DCL Europe Summer 2022 approaching - what are you doing?

[holula]

Also, anyone traveling with Europe being part of the itinerary should get informed about your air passenger rights. The EU rules apply to any flight operated by a carrier with its seat within the European Union as well as to any flight departing the EU regardless of carrier.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm

The UK is not part of the EU and those rules don’t apply to UK carriers or flights departing from there by non-EU carriers. However, the rules also apply to Switzerland, Norway and Iceland as if they were EU countries.

At the moment those rules do also apply to the UK.

However depending who is striking you may not be able to claim. In October 2020 my flight was delayed because air traffic control was striking and that was outside the airline’s control, so no compensation was paid.

 

[SirDuff]

Also tip for those travelling to Europe or flying back from Europe: look up how your airport is doing.

More than one airport in Europe has staffing problems. Transfers are usually not an issue, but departing flights can be. Amsterdam is a mess (especially at customs), several in the UK are no doing well.

Look up the name of the airport in the news section on Google.

Extra time at check in might be neccesary

Do you know if air-side passport control is also bad? I can’t seem to find a lot about it, but if I go through Schipol, I‘m leaving/entering Schengen there.

 

[mousefan73]

I just realized that you are German, too. Sorry, should have read your tag line. Always great to meet other Germans on here!

American - German family ! I don’t know how my tagline got there cause I do not recall making it I think my sons it is a joke lol

 

[mousefan73]

Do you know if air-side passport control is also bad? I can’t seem to find a lot about it, but if I go through Schipol, I‘m leaving/entering Schengen there.

Pass control can be affected but not as bad as security can be. And it’s not always a nightmare. I flew two weeks ago and there was no line. It really depends. Sat-Sat at “charter” airports are a nightmare as you have all the package vacationers. Tuesday at 10am not much going on.

 

[Karin1984]

@SirDuff as I no longer work for KLM, I am a bit out of the loop, but I don't hear a lot about it in the news. The most important group of passengers for Schiphol are the transfers they bring in a lot more money. And they cost a lot more money when they get stranded, as hotels and transportation need to be arranged. Dutch people you can send home if a flight departing from Amsterdam got cancelled.

So, my assumption is they make sure the customs between Schengen and non-Schengen is properly covered with the crowds.
I think the flow of crowds between Schengen and non-Schengen is easier to predict than people embarking in Amsterdam.. Most people who have to go from one side to the other do this immediately when they get off the flight. Even when you have a couple of hours to transfer, most people go to their terminal first, and then wait there.
When you come from outside, some people show up 1 hour in advance, others 5. This must be harder to predict where to have staff at the right place at the right time.

 

[mab2012]

What airline?

EasyJet. On the upside, this is after we disembark from our cruise and over a week before we fly home, so a delay would be irritating and inconvenient, but not catastrophic.

Since our flight is outside of the strike period - just barely - it seems like it would be in EasyJet's best interest to make sure our flight is running as scheduled and with pre-booked passengers on board. Otherwise they just end up with even more angry customers, and potentially on the hook for compensation. So... we'll see.

 

[PurplePencil]

This is great advice. If you are from the US, the bag requirements are slightly smaller than US standards and some airlines weigh luggage too. We flew Delta to a KLM connection, and I knew KLM was unlikely to cause a problem for two of our bags that were an inch too big in one direction. They didn't even look at the bags. But you need to know the aircraft too if you are trying to push the limits, because you might not fit in the bin, even if the airline enforces the rules. Do you research. And as you said, Ryanair and others are much more likely to check. Even there, I would find a way to carryon if you like to have your belongings when you cruise. I know people going on European tours, where checking bags is now completely prohibited by the tour operators.

Or, only check the very non-critical stuff. But its not a perfect solution, since you have to go make the lost baggage claim at the airport when you arrive, and that is the last thing I would have wanted to do when landing in Rome. Carryon has so many other advantages too It made traveling through Europe so much more pleasant for our family.

If I had a direct flight, I would be a little less concerned. But that's not possible much of the time.

Having experience making a lost baggage claim after landing in Rome, it’s not too fun. On the bright side, we flew in multiple days before the cruise, so having a bag delayed by one day did not impact the trip.

 

[mousefan73]

Also keep in mind many airlines allow you to claim lost baggage via their app. So if you need to deal with this and see a huuuge line, just use the app. Some lines have been hours.
Most luggage is not "lost" but delayed and the app will take care of most issues. IF your airline has one. look for "digital bag services" and keep those tag recepts! they should be under your online account too.

