free shopping, character photo opportunities, and pre-register children into Youth Activities.

Forgive me if I'm repeating previously known info, but I didn't realise we would be allowed to return ashore after checking in...

 

[rav4lcrv]

Jeri & I just got back from the California Food & Wine festival, a wonderful time, puts us in the mood for more Disney Magic. I've been watching all the video's from the April 24th cruise-looks like fun.

 

[CustardTart]

Jeri & I just got back from the California Food & Wine festival, a wonderful time, puts us in the mood for more Disney Magic. I've been watching all the video's from the April 24th cruise-looks like fun.

Cool!!! DH and I are hoping

to experience it next Easter, prior to the LA/Vancouver Repo cruise...

 

[eva]

Welcome back, Eva!!! Glad you had a fab trip with Lexy!!! Sorry to hear you caught a cold tho' - hope you feel better asap...

Thanks! I am feeling some better. I had this same terrible cold just a few weeks ago. My resistance must be really low right now.

I just found this information regarding boarding...

• Guests pass through security check point with x-ray as they enter the building.
• Check-in for the cruise begins at 10:30am.
• Guests are greeted by a Disney Cruise Line representative and directed to the appropriate check-in station.
• Only one member of the party needs to go the check-in station with all of the required documentation to receive Key to the World Cards for each family member.
• Embarkation begins at approximately 1:00pm and the Lifeboat Drill is at 5:00pm.
• All Guests onboard by 9:30pm for the ship departure at 9:30pm.
• Guests may leave and return to/from the ship at any time as long as they are onboard by the scheduled Onboard time.
• Guests board by group (i.e. Concierge, Castaway Club) or by boarding pass number.
• Guests board the ship on Deck 3.
• Your luggage will be delivered to your stateroom prior to 6:30pm. While you are waiting to embark the ship, they can take advantage of duty free shopping, character photo opportunities, and pre-register children into Youth Activities.

Forgive me if I'm repeating previously known info, but I didn't realise we would be allowed to return ashore after checking in...

I had heard some of this from a call I made to DCL. But some info is new to me. I knew that we had till 9:00 or 9:30 pm to actually get on the ship. This made me fell much better about flying in the day of the cruise. Do you know how we explain to the taxi driver which port we are to go to. From my understanding there are a few different ports in Barcelona. Maybe there is just one for cruiselines and the drivers already know that. But I would feel more comfortable if I knew the name of the exact port.

I need to start thinking about cruise insurance. Since we are using DVC points for the cruise, it really messes up how insurance is purchased. I already bought insurance for the flights. I did that when we bought the tickets. But now I need to decide whether we will take the insurance for the points through DVC. We have till the final cancelation day. Then we will need overseas medical insurance. That I will buy a couple weeks out. Yikes! I had to do this same thing for our ABD trip in 2008.

 

[CustardTart]

Thanks! I am feeling some better. I had this same terrible cold just a few weeks ago. My resistance must be really low right now.

When I had that stupidly persistent cold thro'out January, the only thing that actually helped was taking a combo of echinacea and vit C tablets...

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

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.

 

[rav4lcrv]

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

 

[Tyler'sDisneyMom]

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