August 31st 2013 - 7 night Mediterranean cruise aboard the Disney Magic

[ThePicketts]

Hey guys! we are joining the cruise with our inlaws and dd (3) this is our 2nd disney cruise. First on Magic. So here is my question, has anyone else been looking at flights? Ive seen some on aircanada getting in at 7am the day of the cruise. I wasnt planning to come in a day early as work schedule conflicts. Has anyone else gone on a europe cruise and arrived same day? What about airlines, which ones are reputable which ones avoid?

Welcome aboard! I would say a majority of people arrive on the same day and make it just fine. However, I have known a few people whose flights have been delayed and they have missed their cruise.
The reality is that all the airlines are reputable or they wouldn't stay in business. That being said, Delta does have a special relationship with Disney and the transfer of information AND luggage is easier.

 

[debsters41]

Hello and welcome Cntclark! If I were flying in day of over a transatlantic, I would take a closer look at travel insurance. That being said, a 7 am arrival, even with a delay of a few hours, should still get you there in plenty of time. Is it a direct flight? If so, even less risk.

Glad to have you join us!

 

[roblab]

Hey guys! we are joining the cruise with our inlaws and dd (3) this is our 2nd disney cruise. First on Magic. So here is my question, has anyone else been looking at flights? Ive seen some on aircanada getting in at 7am the day of the cruise. I wasnt planning to come in a day early as work schedule conflicts. Has anyone else gone on a europe cruise and arrived same day? What about airlines, which ones are reputable which ones avoid?

I'm a rookie at cruising, but flights to Europe - that is something I do way too much for work - happy to help there. Where are you starting from?

The Air Canada direct Toronto -> Barcelona will get you in with buckets of time to spare - and will probably be the flight we use going out to Barcelona. Will not be the routing we use coming home though, we'll take a connection through Frankfurt or Munich most likely. Reason is that Air Canada uses one of the 3 older 767s on that route - so no personal tvs to keep you occupied on the flight (not an issue going east as I'll be trying to sleep). There is a chance this might change as the new 787s are starting to come on stream now, and they will be retiring the 767s as they do.

Assuming you're coming from Canada, United will have code share flights as will US Air. However United hasn't released their full schedule yet. The only other direct option from Canada is Air Transat. They'll be your cheapest option, but will only fly 1-2 days a week, so might not work for your desire to get there cruise day. I haven't looked into it since I have more than enough points for our tickets on Air Canada. The only advice in general is to book with an eye to risk. ie, make sure no matter what you make the boat - so book long (2.5 hour or more) connections if direct isn't possible and you should be fine.

 

[Florida Mel]

Welcome onboard cntclark family and inlaws

I see you've received lots of help with your flight question already, there's a wealth of knowledge on the cruise I can just feel it

Hey guys! we are joining the cruise with our inlaws and dd (3) this is our 2nd disney cruise. First on Magic. So here is my question, has anyone else been looking at flights? Ive seen some on aircanada getting in at 7am the day of the cruise. I wasnt planning to come in a day early as work schedule conflicts. Has anyone else gone on a europe cruise and arrived same day? What about airlines, which ones are reputable which ones avoid?

 

[Florida Mel]

Hey guys! we are joining the cruise with our inlaws and dd (3) this is our 2nd disney cruise. First on Magic. So here is my question, has anyone else been looking at flights? Ive seen some on aircanada getting in at 7am the day of the cruise. I wasnt planning to come in a day early as work schedule conflicts. Has anyone else gone on a europe cruise and arrived same day? What about airlines, which ones are reputable which ones avoid?

I'm keeping a role call on the front page of this thread and wondered how many are in your party? We have a Facebook page too: Our Facebook Page

 

[cntclark]

Hey guys! Not sure how to reply to individual posts so ill reply to you all So my in laws are flying from St. Louis we will be flying form DC. With AirCanada we noticed both flights meet in toronto and then its a straight shot from barcelona from there. One families post i read talked about missing their connection and having to meet at the next cruise port, so i guess thats why im now getting paranoid, as im a planner and thought my idea of getting there same day was solid. I also am hearing about all these flights being cancelled or delayed by American so of course i wanted to check on reputable airlines that are extremly reliable and dont have a history of this. Something i did find helpful through was the connection having a longer layover right? So im assuming better to have a longer layover in toronto or whatever connection so if our starting flight is delayed ill still make my connection and have 6 or so hours for delays to barcelona itself. I think they said the last flight can get in at 1pm same day, we have disney trans. My master plan was to sleep the flight over that way when we woke up it was morning as if we slept the night anyway decreasing jetlag. I think the only other flight we found was connecting us both in Philly with usair? About the same price, so what do yall think aircanada or philly with us or american?

