July 18, 2007 07-18-07 Med Cruise

[wendy151950]

Hi everyone -

I just found this site and registered today. I'm working my way through the 100s of posts. My daughter Sarah and I will be on the 7/18 cruise. She is 11-1/2.

I broke my ankle in January and am still not really really mobile so have been picking around the excursions. Rome is my biggest concern so we signed up for Rome on Your Own but now I'm thinking that we can take the train and plan out a lighter schedule for the day. I know we will go back to Italy at some point in our lives.

Looking forward to meeting more of you and reading more!

Wendy

 

[nzdisneymom]

Wendy - a great big welcome to DISBoards and to the July 18th sailing! If you go to the first page, you'll see a link to the post that lists all of us traveling - if you'd like, I'll add you to the list!

I'm Cindy D., and I'll be traveling with my DH and my two boys (ages 11 and 9 3/4). This is our 2nd Disney cruise but our first time going to Europe.

We're planning a DIS Meet for the 18th at the Promenade Lounge (Deck 4) at an hour before the safety drill. That's a chance for all of us who have boarded to get together to put faces with names. Hope you and Sarah will plan to join us.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Well, Carol, thanks for the info about Bank of America. So I guess I'll keep checking with AAA and if I can't get 65+, I'll just exchange at the airport... although maybe I'll have my brother check AAA in his area and see if he can get a better exchange rate for me. Hhhhmmmm.... another thing to put on my list of things to do

 

[scottishwee35]

Hi Todds34

I found it at last :

(We stayed at the Grand Marina pre and post cruise and booked both stays ourself but at different websites. Breakfast was included on the pre night but not the post night that I booked through hotels.com and Delta. The breakfast had everything imaginable...very elegant and included champagne. We ate on the patio with the orange and lemon trees. After breakfast we walked up to the rooftop pool where they were putting out a wide variety of fresh fruit and assorted waters and soft drinks.As an added bonus to get us in the mood for the cruise, we could see the Magic in port)

Scottishwee35

 

[RJMOMSusan]

Hi Todds34

I found it at last :

(We stayed at the Grand Marina pre and post cruise and booked both stays ourself but at different websites. Breakfast was included on the pre night but not the post night that I booked through hotels.com and Delta. The breakfast had everything imaginable...very elegant and included champagne. We ate on the patio with the orange and lemon trees. After breakfast we walked up to the rooftop pool where they were putting out a wide variety of fresh fruit and assorted waters and soft drinks.As an added bonus to get us in the mood for the cruise, we could see the Magic in port)

Scottishwee35

Thank so much for this post... this is where we are staying.. July 16 , 17.. You are too?

Susan

 

[todds34]

Hi Todds34

I found it at last :

(We stayed at the Grand Marina pre and post cruise and booked both stays ourself but at different websites. Breakfast was included on the pre night but not the post night that I booked through hotels.com and Delta. The breakfast had everything imaginable...very elegant and included champagne. We ate on the patio with the orange and lemon trees. After breakfast we walked up to the rooftop pool where they were putting out a wide variety of fresh fruit and assorted waters and soft drinks.As an added bonus to get us in the mood for the cruise, we could see the Magic in port)

Scottishwee35

Hi Deborah

Thanks for that it is always nice to read a good report about the hotel we will be staying in. Is this where you inlaws are staying?

Andrea

 

[jslpotz]

Thought I might chime in again...we are senior citizens (67;71) taking our beloved 12 year old grandson on what hopefully will be our trip of a lifetime. We are ALL so excited....DH and I have been to Europe, Asia, and on many many cruises, although never Disney. Our stateroom 2572 will be the one decorated with Michigan State University magnets!

While we (the elders!) probably won't be keeping up with the rest of you, our grandson surely will, and then some!

We've selected a lot of the Disney excursions....some subject to change as we read and learn more.

We too are staying at the Grand Marina one day pre and post cruise.

I do have a question about pin numbers and credit cards...I was not aware this was necessary...I've always charged (a lot!!) while traveling with no problems...but I suppose to be safe I better round up some pin numbers !

judy

 

[todds34]

Thank so much for this post... this is where we are staying.. July 16 , 17.. You are too?

Susan

Hi Susan

I am staying at the Grand Marina on the 15,16 & 17th and also on the 28th with my DD Kirsten who is 11. I believe there is a whole gang of staying at this hotel from our cruise.

Andrea

 

[todds34]

Hi everyone -

I just found this site and registered today. I'm working my way through the 100s of posts. My daughter Sarah and I will be on the 7/18 cruise. She is 11-1/2.

I broke my ankle in January and am still not really really mobile so have been picking around the excursions. Rome is my biggest concern so we signed up for Rome on Your Own but now I'm thinking that we can take the train and plan out a lighter schedule for the day. I know we will go back to Italy at some point in our lives.

Looking forward to meeting more of you and reading more!

Wendy

Hi Wendy and to this thread.

My name is Andrea and I will be travelling with my DD Kirsten who is also 11 1/2. I have chosen all DCL excursions as I am a little frightened that the ship may leave with out me . I have changed the excursions I have booked at least 3 times now as reading the trip reports has made me have 2nd thoughts on a lot of them.

Looking forward to meeting you and your DD.

Andrea

 

[CarolAnnC]

My husband called Chase Bank the other day regarding the issue brought up on the boards about needing pin numbers to use credit cards in Europe.

They assured him that anywhere that accepts Visa in Europe will have the ability to take our card without a pin number being necessary. So we are going without pin numbers. This was for our Disney Visa that we inquired.

 

[scottishwee35]

Thank so much for this post... this is where we are staying.. July 16 , 17.. You are too?

