July 20th, 2011 – 10 Night Mediterranean "Mickey's European Explorers"

[jtw999]

We're SO excited about the cruise! We've booked our excursions and planned the ones we're doing on our own. We've completed Online Check-in now,too. One problem... in all the excitement, I can't remember our boarding time! I've searched on Our Cruise Plans page and I can't locate it. Any ideas? I think I had the 3rd time slot... 11:30-12:00, maybe? Might this info be on our cruise documents that will be mailed to us?

 

[K8T]

Here is the latest list.

It would appear that cabins are being allocated now, so if you have your cabin number, do let me know.

Cegs, If you let me have yours, I will add it too.

In the absence of any strong feelings either way, I am going to split the list into two, which should make it easier from a carrying and buying gifts point of view. I will try and split it so that cabins are buying for kids of a similar age, which from my point of view particularly, makes it less stressful!!!

If anyone wants to buy for everyone, that is up to you, I will email both copies of the final lists, showing cabin locations, by the end of June, as there may still be new people.

Can everyone just check that the details are correct and I will post the split lists in the next couple of days, so you have time to collate gifts.

A couple of people have asked if there is a price limit, or how many times they should give and just want to say that it is entirely up to you. I know on our last trip we had a couple of really extravagant gifts, which were wonderful, but so were the smaller, more thoughtful gifts too. Everything will be appreciated and the fun is seeing your FE with something in, when you return from dinner, or get up in the morning. I even put things in for my dd, although she doesn't know it is us!

Whether you give for just the kids or adults too, is again up to you, as is the number of times, once is fine and as it is such a port intensive trip, trying to fit in anymore can be difficult anyway. We found we received a lot of gifts on the sea days, and not a lot on port days - understandable really, but once the list is split, it would be nice if perhaps a couple of people could agree to to some port days, just to spread things out.

Let me know of your cabin numbers when you get them - Not long to go now!!!!

Cabin: tbc
Starmaker
Starmaker
DH
DD (11)

Cabin: tbc
Cegs27
Cathleen
Jon
Lilly (5)

Cabin: tbc
PrincessBelle
DH
DD (9)
DD (6)


Cabin: 2544
designer Travels
Jill
Rob
Brook (8)
Jenna (8)

Cabin 2512
K8T
Kate
Mike
Charlotte (6)


Cabin: tbc
madmum63
Andrea
Steven
Elliott (14 birthday on cruise)
Lydia (11)

Cabin; 2579
DLRPfan.be
Dirk
Tine
Manon DD (16)

Cabin: 2581
Magic-Rose
Rose
DH
DD 9
DD 6

2583
Magic-Rose 2
Grandma
DD 15
DS 11


Cabin 2612
ridicolon
Dione
Rick
Sophia (12)
Isabella (10)
Alexandra (10)

Cabin 2614
ridicolon 2
George
Jennifer
Cheyenne (13)
Heather age (12)
Julia age (10)

Cabin 2616
ridicolon 3
George
Arlaen

Cabin: 5012
ernierich
Ernie
Carolyn
DS Charlie (1)
DD Zoe (9)

Cabin: 6040
Mommy grrl
Jenn
Pete
Maddie (5)
Sam (7)

Cabin: 6144
Helenreed
Helen
DH
DS (13)
DD (11)
DD (8)


Cabin: 7122
Meg'n'walt
Meg
Jos
Walt (8)

Cabin: 7620 and 7621
Jdybnsn
Judy
Brian (who is a Welsh speaking Welshman)
Joe (14)
Vyrnwy (DD 10)

Cabin: 7634
I'mall ears
Susan
Dh
Ds (10)


Cabin: 8030
Thetripletgang
Gayle
Mike
Michael (10)
Caitlyn (10)
Sarah (10)

19Cabins
37 adults
34 children (including teens!)

1 - 16yr old
1 - 15yr old
2 - 14yr old
2 - 13yr old
2 - 12yr old
4 - 11yr old
8 - 10yr old
3 - 9yr old
4 - 8yr old
1 - 7yr old
3 - 6yr old
2 - 5yr old
1 - 1yr old


__________________

 

[helenreed]

Thanks for that Kate, I think we will defintitely have to buy you a drink on board for all the hard work you have done!
Just a couple of things,is anyone planning on getting the train into rome by themselves? We are and have a guide booked to meet us at the Vatican at 10am so need to be off the ship pretty smartish, just wondering if anyone else plans to do this? Safety in numbers and all that!
We are doing 2 days in Barcelona pre-cruise and 4 after, just wondering if anyone had any tips about things to do, I have read a stack of guidebooks but am going a bit mad with info overload! Has anyone done/or planning to do the Magic Fountain, how do you get there?

