August 30th 2014, 7 night Mediterranean Cruise - Disney Magic

[ShellB8585]

Thats a shame when you do such a tough job. Mine is nowhere near as important which is why its easy for me!

DH is an electrical engineer at a nuclear power plant and his various deadlines make things tough for us.

 

[ShellB8585]

Hope you don't mind my sharing a few pics

View from the rooftop @ Novotel City​

A Hidden Mickey!!​

The only bus tour to stop by the hotel​

 

[ShellB8585]

 

[pascalstongue]

have any of you decided where you're staying precruise?

Not yet, I have been looking at various reviews on Tripadvisor and looking at hotel prices. It seems as if many of the hotels do not have next August available to book yet. With two young children I am leaning towards renting an apartment.

 

[pascalstongue]

I'm a police officer, so unfortunately getting any kind of leave can be a bit of a nightmare! For things like summer holiday leave, the window opens 13 months beforehand, and is left open for a month. Any applications are then looked at, and if you are lucky you get the leave you want. Quite often, you then aren't allowed to apply for any leave during this period without going through a Superintendant.

Christmas is another nightmare period. If you aren't organised and get your application in when the window is open, then its basically tough, and you stand pretty much no chance of getting it.

I am a police officer too (as is DH). We can't even apply for annual leave yet! I don't think it will be a problem getting the time off though as long as we are the first ones to submit the request forms.

 

[bitocas]

great photos.we always stay in princesa cristina grand hotel

 

[scrawny]

I think we are at the renaissance pre cruise and we have to get someplace post. Has anyone stayed there before?

 

[scrawny]

One year from today until we leave. ...yeah

 

[pascalstongue]

One year from today until we leave. ...yeah

One year today until our cruise! Yay!!!

 

[bitocas]

 

[marym933]

Hi everyone. Just checking in to let you know I am still around. We'll be shopping for airfare soon. I haven't decided how early we will be heading to Barcelona. We have a long flight, so maybe a day or two early.

 

[ShellB8585]

Heya!

It's looking increasingly likely that we will make it

If we do we will prob aim to fly in on the Wed and spend a couple nights in Barcelona pre cruise then we will either fly home the Sat or Sunday

 

[marym933]

Heya!

It's looking increasingly likely that we will make it

If we do we will prob aim to fly in on the Wed and spend a couple nights in Barcelona pre cruise then we will either fly home the Sat or Sunday

That is awesome Shelley! I'll keep my fingers crossed.

We're doing a Southern Caribbean cruise mid-November. After that, I'll start concentrating more on the Med.

 

[ShellB8585]

So now she's in for her drydock what changes are we all most looking forward to?

 

[pascalstongue]

Heya!

It's looking increasingly likely that we will make it

If we do we will prob aim to fly in on the Wed and spend a couple nights in Barcelona pre cruise then we will either fly home the Sat or Sunday

Great news! We are planning on getting to Barcelona on Thursday and leaving Saturday evening. We may do the DCL post cruise tour to Montserrat.

I after been on DCL previously so I am not sure about the changes but I know that my son loves Iron man, Captain America etc and he will go crazy when he gets to the Oceaneers Club. I hear that Captain America will be making appearances on the cruise ship so he will be so excited!

 

[debsters41]

Hello all! I haven't read the thread but I will catch up soon. My DH and I are booked on this cruise, and are almost 100% committed at this point. I will know for sure in about a month. We did the same cruise (August 31, 2013) this year and apparently we just can't get enough! lol I have also requested to join the FB group and I look forward to getting to know you all!

 

[scrawny]

Welcome. How was the last cruise before dry dock? Out of curiosity how was the weather this year extremely hot?

 

[debsters41]

Welcome. How was the last cruise before dry dock? Out of curiosity how was the weather this year extremely hot?

Thanks! The last cruise before drydock was actually very good! I had become sceptical beforehand that it wouldn't be, and truth be told there were signs of preparation work. However, I did not witness any weary staff in a hurry to start their vacations. It is true that there were no Mickey bars until Day 6, but I actually did not order one until then (Pirate night). They were still doing small maintenance work specifically for our cruise (embarkation day refreshing/repainting the shuffleboard). The doughnuts on the Med cruise were not very good, think supermarket pre-packaged, but I don't know if that is generally speaking or because it is the Med.

Any other questions? get me now while it is still relatively fresh in my head and I have the Navigators next to my computer

The weather is a relative question.... For me it was lovely and warm (coming from Athens). For my husband (coming from Athens) it was very hot. For by British friends it was quite hot, but they seemed to be enjoying that.

 

[MermaidsMom]

Hello! Is there a way to view the port offerings prior to being paid in full? I would like to read them and get some plans together.

 

[debsters41]

It is easy to view what shore excursions are available, you just cannot book any until paid in full date. To see them, go to the DCL website, at the top hover on the tab which says cruises and destinations. A menu will pop up and in the middle of that list is "Port Adventures" Click on that. Then on the right of the page will be a drop down list where you can choose which port stop you are interested in. Barcelona is automatically the first one (alphabetical order)

We must keep in mind that the excursions are subject to change until a few months before the first Med cruise of the season. But viewing them now gives an excellent gage of cost and tour types.

Happy Planning!

Is it too early to chat about group activities? tour shares? meet in Barcelona? Fish Extenders?