July 28, 2007 - "Rome-ancing the Mouse Cruisers" -11 days! Part 2

[jlawall]

Guess what .........

I got my docs !

WTG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jlawall]

Sallie and Carley
Great job on the gift bag list, thanks!

Diane - 4kittymagic

Thx Sallie, for doing this, it made me feel good that our group was adding this to our DISmeet!!!

 

[ukmickeyc]

Hi- 3 main ways of getting to DLRP.
1 (easiest) -take the VEA Navettes shuttle- look for the Mickey Mouse signs outside the terminals. Pros- frequent, drop you off at disney hotelo. Cons - may be full & have to wait for next one (although they send extra buses at times). Fairly expensive €16 each way- Can take time in peak traffic- usually 45/60 mins on a good day.
2 TGV from CDG to Marne la Vallee. Pros- only 9 mins journey! Similar price to VEA bus. Cons- may need to book in advance. Need to get to hotel from station although station is right next to the park entrances & Disneyland Hotel.
3. Take RER into Paris & then out again to DLRP. Pros- None much Cons. Have to change trains, time approx 60/75 mins.

Have been to DLRP 10 times- if anyone needs any info, please ask.

P.S. DOCS HAVE ARRIVED TODAY!!!

 

[jlawall]

Okay, I've ordered our Tshirts for my family and I'm hoping they come in....I'll give them to my family prior to the trip...............it might be fun to wear the shirts(in lieu of the glo necklaces at Sailaway??).....

I'm concerned about the sailaway/late dinner seating, but I love sailaway and I don't want to miss it!!!

 

[jlawall]

Hi- 3 main ways of getting to DLRP.
1 (easiest) -take the VEA Navettes shuttle- look for the Mickey Mouse signs outside the terminals. Pros- frequent, drop you off at disney hotelo. Cons - may be full & have to wait for next one (although they send extra buses at times). Fairly expensive €16 each way- Can take time in peak traffic- usually 45/60 mins on a good day.
2 TGV from CDG to Marne la Vallee. Pros- only 9 mins journey! Similar price to VEA bus. Cons- may need to book in advance. Need to get to hotel from station although station is right next to the park entrances & Disneyland Hotel.
3. Take RER into Paris & then out again to DLRP. Pros- None much Cons. Have to change trains, time approx 60/75 mins.

Have been to DLRP 10 times- if anyone needs any info, please ask.

P.S. DOCS HAVE ARRIVED TODAY!!!

Wooohooo....another Brit!Come to our Dismeet on Sunday at 9:30am at the Promenade Lounge!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jlawall]

http://romancingthemouse.blogspot.com/


Here it is again..............

 

[jlawall]

go to blogspot.com /and click make new blog / you pick a template / and you are done / and it's free

Okay, above is the directions from my DD22, she's working so I cut and pasted this from an AIM!!!

 

[disneymagic316]

Congrats to all who have received their travel docs.

No docs here yet.

 

[jlawall]

go to blogspot.com /and click make new blog / you pick a template / and you are done / and it's free

Okay, above is the directions from my DD22, she's working so I cut and pasted this from an AIM!!!

Let us know if you set up a blog...............

 

[bellelinus]

Well done..................thx Julie, I do like Maya a lot!!!

Forgive me, I'm not a HP fan, but my DD22 is and her Bday in on the 20th................when is the next edition available??

Hi JoAnn, yes, I'm quite an admirer of Maya Angelou as well. My middle daughter had to do a project on a poem of her own choice at the end of the school year and selected "Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All."

The seventh and FINAL Harry Potter book comes out at midnight, a week from tonight (officially Saturday, July 21 but many will get the book right at midnight when it is released at midnight parties).

 

[jlawall]

Back from Meditteranean with observations and advice

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi all,

We got back from our Med trip last Saturday and I've finally caught up to give you some info, tips and advice for future cruisers.

Overall it was a great trip. It was a little more hectic than other cruises and felt less like a cruise, but we knew that going in. Here are some of our experiences…

- The planned excursions were just ok. Most buses did not have working rest rooms, so a lot of time was wasted waiting for potty breaks. Also, large groups don’t see as much as smaller groups can. If I had to do it over, I would opt more for the option to take the bus into the city, do your own thing and then meet the bus to return to the ship. Most of the guides had thick accents and were hard to hear/understand anyway. My favorite excursions was “Mt. Vesuvius Hike with Pompeii”. Sardinia was great for a beach day. Sicily was dirty and uninteresting. The most interesting part of Sicily was the crazy driving. We did the “Florence and Pisa” excursion, and it was the biggest disappointment. Lots of driving, a quick walk around Florence, an hour and 45 minute lunch (good but way too long!), then we were late getting to Pisa and had only 10 minutes to view the tower. We shouldn’t have tried such an aggressive tour. I would do the "Florence on Your Own" tour if I had it to do over. Pisa is neat to see, but takes up a lot of time just to get a picture holding up a tower.

- The port cities get cleaner and prettier as you go north.

- Disney had several new shows for this cruise, and they were more than just fill-ins. The “When Mickey Dreams” show was a Cirque du Soleil type show and was very impressive. The kids also really liked the “Art of the Story”, though we adults missed it on Palo night. Overall, I'm amazed at how much work went into the new shows for just a handful of cruises.

- Because most port days were late departures, they were very lenient on when you could show up for dinner. Also, although the original schedule planned for a formal and 2 semi-formal nights, the Navigator called for only one formal night and the rest were cruise casual nights. I took way too many dress clothes.

