August 7th, 2010 Mediterranean Cruise

[dustermom02]

I've seen info about shipping packages to port before your cruise - but have you heard about shipping packages back to the states from Barcelona? Will Disney help with that?

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

I've seen info about shipping packages to port before your cruise - but have you heard about shipping packages back to the states from Barcelona? Will Disney help with that?

I thought I read in someones trip report that there was a place in the Barcelona terminal that would allow you to ship things back. I would email DCL to get the details.

 

[mermster]

Hi everybody! I have to admit that I have been lurking for quite some time and figured it was about time to say hello (and get some advice!!)
Here's my story:
I'm traveling with my husband, 9 year old daughter, and mother. We will be arriving in Barcelona a couple days before the cruise departs to explore the city as much as possible (staying at AC Diplomat through Disney). We are doing Disney excursions in all ports except Corsica where we plan to just walk around a bit and check things out. We are all very excited to be cruising with Disney again and to be going to Europe!!
I was hoping to get some of your expert advice!! I have been reading the boards and books and what not, but still pondering a few things:

1. What to wear: Not on the ship, of course, but in the ports; especially while in Barcelona "on our own". I've gotten myself all worked up about wearing the right things so we don't look too much like tourists dying to be taken advantage of. I know I am overthinking the whole thing, but can't help myself. Seems like shorts aren't common, but am worried about being hot in capris with the summer heat! Thinking of sundresses, but most of mine are sleeveless, so then I have to carry around a sweater for entering churches... I'm being silly, right? Anyway, I would love to get some ideas on what people are planning to wear!
2. How much money to bring: I know it's really a personal thing, but just looking for any ideas! Plan to charge wherever we can so don't have to worry about having too much cash on hand. What do I need to have cash for? Not much I think... Just for a little drinks or snacks in between meals, right? Ooh, and for the bathrooms sometimes. Maybe some for cab fare in case we take a taxi in Barcelona... Anything else?
3. Speaking of cash: should I just exchange at Barcelona airport when I get there? Or should I try to exchange beforehand? Also, if I need more after Barcelona, did I read somewhere you can exchange on boards, but have to have cash (as opposed to charge to room)?
4. Barcelona: What are people doing who are arriving early (or staying afterwards)? I was looking at the Hop on Hop Off bus. Does anyone have any experience using this? Is it easy to recognize (bus stops)? Do you know anything about getting tickets?

Okay, I am sure I have a thousand more questions, but I feel bad enough pumping you guys for this much information
So, thank you already for all the helpful information that has been posted and in advance for attempting to answer some of my questions

 

[dustermom02]

WOW. Heard back from the TA. Would indeed be a huge savings for us to swap to one of the virtual Cat 12 rooms for 4 people. From what I just read in the passporter (allesma is that where you read it?) I should be right back in a cat 11 like I'm in right now on deck 5, 6, or 7. Unfortunately, as soon as she emailed me the price, the TA left for vacation and referred me to the general email for her agency so I am again waiting. She said I might lose my reservations(spa, palos, port excursions), but the only reservations I care about are the port excursions and it looks like they are all still available - the ones we're interested in anyway.

Is anyone else trying to take advantage of this? Can you see other potential problems? It looks like some of the cat 11's are right above the theater and a couple next to laundry, but other than those 10 cabins they should all pretty much be the same - I think.

I keep checking to see if the cabins disappear from the list on the website when I should be doing work to get ready for tomorrow....

1. What to wear: Not on the ship, of course, but in the ports; especially while in Barcelona "on our own". I've gotten myself all worked up about wearing the right things so we don't look too much like tourists dying to be taken advantage of. I know I am over thinking the whole thing, but can't help myself. Seems like shorts aren't common, but am worried about being hot in capris with the summer heat! Thinking of sundresses, but most of mine are sleeveless, so then I have to carry around a sweater for entering churches... I'm being silly, right? Anyway, I would love to get some ideas on what people are planning to wear!