 

[starmaker]

Hi everyone - not long to go now!! Anyone at the AC Diplomatic pre-cruise? We get in on the Sunday so a couple of days to chill before we sail. We stayed at the Diplomatic last summer and the Magic was in port whilst we were there (soooooooooo wanted to be on it!) and the disney team were in the hotel which was great as we got to ask a few questions of them in advance! Hope everyone's planning is going well, must get my daughter to email her sailmates again to touch base before we leave, she's looking forward to meeting all of your children too and hopefully before we board in the terminal - just to break the ice! We plumped for a 10.00-10.30 port arrival time just because we could really and also to see if there are any upgrades available. Does anyone have any experience of upgrading at the port - is cost a sliding scale based on the fare that you paid originally, any idea how full the ship is at the mo, etc, etc? And finally, can anyone give me examples of what you will or have included in the FE in the past - thanks everyone!

 

[jdybnsn]

We are doing 2 days in Barcelona pre-cruise and 4 after, just wondering if anyone had any tips about things to do, I have read a stack of guidebooks but am going a bit mad with info overload! Has anyone done/or planning to do the Magic Fountain, how do you get there?

Have a look here ;
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=449782&highlight=barcelona

 

[thestewarts]

Thanks for that Kate, I think we will defintitely have to buy you a drink on board for all the hard work you have done!
Just a couple of things,is anyone planning on getting the train into rome by themselves? We are and have a guide booked to meet us at the Vatican at 10am so need to be off the ship pretty smartish, just wondering if anyone else plans to do this? Safety in numbers and all that!
We are doing 2 days in Barcelona pre-cruise and 4 after, just wondering if anyone had any tips about things to do, I have read a stack of guidebooks but am going a bit mad with info overload! Has anyone done/or planning to do the Magic Fountain, how do you get there?

Helen we were also looking at catching the train to Rome from the port. Have had a look at there seems to be a pretty frequent service at a very reasonable cost. Will need to drag our daughter out of bed that day to get a full day though
As far as the magic fountain is concerned it's on the other side of the hil from the port. You head towards the Olympic stadium and then down the other side. Hope this helps.

 

[thestewarts]

We're SO excited about the cruise! We've booked our excursions and planned the ones we're doing on our own. We've completed Online Check-in now,too. One problem... in all the excitement, I can't remember our boarding time! I've searched on Our Cruise Plans page and I can't locate it. Any ideas? I think I had the 3rd time slot... 11:30-12:00, maybe? Might this info be on our cruise documents that will be mailed to us?

Just checked ours and the Online Check In Signature Form, which we printed on completion of the online check in process, shows your Port arrival time on the front page at the top right.

 

[K8T]

Thanks for that Kate, I think we will defintitely have to buy you a drink on board for all the hard work you have done!
Just a couple of things,is anyone planning on getting the train into rome by themselves? We are and have a guide booked to meet us at the Vatican at 10am so need to be off the ship pretty smartish, just wondering if anyone else plans to do this? Safety in numbers and all that!
We are doing 2 days in Barcelona pre-cruise and 4 after, just wondering if anyone had any tips about things to do, I have read a stack of guidebooks but am going a bit mad with info overload! Has anyone done/or planning to do the Magic Fountain, how do you get there?

Don't be too impressed, it is only cutting and pasting!!!!

We have caught the train around four times from the Port on cruises before and you will find there will be a lot of people doing so, just follow the crowd. We will be doing it again this year - although I wasn't too worried about going into Rome again, OH thinks we shouldn't miss it! I don't think we will be off too early, probably 10.30 ish, but you should be able to get off the ship by 8.00, they need to clear customs and as it isn't a 'tender' port, you can get off as soon as that is done.

Don't worry about doing it, it is really very easy to get into Rome, the train takes just under an hour, so you will need to be on it by 9.00am, getting off at San Pietro (St Peters) and it is an easy five/ten minute walk - you can see St Peters from outside the train station. Walk out the station and look to your left!

Hi everyone - not long to go now!! Anyone at the AC Diplomatic pre-cruise? We get in on the Sunday so a couple of days to chill before we sail. We stayed at the Diplomatic last summer and the Magic was in port whilst we were there (soooooooooo wanted to be on it!) and the disney team were in the hotel which was great as we got to ask a few questions of them in advance! Hope everyone's planning is going well, must get my daughter to email her sailmates again to touch base before we leave, she's looking forward to meeting all of your children too and hopefully before we board in the terminal - just to break the ice! We plumped for a 10.00-10.30 port arrival time just because we could really and also to see if there are any upgrades available. Does anyone have any experience of upgrading at the port - is cost a sliding scale based on the fare that you paid originally, any idea how full the ship is at the mo, etc, etc? And finally, can anyone give me examples of what you will or have included in the FE in the past - thanks everyone!

We are in the AC Diplomatic, arriving on the Tuesday lunchtime. I would be interested to know a bit more about the hotel and what its like, obviously it was OK because you are staying again. Are you taking DCL transfers, or getting a cab?

Last year we asked about upgrades at a desk at the side. The first time we were told it was full, but to go on board and if something became free, they would phone us, we rang Guest Services at around 6pm, as we hadn't heard and wanted to unpack, and they said they had a large porthole room available. We were charged the difference in what we had been put in (which was a slight upgrade on our gty booking).

Second time, we were upgraded from our inside gty to a two porthole before we sailed, and although looked at upgrading to a large porthole, we decided not to do it and were quite happy. So I would say, even if they say there is nothing available when you board, keep checking with them.