Here is our info for the role call.
we have 6 total in our party
Grand parents in law 1st disney cruise, first time in europe both in there 80's, Warren and Diana
Mother in law Janet mid 40's, she went on our 1st disney cruise with us to the carribean on fantasy this year in april. Says she will never cruise with anyother cruise line she was so mesmerized .
My husband Casey and myself Tiffany we are 27 and my daughter Isabella who is 3.

So glad we finally found our meet thread, was trying to search through all these discussions to find people on the same one and what your travel plans were. thanks for all the help ya'll!!!

 

[cntclark]

I'm a rookie at cruising, but flights to Europe - that is something I do way too much for work - happy to help there. Where are you starting from?

The Air Canada direct Toronto -> Barcelona will get you in with buckets of time to spare - and will probably be the flight we use going out to Barcelona. Will not be the routing we use coming home though, we'll take a connection through Frankfurt or Munich most likely. Reason is that Air Canada uses one of the 3 older 767s on that route - so no personal tvs to keep you occupied on the flight (not an issue going east as I'll be trying to sleep). There is a chance this might change as the new 787s are starting to come on stream now, and they will be retiring the 767s as they do.

Assuming you're coming from Canada, United will have code share flights as will US Air. However United hasn't released their full schedule yet. The only other direct option from Canada is Air Transat. They'll be your cheapest option, but will only fly 1-2 days a week, so might not work for your desire to get there cruise day. I haven't looked into it since I have more than enough points for our tickets on Air Canada. The only advice in general is to book with an eye to risk. ie, make sure no matter what you make the boat - so book long (2.5 hour or more) connections if direct isn't possible and you should be fine.

Call me nieve, but what is code share? Is that a connection with another airline??

 

[roblab]

Call me nieve, but what is code share? Is that a connection with another airline??

Exactly.

Air Canada, like many airlines belong to an alliance (Air Canada is in Star Alliance, partnered with United, US Air, Lufthansa, SAS among others). In a nutshell it allows them to sell tickets on the others flights expanding their route network.

So if you were flying from Toronto to Barcelona, you could buy an Air Canada ticket that connected in Newark, and the flight to Barcelona would actually be on a United aircraft, but your flight numbers would be Air Canada numbers... that way Air Canada can say they have 4 flights a day into Barcelona, when in reality only one is on an actual Air Canada plane.

 

[roblab]

Hey guys! Not sure how to reply to individual posts so ill reply to you all So my in laws are flying from St. Louis we will be flying form DC. With AirCanada we noticed both flights meet in toronto and then its a straight shot from barcelona from there. One families post i read talked about missing their connection and having to meet at the next cruise port, so i guess thats why im now getting paranoid, as im a planner and thought my idea of getting there same day was solid. I also am hearing about all these flights being cancelled or delayed by American so of course i wanted to check on reputable airlines that are extremly reliable and dont have a history of this. Something i did find helpful through was the connection having a longer layover right? So im assuming better to have a longer layover in toronto or whatever connection so if our starting flight is delayed ill still make my connection and have 6 or so hours for delays to barcelona itself. I think they said the last flight can get in at 1pm same day, we have disney trans. My master plan was to sleep the flight over that way when we woke up it was morning as if we slept the night anyway decreasing jetlag. I think the only other flight we found was connecting us both in Philly with usair? About the same price, so what do yall think aircanada or philly with us or american?

American is having a unique problem due to a maintenance issue... Basically the FAA gave them x amount of time to do some recall item. By the time our cruise comes around that issue (as well as the labour relations issue that is compounding the maintenance issue) should be solved.

In general I'm pretty partial to Air Canada (Living in Toronto it is a no brainer for me) I would take the longer connection option - although it leaves you cooling your heals in an airport for longer it gives you for problems on your first flight. Also remember that one advantage of doing Toronto is should something happen to cause you to miss your Barcelona flight, Air Canada will have flights to Munich, Frankfurt, Brussles, and London among others, all leaving after the Barcelona flight - and will be able to get you connections to get you to the boat.