Hi there Mermster - I'm new to this myself, but you can try this for clothes.
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/shopping/barcelona-clothes.html

As to the other questions I'm still trying to figure out myself...
Cash - don't plan to carry much.
I hadn't heard of the hop on hop off bus- is that the same as the Barcelona card that lets you on all the public transportation and it sounds like you can buy that on line and pick it up at the airport?

 

[Allesma]

Hi everybody! I have to admit that I have been lurking for quite some time and figured it was about time to say hello (and get some advice!!)
Here's my story:
I'm traveling with my husband, 9 year old daughter, and mother. We will be arriving in Barcelona a couple days before the cruise departs to explore the city as much as possible (staying at AC Diplomat through Disney). We are doing Disney excursions in all ports except Corsica where we plan to just walk around a bit and check things out. We are all very excited to be cruising with Disney again and to be going to Europe!!
I was hoping to get some of your expert advice!! I have been reading the boards and books and what not, but still pondering a few things:

1. What to wear: Not on the ship, of course, but in the ports; especially while in Barcelona "on our own". I've gotten myself all worked up about wearing the right things so we don't look too much like tourists dying to be taken advantage of. I know I am overthinking the whole thing, but can't help myself. Seems like shorts aren't common, but am worried about being hot in capris with the summer heat! Thinking of sundresses, but most of mine are sleeveless, so then I have to carry around a sweater for entering churches... I'm being silly, right? Anyway, I would love to get some ideas on what people are planning to wear!
2. How much money to bring: I know it's really a personal thing, but just looking for any ideas! Plan to charge wherever we can so don't have to worry about having too much cash on hand. What do I need to have cash for? Not much I think... Just for a little drinks or snacks in between meals, right? Ooh, and for the bathrooms sometimes. Maybe some for cab fare in case we take a taxi in Barcelona... Anything else?
3. Speaking of cash: should I just exchange at Barcelona airport when I get there? Or should I try to exchange beforehand? Also, if I need more after Barcelona, did I read somewhere you can exchange on boards, but have to have cash (as opposed to charge to room)?
4. Barcelona: What are people doing who are arriving early (or staying afterwards)? I was looking at the Hop on Hop Off bus. Does anyone have any experience using this? Is it easy to recognize (bus stops)? Do you know anything about getting tickets?

Okay, I am sure I have a thousand more questions, but I feel bad enough pumping you guys for this much information
So, thank you already for all the helpful information that has been posted and in advance for attempting to answer some of my questions

Welcome! Lotst of questions, I'll try to answer some.

If you want to blend into the crowd in Barcelona wear dark pants and a shirt/blouse and "nice" comfortable shoes bring a small camera and a small purse. No backpack, sneakers, baseballcaps, large camera's or shorts so you will blend into the mass in the metro or streets.

Bring a bankcard with a pincode so you can withdraw a few hundred euro's along the trip from ATM's for drinks and souvenirs.

The Hop on hop of is red and very easy to recognize, you buy a card when you get on the bus and they give you a map with the stops which are easy to recognise. Sagrada, Parc Guell and the small Tibidao are nice. And they have a neat Aquarium.

You really should bring a thin with or black vest to wear on the bus, in the churches and inside the boat (Theather or Dining room are sometimes chilly because of the airco.

Did you read about our FEE, we are going to exchange some presents on the ship, perhaps you would like to join? LisaWalkerC21 keeps the list.

We have an 8 yr old DD they probably will meet in the lab. Which excursions did you book with DCL?

 

[mermster]

Hi there Mermster - I'm new to this myself, but you can try this for clothes.
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/shopping/barcelona-clothes.html

As to the other questions I'm still trying to figure out myself...
Cash - don't plan to carry much.
I hadn't heard of the hop on hop off bus- is that the same as the Barcelona card that lets you on all the public transportation and it sounds like you can buy that on line and pick it up at the airport?[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the link about what to wear - great info! Hop on hop off bus is different than the Barcelona card. From what I know (which isn't much obviously), it's a bus that has 3 different routes and takes you around to all the "big" sites. You get on and off at whatever interests you. I think it's called the Bus Touristic.

 

[mermster]

Welcome! Lotst of questions, I'll try to answer some.