Susan

We are staying at apartment from 15 July for three nights and I booked the Grand Marina Hotel for my in law on 17 July for one night. Maybe see you there

Scottishwee35

 

[Crissup]

They assured him that anywhere that accepts Visa in Europe will have the ability to take our card without a pin number being necessary. So we are going without pin numbers. This was for our Disney Visa that we inquired.

To clarify, and add further detail, I was told that Chase has been informed that this was an issue. However, when Chase looked into it, they were told that anyone will still be able to take it, but they will simply need to run it through manually. Thus, it would not be an issue.

I didn't dig deeper into this response, but I know that when I was in the UK two years ago, they are all starting to use credit cards with smart chips built into them. Basically, they bring a small handheld device to your table (or whereever) and you plug the card into it and enter a PIN to unlock the chip. The idea is that the card never leaves your possession, so theft risk is decreased. Since our cards do not have smart chips integrated into them, I'm guessing they will simply need to run them the "old" way.

 

[wendy151950]

Cindy,

Thanks for your welcome and yes, please add myself and Sarah to the list. We're in cabin 5142. We're coming to Barcelona on Delta from Atlanta, leaving 7/15 and arriving the 16th. We're staying at the Hilton.

Wendy

 

[wendy151950]

Andrea,

We'll have to get the girls together. Mine is worried about not meeting any girls her age! And, she still hates boys (or says she does). I've been moving my excursions around too and am still considering whether to go more on my own. I'll post which ones we're doing later.

Wendy

 

[panamaprincess]

We sailed the '05 Pamana trip with a family who has cruised Disney 15+ times. They just returned from the inaugural Med and had lots of tips for us...

1) It's TIRING. Having back-to-back early mornings, long days, walking, shore excursions, shows, etc. He recommended taking a break at least at one port and NOT doing an excursion. He said that Sardinia wasn't that interesting (under renovation and construction) so that would be the port he would skip. Also said if you have a choice between a morning and afternoon excursion, take the afternoon and sleep in.

2) Apprarently LOTS of Castaway members on the first few cruises, then the numbers begin declining so we should see more "locals" for our July date.

3) Lots of folks dressed up for Pirates, surprised him. However, I'm guessing that the only folks who know to dress up are repeat cruisers, and sounds like we'll have fewer of them on our trip. So, I'd say save the packing space or just bring an eye patch

4) He highly recommended the Naples excursion, Timeless Pompeii and the Flavor of Sorrento. (I think someone on this board asked about this one in a previous post).

5) Best port was Villefranche. They did it on their own, taking the train to Monaco. But they were so tired they skipped the nighttime casino tour.

6) Prices are crazy, and even on board since the shops will all ADD VAT to the prices listed. I think it's 16% so basically, like a HUGE sales tax.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone on-board.

** Colleenlg ** do you live in San Diego now? We're in Scripps Ranch.

 

[ButterbearUK]

Great thread! Thanks! I actually picked up something the other day that I thought would be fun (represents our hometown of San Diego), but I only got 15 of them so unless I go back to that tourist attraction b4 the trip (and I doubt I will), I'm gonna have to get another 15 of something for the other half of the group.

LOL! We did the same thing, but for us it only involves a 5 min bus ride to get some more so no major problems...

As for pirate night. We shall be dressing up. My Mum made us costumes out of the lightest fabrics she could find!

Milia x

 

[seaulater]

We sailed the '05 Pamana trip with a family who has cruised Disney 15+ times. They just returned from the inaugural Med and had lots of tips for us...

1) It's TIRING. Having back-to-back early mornings, long days, walking, shore excursions, shows, etc. He recommended taking a break at least at one port and NOT doing an excursion. He said that Sardinia wasn't that interesting (under renovation and construction) so that would be the port he would skip. Also said if you have a choice between a morning and afternoon excursion, take the afternoon and sleep in.

2) Apprarently LOTS of Castaway members on the first few cruises, then the numbers begin declining so we should see more "locals" for our July date.

3) Lots of folks dressed up for Pirates, surprised him. However, I'm guessing that the only folks who know to dress up are repeat cruisers, and sounds like we'll have fewer of them on our trip. So, I'd say save the packing space or just bring an eye patch

4) He highly recommended the Naples excursion, Timeless Pompeii and the Flavor of Sorrento. (I think someone on this board asked about this one in a previous post).

5) Best port was Villefranche. They did it on their own, taking the train to Monaco. But they were so tired they skipped the nighttime casino tour.

6) Prices are crazy, and even on board since the shops will all ADD VAT to the prices listed. I think it's 16% so basically, like a HUGE sales tax.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone on-board.

** Colleenlg ** do you live in San Diego now? We're in Scripps Ranch.

We did the inaugural PC in May 2005? Were you on that one? Also, who were you talking to about the Med? They may be friends of ours since we did the transatlantic with everyone.

See you in July!

 

[todds34]

Cindy,

Thanks for your welcome and yes, please add myself and Sarah to the list. We're in cabin 5142. We're coming to Barcelona on Delta from Atlanta, leaving 7/15 and arriving the 16th. We're staying at the Hilton.

Wendy

Andrea,

We'll have to get the girls together. Mine is worried about not meeting any girls her age! And, she still hates boys (or says she does). I've been moving my excursions around too and am still considering whether to go more on my own. I'll post which ones we're doing later.

Wendy

Wendy getting the girls together will be a great idea and probably even easier than you think as we are in cabin 5144 which is right next door .

Andrea

 

[colleenlg]

** Colleenlg ** do you live in San Diego now? We're in Scripps Ranch.

Hi Panamaprincess-

Yes, we live in Carmel Valley. How old are your kids?

Colleen

 

[nzdisneymom]

Wendy - got you added - here's the updated list. That's so cool that you all will be next to Andrea and her DD and that your dd's are the same age.