United should have a direct from DC is you are really paranoid (from Dulles I believe)

Air Canada is a really good airline, for me compares very favorably to the US legacy airlines. They are subject to the random problems that plague all air travel, and bashing Air Canada is a national sport up here - but

When I have something that I can't miss (like a cruise start) I assume plan A will screw up, and thus book the options that has the most alternate plans (ie a long layover, multiple other routing options should I still miss the connection etc)

Rob.

 

[roblab]

Since a bunch of you have done this cruise before, any suggestions on hotels pre-cruise in Barcelona? Ideally something as close as possible to the port - but will also be a good base to see the city from.

Rob.

 

[Florida Mel]

Hey guys! Not sure how to reply to individual posts so ill reply to you all So my in laws are flying from St. Louis we will be flying form DC. With AirCanada we noticed both flights meet in toronto and then its a straight shot from barcelona from there. One families post i read talked about missing their connection and having to meet at the next cruise port, so i guess thats why im now getting paranoid, as im a planner and thought my idea of getting there same day was solid. I also am hearing about all these flights being cancelled or delayed by American so of course i wanted to check on reputable airlines that are extremly reliable and dont have a history of this. Something i did find helpful through was the connection having a longer layover right? So im assuming better to have a longer layover in toronto or whatever connection so if our starting flight is delayed ill still make my connection and have 6 or so hours for delays to barcelona itself. I think they said the last flight can get in at 1pm same day, we have disney trans. My master plan was to sleep the flight over that way when we woke up it was morning as if we slept the night anyway decreasing jetlag. I think the only other flight we found was connecting us both in Philly with usair? About the same price, so what do yall think aircanada or philly with us or american?

Here is our info for the role call.
we have 6 total in our party
Grand parents in law 1st disney cruise, first time in europe both in there 80's, Warren and Diana
Mother in law Janet mid 40's, she went on our 1st disney cruise with us to the carribean on fantasy this year in april. Says she will never cruise with anyother cruise line she was so mesmerized .
My husband Casey and myself Tiffany we are 27 and my daughter Isabella who is 3.

So glad we finally found our meet thread, was trying to search through all these discussions to find people on the same one and what your travel plans were. thanks for all the help ya'll!!!

Awesome, you guys are going to have so much fun in Europe

 

[Florida Mel]

Since a bunch of you have done this cruise before, any suggestions on hotels pre-cruise in Barcelona? Ideally something as close as possible to the port - but will also be a good base to see the city from.

Rob.

We've stayed at the Novotel City hotel on both occassions and loved it Perfect location for exploring the city, close to the metro and a 10 minute taxi ride to the port

 

[applecore72]

Hi there,

I'm new to this group. Me (Helena), DH Thomas and DDs Magda (10) and Ellie (7) will be cruising on the Disney Magic next August. We are so excited!

This will be our second cruise ever and the childrens first cruise. Me and DH were on the Disney dream for a 5-night cruise. It was a wonderful cruise but unfortunately we recieved words that my father had passed away (at home in Sweden) on the third day. Of course this affected the rest of our cruise. I have to say that all the staff we had to speak to onboard for changing our travel arrangements were so helpful and really wonderful.

Since we live in Sweden we are going to try for a cruise closer to home this time. I have read that the Disney Magic is smaller compared to Disney Dream and I hope it won't be too crowded and that it will live up to our expectations Has anyone in here done this cruise before on the Disney Magic? How was it?

Only 10 months and 15 days left!

 

[Florida Mel]

Hi there,

I'm new to this group. Me (Helena), DH Thomas and DDs Magda (10) and Ellie (7) will be cruising on the Disney Magic next August. We are so excited!

This will be our second cruise ever and the childrens first cruise. Me and DH were on the Disney dream for a 5-night cruise. It was a wonderful cruise but unfortunately we recieved words that my father had passed away (at home in Sweden) on the third day. Of course this affected the rest of our cruise. I have to say that all the staff we had to speak to onboard for changing our travel arrangements were so helpful and really wonderful.

Since we live in Sweden we are going to try for a cruise closer to home this time. I have read that the Disney Magic is smaller compared to Disney Dream and I hope it won't be too crowded and that it will live up to our expectations Has anyone in here done this cruise before on the Disney Magic? How was it?

