July 18, 2007 07-18-07 Med Cruise

[haredi]

Where are you flying from? We'll be flying from Atlanta to Barcelona, leaving on the 16th. Thankfully it's a non-stop flight which takes some of the worry away for me

Cindy,

We are actually flying from Tampa to JFK and we have a non-stop from JFK. We are staying in NJ with family the week we get back, so it was easier and cheaper to fly from there. Hoping the kids will sleep most of the way there since it's a red-eye and that may alleviate some of the problem.

Diana

 

[haredi]

We need the transportation part I think but the company I got a quote from is quite expensive - 450 E. That's the same price we're paying for the private tour of Pompeii & Sorrento though so maybe I should just do it??

Colleen,

How many people are on your tour? We booked Amalfi Coast and Pompeii for 550 Euros for five of us. I thought this was expensive, but it seemed that all the suggestions that I received from Cruise Critic website were the same. We are also doing a private tour in Rome. We had a quote of 500 E with another 140 E for a private tour of the Vatican. We are still struggling whether we should do them or not, but with three kids, we thought it might be easier for them than trying to travel on our own, or on a bus all day.

Anyone else have any ideas? We also thought about doing the Chocolate Factory tour, La Cinta beach and the wine tasting in Marselles. We might also add the Day on the Farm in Palermo. We were going to do this on our own, but the review that I read on this site seemed so great and yummy, I don't know that we can pass it up!

 

[Crissup]

Is this a misunderstanding or not ? I always thought American people did not have a lot of vacation days ? If I see the incredible list of vacations some of you already had, it makes me glad to see people are really enjoying themselves !

I was just discussing this very point two days ago with a UK colleague of mine. He was amazed to hear that most Americans only get 2 weeks of vacation time a year. I get three weeks because I've been with my company 7 years now. He said "no wonder all you yanks get so cranky when we call you during your vacation!".

Oh man, Wendy - please leave your crack-berry at home!

Actually, I'll not only have my Crackberry with me, I'll be bringing along my laptop for those times when a Crackberry just isn't enough. Actually, I can relax much easier if I know there are no major issues going on at work. If there are, I'd much rather respond to an email and head them off, rather than waiting until I get back and doing 4 times the work trying to fix what got messed up. Usually, the problem is convincing people the wrong solution that was applied while I was gone now needs to be undone and correct solution applied. Which often means reopening problems, making people feel I'm slamming their work, or just creating another problem while I fix it right. Instead, I can send an email that says "here's what we need to do" and problem averted.

Actually, my UK counterpart is really great though and will head off most issues. Those that come only to me, I'll use the Crackberry to simply forward them on to him and I know he'll take care of them.

 

[sharper_fin]

Thanks for adding us to the list, it seems that there are quite a few from here going. Hope you don't mind us crashing the party!

Could someone PM me about the gift thing? What's happening and how do we join in? I appreciate it's probably in here somewhere, but the 65+ pages of this thread are a litle daunting to plough through! We wouldn't want to be the sad kid at the party that hadn't brought anything.

Our travel docs came yesterday (Friday) too, and as it's now two weeks till we travel, Jill yesterday said those magic words... "if you want to take it with you, then don't wear it from now on"!

And just to clear up the work issue, I get 28 days holiday (plus public holidays) and I most cetainly WON'T be taking a crackberry. Leave work at work; the other staff are very competent, and I'll sort out anything else when I get back.

Oh, and if someone could tell me how to get a list of my Disney holidays in a signature, that might be nice too. Thanks

Shaun

 

[scottishwee35]

Hello

I have not received the document yet

I hope that I am not only one

Scottishwee35

 

[scottishwee35]

Oh, and if someone could tell me how to get a list of my Disney holidays in a signature, that might be nice too. Thanks

Shaun

Type out tickerfactory.com and you will see the disney charts.


Scottishwee35

 

[ButterbearUK]

Type out tickerfactory.com and you will see the disney charts.

Or if you just want a list of past holidays click on "User CP" in the top left hand corner of the page and then "Edit Signature" which is near the top of the list on the left hand side. Then you just type what you want in the box and use the fonts/colours etc that you fancy...

HTH

Milia x

 

[sharper_fin]

Thanks, let's hope this works!

Shaun

 

[BarcelonaTiems]

Ok , I am really shocked indeed by the amount of vacation you have..
Really !!

I am a general practioner, have my own practice, but work closely together with a collegue, but we can decide on our own vacation time / amount of days. We are our own boss.. We decided to take 7 weeks in total each year ... Even thinking about a week extra...

But again I have some questions.. Do not laugh , but I really do not know these things, also because we have a different language, we speak Dutch, not English... That's also why I probably make lots of mistakes in typing this language ...
- Wat does DD or DS mean ? ... Daughter or ... Son I guess ?
- What is a crackberry ?