- The Med sea was very calm. Only during a short touch of bad weather did we notice any rocking. We had only some high winds on one day and a few raindrops another, but perfect weather the rest of the time.

If you are going on a future Med cruise, you should set your expectations at getting a taste of each port city to decide which ones you want to go back to. A single day with travel included simply isn't enough time to really get to see a place. On excursions, strolling, shopping and going through museums must all be given up.

All in all it was a great vacation. We loved Barcelona during the two previous days and decided we’d like to go back some day. If you spend time in Barcelona, I would recommend getting a pass for the "Bus Turistic" (tourist bus). You can get on and off anywhere all day (or a two day pass if you are there two days). I recommend a walk through Las Ramblas and a stop at the Familia Segrada is a must.

I hope this helps, and if you are getting ready for an upcoming cruise, then be prepared for a wonderful time.
__________________
John

Sailing the Med on 6/28
Castaway Club Member since 2002

 

[MrsG]

Forgive me, I'm not a HP fan, but my DD22 is and her Bday in on the 20th................when is the next edition available??

Julie's right-12:01 am on the 21st. I'm not nutty enough to have a party, but I am nutty enough to pre-order at Amazon so it arrives on the 21st to my door.

Maryann

 

[jlawall]

Hi JoAnn, yes, I'm quite an admirer of Maya Angelou as well. My middle daughter had to do a project on a poem of her own choice at the end of the school year and selected "Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All."

The seventh and FINAL Harry Potter book comes out at midnight, a week from tonight (officially Saturday, July 21 but many will get the book right at midnight when it is released at midnight parties).

Thx, my DD22 (23 next Friday) would love to get this book............I guess she'll be reading it on our trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jlawall]

Julie's right-12:01 am on the 21st. I'm not nutty enough to have a party, but I am nutty enough to pre-order at Amazon so it arrives on the 21st to my door.

Maryann

That's a great idea, I'll send it to her for her Bday (she lives in Miami right now!)

 

[MrsG]

I just noticed in the great post that JoAnn found (thanks JoAnn) the mention about only one formal night and no semi-formals - all cruise casual. Think we should ditch the semi-formal clothing?????????

Maryann

 

[kyla]

I was looking forward to dressing up. I never get to do that. I'm bringing a couple of skirts with nice tops and something for formal night. So maybe the skirts aren't really considered dressing up, but it is for me.

 

[jlawall]

I just noticed in the great post that JoAnn found (thanks JoAnn) the mention about only one formal night and no semi-formals - all cruise casual. Think we should ditch the semi-formal clothing?????????

Maryann

I read somewhere else that the semi-formal nights were not posted in the navigators so there is less of a need for formal wear?

 

[jlawall]

Okay, thx to the HP fans..............my oldest will be getting it on the day after her Bday.............by mail!!!

 

[kidcoos3]

MaryJo,
hoping to hear good news from you today.

Lots of pixie dust.

We're all thinking of you . . . let us know!

My sister was going to try and pay for her excursions ahead of time. I wonder if this is what she did too.

Do you think DCL adds VAT to shore excursions too?

Not sure about that - but I read that they add it to laundry if you have laundry done - bummer!!

Good Morning (and good afternoon to those across the pond!)
Please help me if you have any knowledge here. I went to Cingular yesterday to get a phone and service for our trip. (We have Alltell that does not offer service nor can you "unlock" the phones.) This is what our salesman with Alltell suggested I do. Cingular would sell me a phone but would not give me international service until we had been a customer for at least 6 months. I have been researching on ebay and can get an unlocked phone. I am told to just get a sim card where I am going. I cannot find out about service and how to get it connected. I am trying to figure out whether to buy a phone (preferred) and try to get the service to it or whether to just rent a phone. The second option will cost as much to buy one and the cost per minute is very high.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you!!!!

We ordered a phone from here: http://www.mobalrental.com/gsm/handsets.asp

It came very quickly.

Geez, somewhere on this thread I started recording who was arriving when in Barcelona. I wonder if I can find it

Congrats!!

Hi everyone!
Looks like lots of travel docs have arrived this week, congrats to all. We are getting soooo excited!!


Does anyone have information/links to transfers from the Paris airport (CDG) to Disneyland Paris and back??

Laura / Leslie - Are you going to DLP after or before the cruise??


Diane - 4kittymagic

We are going to Paris after the cruise (but we aren't going to DLP - no flogging, please)

DH is at AAA picking up the Travel Docs as we "speak". If it goes smoothly, it will be the first time since we started this adventure over a year ago. We don't hold out much hope.

Sandra

Hope this works out ok for you!!

Your Vacation begins in 400 Days​

(well thats next year)

That's harsh!!

Well, I'm feeling bad that I'm not doing tshirts or fish extenders. Just too much for me - maybe next cruise. I am doing the gift bag and lanyards - I think that'll be enough for me. My family will probably give me a hard time once we get on the boat - but they aren't helping with any of this, so too bad!!

On second thought, what was the easiest way to do the shirts - online, I mean? Cafepress? Too many posts back for me to check. Did you do the pocket and the back too? I don't know, do you think any of the places saved what you guys sent in? Suggestions??

 

[bellelinus]

Julie's right-12:01 am on the 21st. I'm not nutty enough to have a party, but I am nutty enough to pre-order at Amazon so it arrives on the 21st to my door.

Maryann

Well, we're nutty enough to go to a party at the Barnes and Noble 3 blocks from our apartment, and enjoy the games and such until getting our copy at midnight!