If you want to blend into the crowd in Barcelona wear dark pants and a shirt/blouse and "nice" comfortable shoes bring a small camera and a small purse. No backpack, sneakers, baseballcaps, large camera's or shorts so you will blend into the mass in the metro or streets.

Bring a bankcard with a pincode so you can withdraw a few hundred euro's along the trip from ATM's for drinks and souvenirs.

The Hop on hop of is red and very easy to recognize, you buy a card when you get on the bus and they give you a map with the stops which are easy to recognise. Sagrada, Parc Guell and the small Tibidao are nice. And they have a neat Aquarium.

You really should bring a thin with or black vest to wear on the bus, in the churches and inside the boat (Theather or Dining room are sometimes chilly because of the airco.

Did you read about our FEE, we are going to exchange some presents on the ship, perhaps you would like to join? LisaWalkerC21 keeps the list.

We have an 8 yr old DD they probably will meet in the lab. Which excursions did you book with DCL?

Thank you for the advice with the clothes and info about the bus!! Will definitely bring a little sweater or 2 as I do get cold easily in AC!
I had read about the FE and think it sounds like so much fun. But I'm worried about packing too much and I'm SO not creative and all that, so I think I'm going to pass...
I'm sure our daughter will be in the lab as much as we let her, so I bet they will meet up!
We are doing the following DCL excursions:
3 Historic Cities and Dghajsa Boat Ride
Sidi Bou Said and Carthage
Pompeii - Half Day
Jumping Back to Eternal Rome
Florence and Pisa
Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze
What about you?

And, I know I'm pushing my luck with the amount of questions, but I thought of another one:
How far in advance will we get our airline info (booked through Disney)?

Thank you again to everyone for all the great info!

 

[abayaflowers]

A Virtual cat 12? I didn't even realize they did that sort of a thing to fill the ship. I emailed my TA last night to ask about it and she said she'll get back to me when Dis opens today and find out what they're doing. That would be a huge savings for me but I read that a lot of those cabins can be really noisy.

It looks like the price of my exact category went down from what I paid too. That's not good.

We will be speaking with our TA tomorrow. We think that it is well worth cancelling our CAT 11 to get a CAT 12. Savings of $4000.00 is amazing. We figured that we spend approximately between 7 to 8 hours each day in our room. The rest will be on other parts of the ship or on the SE's. Thanks for the great tip!

 

[Allesma]

Thank you for the advice with the clothes and info about the bus!! Will definitely bring a little sweater or 2 as I do get cold easily in AC!
I had read about the FE and think it sounds like so much fun. But I'm worried about packing too much and I'm SO not creative and all that, so I think I'm going to pass...
I'm sure our daughter will be in the lab as much as we let her, so I bet they will meet up!
We are doing the following DCL excursions:
3 Historic Cities and Dghajsa Boat Ride
Sidi Bou Said and Carthage
Pompeii - Half Day
Jumping Back to Eternal Rome
Florence and Pisa
Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze
What about you?

And, I know I'm pushing my luck with the amount of questions, but I thought of another one:
How far in advance will we get our airline info (booked through Disney)?

Thank you again to everyone for all the great info!

I think you hear about your flight from DCL 3 weeks before the trip. We are doing the hunt on Malta, Palo brunch on sea day, Bardo Museum for kids in Tunis, Pompei on our own, Stay on ship in Rome (Palo's , and Vista Spa ) Cinque Terre, Villefrance. On Cosica we wil stay in Ajaccio.

 

[dustermom02]

Well, we did it. Thanks for the info. We down graded and we are now a category 12 stateroom and we have no idea where we will be located until 30 days before we sail. I feel a bit nervous, but we were in an inside room before and we still will be, so its not like the view will be any different, but the savings will be worth it, I hope.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Well, we did it. Thanks for the info. We down graded and we are now a category 12 stateroom and we have no idea where we will be located until 30 days before we sail. I feel a bit nervous, but we were in an inside room before and we still will be, so its not like the view will be any different, but the savings will be worth it, I hope.

That's great! You are so lucky Now more money to shop with Were you able to keep your Palo reservations? How about your excursions? This trip is coming up fast now...so exciting!