And :
- When is one a member of the Castaway club ? If you take one cruise > you are a member of this club automatically ?
- What is DVC ? Disney Vacation Club perhaps ? What is it exactly ?

So , again lots of questions. I hope I am not asking too much?

By the way , I received the travel documents as well yesterday , though didn't think we needed them. As I read on the disney.com, we only needed the papers to sign in of the web-print.

Greetings,

Hans Tiems

 

[sharper_fin]

But again I have some questions.. Do not laugh , but I really do not know these things,

No need to apologise for the questions Hans, they're all valid. And there's certainly no need to apologise for your English - it's excellent, so much better than my non-existant Dutch!

You guessed most of the answers for yourself anyway, DD = Disney daughter, DD = Disney son, (some people say that it's darling daughter etc too), DVC = Disney Vacation Club (it's like a kind of timeshare with properties at Walt Disney World and other places), and yes - you're a member of the Castaway Club after just one voyage.

And crackberry? This is a slang term for a Blackberry hand-held computer, one of those things that are like a large mobile phone that you can send / receive emails on.

Hope that helps,
Shaun

 

[BarcelonaTiems]

Ok , thanx, Sharper FIn , now I understand.
This one is also to see if my " signature" is working..

 

[wendy151950]

And they are called a crack berry because people get addicted to using them - which is why it will be hard to leave it home.....but I'm trying!

 

[DisTeach]

Crackberry hehe. I don't think I've ever heard it called that before! Luckily for me e-mail is my primary means of communication for work right now given it is the summer and, what do you know, I won't have a computer with me! Annnnd I won't be checking that e-mail on the ship!

Tinkerbell, I saw you said you teach, too. What subject?

Also, I believe on board they have a DVC rep if you'd like to find out more about the program.

Talk to you all later!

But first...the happy dance x2

 

[sharper_fin]

One quick question to those that have cruised many many more times than us... has anyone been to the secret mud room? My beloved's booked us some time in there and I REALLY want to know what I've let myself in for!!! Tactful answers only please!

Shaun

 

[CarolAnnC]

As DisTeach said there will be a DVC rep on board ship and I am sure they will have meets scheduled to discuss the Disney Vacation Club program.

Regarding the "gifts" we are bringing to everyone, ours are just Chicago specific, small gifts that will be a remembrance for everyone. They are not mandatory, so do not feel you must bring something. But if you want to then by all means please do but keep them small. Easier to pack and easier on the budget, lol.

We received our documents yesterday from UPS as well! Nothing very exciting, but every little tidbit makes us feel closer to sail date!

Hope everyone's docs arrive this week!

 

[panamaprincess]

To sharper_fin: I'm guessing that the "secret mud room" is actually at the Vista Spa on the ship... On our first cruise we did a couples thing in a private spa/sauna room. It used to be called something that sounds like "surreal" - from the list of spa services, I now think it's called the Exotic Rasul. Basically, you get a private room and a range of products like mud, lotions, etc. and you use them together with your partner. It was fun!

To shortkathleen: We're doing Pisa on our own with DD (7). We have a rental car to pick up at the port and will drive to Pisa, then take a leisurely drive back up the coast, stop at the beach, etc. We booked tickets to climb the tower on-line, it's about 20Euros per person, but you need to be 8+ to climb. We have two extra tickets at 12:20 for anyone that is interested (otherwise I'm sure we can sell them there on-site).

 

[panamaprincess]

I have a friend who lives in Menton (between Monaco and the Italian border). She warned us NOT to swim in the Med at the "bay" at Villefranche. Since it's a bay, it isn't as clean as the Med in other places. She's had several friends who got a skin condition called champignons (mushrooms) from the water. (ICK!)

She said if you do swim or wade, be sure to have access to a fresh water shower and clean off RIGHT AWAY after being in the water.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Gary & Jennifer Souza Lake Worth, Florida #6078 Cat 6

Gouza - got you added! Welcome aboard! Where will you be flying from?

 

[nzdisneymom]

We still don't have our documents; I'm hopeful for Monday since they are starting to arrive for many of you. We got the kids home from camp today - they are tired and glad to be home. On Wednesday when we have a day off work, we'll start laying things out for packing for the cruise. Still gotta take Nathan to get new shoes.

Hope you all are having a productive Saturday -- just two weeks from now we'll have started our journey to Barcelona by way of Atlanta.

 

[DisTeach]

I have a friend who lives in Menton (between Monaco and the Italian border). She warned us NOT to swim in the Med at the "bay" at Villefranche.

That is very good to know! All I need is to contract some weird skin thing from the water lol. I'll stick with the fresher parts of the Med.

Today was a great Saturday! I had some amazing ribs at Rib Fest; it's a local event that takes place once a year with national award winning rib vendors, sweet treats, and carnival rides and games. It made me look forward to the tasty food on the cruise!