 

[hmsTigger]

International travel sounds like a nightmare and give us great pause after postponing for 2 years. Sounds stressful between covid, airport issues, delays, and now the rise of BA4 and 5 in Europe.
Does anyone know what Disney does with covid positive cruisers? This has us most hesitant.

 

[DCLMP]

EasyJet. On the upside, this is after we disembark from our cruise and over a week before we fly home, so a delay would be irritating and inconvenient, but not catastrophic.

Since our flight is outside of the strike period - just barely - it seems like it would be in EasyJet's best interest to make sure our flight is running as scheduled and with pre-booked passengers on board. Otherwise they just end up with even more angry customers, and potentially on the hook for compensation. So... we'll see.

I’m thinking about switching to Finair and AA. It would add an extra leg, but I’m not feeling to confident with British airways.

 

[mab2012]

I’m thinking about switching to Finair and AA. It would add an extra leg, but I’m not feeling to confident with British airways.

I could see that, if your outbound trip (and therefore cruise) could be impacted. Although extra connections come with their own problems.

I'm suddenly re-thinking my plan to check luggage on our outbound flight. We are connecting through a small airport en route to London Gatwick, and then fly on to Rome later in the day. But our flight to Rome is on a separate ticket, so if our bags somehow don't make the connection in Halifax, we will have a major problem.

 

[DCLMP]

I could see that, if your outbound trip (and therefore cruise) could be impacted. Although extra connections come with their own problems.

I'm suddenly re-thinking my plan to check luggage on our outbound flight. We are connecting through a small airport en route to London Gatwick, and then fly on to Rome later in the day. But our flight to Rome is on a separate ticket, so if our bags somehow don't make the connection in Halifax, we will have a major problem.

No, it's my trip home. My trip to the cruise is easy a non-stop to London on AA. Coming home if I do this we'd have 24 hours in Helsinki which could be interesting. I'm booking with AA miles and they don't have flights from CPH. I have to book either BA or Ay. and since Finnair is lending British Airways pilots they seem like the best bet. They haven't had any issues. I'd save 300 dollars on taxes, but it would be more miles. All the problems BA has had and the potential strike has me a little freaked out.

 

[bwmjam]

Just got back from 3 weeks in Europe and every other American we met had their luggage lost by the airline. I mean an alarming number of people. One couple was on the cruise for 6 days before they got their luggage. The airlines are severely understaffed. If you have a long layover, go pick up your luggage and recheck for connecting flights.

 

[bwmjam]

I'm sorry to hear that. We almost did a switch to an alternative line for our med cruise, but ended up sticking with DCL. We sailed a week ago and I really enjoyed the cruise and thought about how glad I was we stuck with DCL multiple times during it. However, my wife and I are about to book Princess for Alaska next summer. Now I am second guessing our decision.

What areas of service were lacking? How was the general ambiance of the ships? The service, classic ship designs, lack of smoking, enjoyable meals, and general "feel" of DCL is what we really connect with. The shows are nice, but not critical for us. The characters aren't at all important to us, although I enjoy seeing little ones get excited for them. Evening entertainment is fun but not critical to us either. And my wife isn't a sit-by-the-pool type of person, so I only do it occasionally. So it really mostly just the general vibe of the ship and service.

Added: I think I also generally like the people that sail DCL. It seems we have a lot of similar interests and they are generally nice folks. Our Med cruise Facebook group rocked.

Added: The reason we were going with Princess is that we had read multiple cruise reviews that said they were experts in Alaska, they can cruise Glacier Bay, and the prices was inviting since this isn't really our big vacation next year.

The crew seemed overworked and tired. I think it's due to Covid - when they have to quarantine, others have to work more. Also,, with free drinks, they can't keep up with orders so a lot of waiting around. The line for guest services was always long, I find that telling. We were upset because we bought eMed Covid test kits so we could just test in our hotel room. Princess told us to test 24 - 72 hours prior to sailing so we did. When we arrived at the port, we were forced to test again - 26 hours apart - ridiculous. Princess blamed the Greek government but I blame Princess - they should have sent a quick email that our tests need to be under 24 hours.

 

[brentm77]

The crew seemed overworked and tired. I think it's due to Covid - when they have to quarantine, others have to work more. Also,, with free drinks, they can't keep up with orders so a lot of waiting around. The line for guest services was always long, I find that telling. We were upset because we bought eMed Covid test kits so we could just test in our hotel room. Princess told us to test 24 - 72 hours prior to sailing so we did. When we arrived at the port, we were forced to test again - 26 hours apart - ridiculous. Princess blamed the Greek government but I blame Princess - they should have sent a quick email that our tests need to be under 24 hours.