Only 10 months and 15 days left!

Welcome onboard Helena, Thomas, Magda and Ellie

You're all going to love the Disney Magic. she's beautiful

 

[ThePicketts]

Hi there,

I'm new to this group. Me (Helena), DH Thomas and DDs Magda (10) and Ellie (7) will be cruising on the Disney Magic next August. We are so excited!

This will be our second cruise ever and the childrens first cruise. Me and DH were on the Disney dream for a 5-night cruise. It was a wonderful cruise but unfortunately we recieved words that my father had passed away (at home in Sweden) on the third day. Of course this affected the rest of our cruise. I have to say that all the staff we had to speak to onboard for changing our travel arrangements were so helpful and really wonderful.

Since we live in Sweden we are going to try for a cruise closer to home this time. I have read that the Disney Magic is smaller compared to Disney Dream and I hope it won't be too crowded and that it will live up to our expectations Has anyone in here done this cruise before on the Disney Magic? How was it?

Only 10 months and 15 days left!

We did the transatlantic and it was full. I honestly had no issues nor felt like it was crowded.

 

[roblab]

We've stayed at the Novotel City hotel on both occassions and loved it Perfect location for exploring the city, close to the metro and a 10 minute taxi ride to the port

Thanks Mel!

 

[Pirategirl65]

Hi Everyone, First post
just found this site,
Me and my two kids are booked for The Disney Magic for the Aug 31 2013

This is our first cruise and our first trip out of the country were so excited!!
Were Hoping and up for all meet and greets before or during The Cruise.

Going on this Adventure is three of us
Myself - Dottie 47, my son - Ryan 25 And my daughter - Miranda 19


we'll be arriving in Barcelona Spain, the 28th to check out things before the cruise, thinking about doing the aquarium and the zoo there. also Gothic Quarters..

Anything else you could suggest?

Also any advice on cruising / the flight etc.
would be greatly appreciated.

And what are Fish Extenders and Tastings lol??

 

[ThePicketts]

Hi Everyone, First post
just found this site,
Me and my two kids are booked for The Disney Magic for the Aug 31 2013

This is our first cruise and our first trip out of the country were so excited!!
Were Hoping and up for all meet and greets before or during The Cruise.

Going on this Adventure is three of us
Myself - Dottie 47, my son - Ryan 25 And my daughter - Miranda 19

we'll be arriving in Barcelona Spain, the 28th to check out things before the cruise, thinking about doing the aquarium and the zoo there. also Gothic Quarters..

Anything else you could suggest?

Also any advice on cruising / the flight etc.
would be greatly appreciated.

And what are Fish Extenders and Tastings lol??

Welcome! Fish Extenders (or FE is you want the common abbreviation) is a gift exchange that we do during the cruise. They are called FEs because you hang the pockets to receive the gifts off of a fish outside your door. It is a lot of fun. Google Fish Extenders images and you will see what I mean.

Tastings are for different types of alcohol. I don't drink so I really don't know much other than that.

The Gothic Quarter is amazing!

 

[Pirategirl65]

Welcome! Fish Extenders (or FE is you want the common abbreviation) is a gift exchange that we do during the cruise. They are called FEs because you hang the pockets to receive the gifts off of a fish outside your door. It is a lot of fun. Google Fish Extenders images and you will see what I mean.

Tastings are for different types of alcohol. I don't drink so I really don't know much other than that.

The Gothic Quarter is amazing!

I googled FE's and it looks like tons of fun! Count us in!!
how does it work though? is it a everyday thing? and what are some gift ideas?
Sorry for all the questions i just don't wanna miss out on anything lol.

Thanks so much for your response

 

[ThePicketts]

I googled FE's and it looks like tons of fun! Count us in!!
how does it work though? is it a everyday thing? and what are some gift ideas?
Sorry for all the questions i just don't wanna miss out on anything lol.

Thanks so much for your response

Each person can do their FE gifts differently. After we get everyone signed up, you can give gifts according to individuals in each of your staterooms or 1 per room. You can do 1 gift per room for the cruise, or one per person per day. It really is up to you. You can put your name on the gifts or keep it anonymous. Disney themes, location themes, etc. Google FE gift ideas.

Keep asking questions!