 

[lalight0676]

Hello all, new to Disboards and am glad to see a thread for this cruise I will be traveling with my DH, DS (12)autistic, DDs (10 and 4mo.) and last but not least DG (Disney Grandpa) We've never been to any part of Europe and are so excited to see it all, and what a great way to do it, on board our favorite cruise liner! We will also be on the Dover to Barcelona cruise July 30 to August 7th, so we are going to be taking full advantage of the laundry facilities.

 

[dustermom02]

That's great! You are so lucky Now more money to shop with Were you able to keep your Palo reservations? How about your excursions? This trip is coming up fast now...so exciting!

Believe it or not YES we were able to get all the reservations back! I'm such a happy person right now I switched the Palo reservations to my parents cabin before we made the change - they were not going to give up their balcony -and all the excursions I wanted were still available. I was really worrying about budgeting the excursion costs because with a 10 yr old and a 12 yr old we were paying for 4 adults, so this is a HUGE help.

 

[mermster]

I think you hear about your flight from DCL 3 weeks before the trip. We are doing the hunt on Malta, Palo brunch on sea day, Bardo Museum for kids in Tunis, Pompei on our own, Stay on ship in Rome (Palo's , and Vista Spa ) Cinque Terre, Villefrance. On Cosica we wil stay in Ajaccio.

Thanks again! I really appreciate all the help. Your excursions sound like fun! We are also doing Palo (on the second sea day).

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Believe it or not YES we were able to get all the reservations back! I'm such a happy person right now I switched the Palo reservations to my parents cabin before we made the change - they were not going to give up their balcony -and all the excursions I wanted were still available. I was really worrying about budgeting the excursion costs because with a 10 yr old and a 12 yr old we were paying for 4 adults, so this is a HUGE help.

Paula that's fantastic! It has been a magical day for you, for sure

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Hello all, new to Disboards and am glad to see a thread for this cruise I will be traveling with my DH, DS (12)autistic, DDs (10 and 4mo.) and last but not least DG (Disney Grandpa) We've never been to any part of Europe and are so excited to see it all, and what a great way to do it, on board our favorite cruise liner! We will also be on the Dover to Barcelona cruise July 30 to August 7th, so we are going to be taking full advantage of the laundry facilities.

Welcome Aboard! What an amazing back-to-back cruise you are taking!

 

[makaylee]

Hello everyone, I know I'm late but this was a last minute trip for us. Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Mamie and i'll be on this sailing with my DH, DD13, DS4 and my mom. Pretty excited, but nervous also because this is our first med cruise and it's so last minute. Not much time for planning, I was hoping to get a lot of info from reading your posts and asking you some questions =)

 

[Allesma]

Hello everyone, I know I'm late but this was a last minute trip for us. Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Mamie and i'll be on this sailing with my DH, DD13, DS4 and my mom. Pretty excited, but nervous also because this is our first med cruise and it's so last minute. Not much time for planning, I was hoping to get a lot of info from reading your posts and asking you some questions =)

Welcome aboard Mamie We also have a DD who just had her 14th birthday. Feel free to ask your questions!

 

[Allesma]

Hello all, new to Disboards and am glad to see a thread for this cruise I will be traveling with my DH, DS (12)autistic, DDs (10 and 4mo.) and last but not least DG (Disney Grandpa) We've never been to any part of Europe and are so excited to see it all, and what a great way to do it, on board our favorite cruise liner! We will also be on the Dover to Barcelona cruise July 30 to August 7th, so we are going to be taking full advantage of the laundry facilities.

Welcome! Also losts of auti experience overhere DD 14 has Asperger and loves the cruise because a lot is predictable. We have great experience with the youthclub castmembers. What a wonderfull back-to-back you are taking! Look forward to hear more about your planns, what excursions you're planning etc.

Have a Disney Day!

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Hello everyone, I know I'm late but this was a last minute trip for us. Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Mamie and i'll be on this sailing with my DH, DD13, DS4 and my mom. Pretty excited, but nervous also because this is our first med cruise and it's so last minute. Not much time for planning, I was hoping to get a lot of info from reading your posts and asking you some questions =)

Welcome Aboard!