I'm sorry to hear that, both for you and for the crew. It's miserable working in those conditions, and it only compounds as customer's get upset when a costly vacation isn't what was sold to them. It is flowing into so many industries right now and I am afraid expectations will be so low that it will never return to the way it was. Fortunately, we didn't experience that at all on the Magic, so there is hope.

 

[saweczkodisney]

We had a week in Rome first, so I wasn't worried about making is to the cruise on time, but more about getting stuck in a connecting airport for an absurd amount of time. Luckily it all worked out.

The testing for the cruise was the worst part of the whole trip. Most of our Facebook group seems to have been fine. But we know of a few lovely families who weren't as lucky. I will welcome the day when this step is gone and people can board without worry. It was one of the few bad parts of an otherwise absolutely fabulous trip.

We all took a covid test the night before boarding day and the morning of. I wanted to travel to the ship with a high level of confidence we wouldn't be disappointed. It took a lot of stress out of boarding for us, because we thought we were likely in the clear. It also meant we would avoid dealing with Disney and their reportedly bad and very long handling of positive cases if we were indeed positive. I highly recommend it. If you don't want to pack the tests, they are readily available in European pharmacies.

The day we boarded, we all got the news that we wouldn't need to test again to return to the US. That was fantastic news and relieved the only remaining area of concern for us, so we could relax and enjoy the cruise. That feeling when you are cleared to sail and on the ship the first day is like nothing else.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Don't we have to test through Disney though? Thought we had to go through them for embarkation

 

[brentm77]

Don't we have to test through Disney though? Thought we had to go through them for embarkation

Yes, in Europe it's still at the port. We took tests on our own to see if we were negative before arriving at port and taking the official test. It was to calm the nerves after a week of major potential exposure before the official test,and frankly, to make sure we had some control over our own quarantine if one of us was positive. In other words, I wanted to be confident we would pass the Disney test at the port

 

[tidefan]

Yes, in Europe it's still at the port. We took tests on our own to see if we were negative before arriving at port and taking the official test. It was to calm the nerves after a week of major potential exposure before the official test,and frankly, to make sure we had some control over our own quarantine if one of us was positive. In other words, I wanted to be confident we would pass the Disney test at the portwe

Yes, in Europe it's still at the port. We took tests on our own to see if we were negative before arriving at port and taking the official test. It was to calm the nerves after a week of major potential exposure before the official test,and frankly, to make sure we had some control over our own quarantine if one of us was positive. In other words, I wanted to be confident we would pass the Disney test at the port

We did the same. Tested at the hotel the day before to make sure we were good to go. Our results were a lot faster than Prenetics

 

[jeffporfirio]

Yes, in Europe it's still at the port. We took tests on our own to see if we were negative before arriving at port and taking the official test. It was to calm the nerves after a week of major potential exposure before the official test,and frankly, to make sure we had some control over our own quarantine if one of us was positive. In other words, I wanted to be confident we would pass the Disney test at the port

Thanks. Were doing the same in August. Taking a bunch of at-home-tests, that way we have control over quarantine if it comes to it.

 

[PrincessChelle]

Our family was supposed to board the 12 night Mediterranean cruise but sadly, the night before, I tested positive. I had a fever and was not feeling well. The day before I had a runny nose in the morning and thought it was just allergies, and tested negative. The rest of the family tested negative, but then a few days later everyone came down with it. It was a crushing disappointment after so many months of planning. As I type this, we have been quarantined in an AirBnB in Rome for the past week, and plan to stay a few more days until we hit our 10 day mark and can travel to Barcelona to finish out our trip for a couple days. All of our symptoms are mild now, just cough and runny nose.

Following our Facebook group, several other families tested positive after being on board for a few days. They are quarantined to their rooms and say Disney is treating them very well.

I sometimes think what would have happened if I had tested positive just one day later. There are pros and cons to being quarantined on the ship vs. on land, but overall we are just still so sad and disappointed. This is our family’s first time catching Covid and it came as a big shock.

If you’re able to do just carry-on luggage, we did two rolling luggages and two large carryon sized backpacks and that worked well for us. We had to pack much lighter than we ever have in the past, but I’m glad we managed it somehow, as it was good to not have to deal with lost luggage.

I’m very thankful that a negative test isn’t needed to travel back home or we may be stranded here for quite a while… my heart is still so sad, but trying to plan a “redo” cruise for next year and hope for the best.