There was a link somewhere on the boards with the price differences for upgrade, but I wouldn't have a clue where to find it!

Kate

 

[jtw999]

Just checked ours and the Online Check In Signature Form, which we printed on completion of the online check in process, shows your Port arrival time on the front page at the top right.

AHHH!! Thank you

 

[cegs27]

K8T, we are room 6045. Thanks!

 

[Bec-n-Ken]

Hi everyone,
This may sound like a strange question but since this is our first cruise...what kind of electrical outlets are in the rooms? Are they 110 or 220 or both?

Any help would be great, Thanks!

 

[helenreed]

As far as I can remember they are U.S. sockets

 

[Bec-n-Ken]

ok Great Thanks! Living in Belgium and traveling around, we're finding it's different over here in Europe and wasn't sure if the cruise ships out of Spain were US or European.

Thanks again!

 

[starmaker]

Help!..........£ times now I've tried to post a reply to K8T re the AC diplomatic (and quite a lengthy one at that!) and it keeps logging me out!!!!!!!!! I am trying again K8T - please bear with me

 

[starmaker]

Ok - so that post worked.........I'll try again!

Hi K8T

Thanks for the info on port upgrades - we'll give it a go and see what happens. We've had a verandah and inside in the past and both were good for us, this time we booked this trip onboard and stayed with the same inside stateroom we had so thought we might try for a port upgrade - fingers crossed!

Last year we had a short break in Barcelona and took the train both ways as we had limited luggage, not sure how this will work for us this year with all the extra luggage so we're still deciding train versus cab! As far as hotel to port goes - we're going to book a cab when we arrive. We usuaully use the DCL transfers to Port Canaveral but they are sooooooo expensive in Barcelona and it's not that far!! So it'll be a cab - which is a shame as we decided to stay at the Diplomatic again because we could use the DCL transfers but hey ho!

The hotel itself is modern and quite minimalist as are the rooms - all white bedlinen and wooden floors and furnishings! Bathroom - standar marble and white - good shower if I remember correctly.

I'm gonna try posting this part so I don't lose it all again, here we go.....

 

[starmaker]

...so far so good! One good feature at the AC Diplomatic is the complimentary mini bar - it's stocked with bottled water, soft drinks and fruit juice and 4 beers ( there may be chocolate in there but don't quote me!) It's replenished daily and at no charge!! We had a superior room I believe as that was what we had to have to accomodate a party of 3 - large double bed and a single - plenty of room, very quiet.

Pool is tiny and the pool area is small - great views from up there though - you can see the Sagrada and way down to the sea in the distance. There are loungers and chairs, we tended to go up there late afternoon to chill out before we headed out in the evening. We did notice that when the ship was in port it did become quite busy - lots of DCL'ers must use this hotel. There is a gym up there too ( not that I used it - tee hee! ) which also has a supply of chilled bottled water which is handy for around the pool. Pool towels are provided as are those little white slipper things (in your room)

We didn't eat at the hotel - restaurants looked nice though. We found a great little cafe/bar just down from the hotel on the opposite side which served great coffee, fresh juices, pastries and little baguettes - we tended to have breakfast there and our daughter liked to sit up on the high stools at the bar!

I have noticeed that the hotel is now under the Marriott banner which is new so not sure if that will involve any changes....

All in all - good location, great stay and the added bonus of disney staff being there for any questions etc.

Anything else you can think of - just ask and I'll see if I can help!

 

[K8T]

Thanks for perservering! - just the info I wanted to make me feel a bit happier.

Last two times we were at the Novotel and it was great, so it will be a bit strange to be somewhere else, as we had sort of got into our own little routine there! The minibar is a great plus....the thought of a cold beer on arrival

I looked into transfers with DCL, but at $30 each it is crazy, we can get a cab for that for us all.

Sockets are US, we used a normal adaptor and I think it must have converted the voltage, because everything worked. Barcelona was the usual European socket. I think because the ship is US, the sockets are the same, on P&O cruises, which is UK based, the sockets are British!

Kate

 

[starmaker]

I know what you mean K8T - I'd feel the same having already been to Barcelona and been happy with AC Diplomatic - I'm a bit of a creature of habit!! Although I'm glad you were happy with the Novotel as my brother, sister-in-law and niece are on the August 20th sailing (having been bumped off the Sept 3rd...!) and couldn't get a good rate at the Diplomatic so have booked a room at the Novotel!!

 

[StevenBe]

Hi everyone, thought I'd register on the board aswell as I'm getting excited about the cruise now!

Good question about the sockets, didn't think of that yet...

Am still a bit worried on what to wear on formal and semi formal nights... will suit and tie be ok or is tuxedo the standard on formal nights?

 

[mommy_grrl]

Hi everyone,
This may sound like a strange question but since this is our first cruise...what kind of electrical outlets are in the rooms? Are they 110 or 220 or both?

Any help would be great, Thanks!

I read on another thread that the outlets by the desk are 110 - but the outlets under the beds (where the lamps plug in) are 220!!! This would be great, as I'm not really wanting to buy a converter for Pete's razor and electric toothbrush....

(If this info is wrong, someone please correct me!0