AnnaS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2001
- Messages
- 10,338
Ok, I have no idea what the pirate said..........................but welcome aboard anyway!!!
Oh Good - I am not alone.
I was afraid to post - what did that all mean?
Welcome LilGrimpy
July 28, 2007 - "Rome-ancing the Mouse Cruisers" -11 days!
- Thread starter jlawall
- Start date
- Status
MrsJobba1
Dvc owner at BWV & SSR
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2005
- Messages
- 6,024
Ok, I have no idea what the pirate said................
Oh Good - I am not alone.
I was afraid to post - what did that all mean?
Welcome LilGrimpy
same here
AnnaS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2001
- Messages
- 10,338
Has anyone checked their flights (price) since booking? I actually forget. I am always afraid it might be less also. Well my dh looked tonite. It is over $2,900 each - $15,000 plus for all five of us and flight is almost full. Are they kidding/serious?
jlawall
<font color=royalblue>Captain Lucky, the Great Pro
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2002
- Messages
- 11,591
Anna, you already have flights, right?? Wow, that makes me feel better! We're a party of 5, so paying in advance was a killer!!! One of my DDs (the one who presently lives in Florida....is working on switching around her school schedule so she can still come.............the change fee will be nothing compared to what these flights cost!!
How cold is it around here lately, yikes....................LESS THAN 6 MONTHS TO GO!!!!
How cold is it around here lately, yikes....................LESS THAN 6 MONTHS TO GO!!!!
kyla
<font color=royalblue>Have Lanyard Will Travel<br>
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2006
- Messages
- 973
I'm so glad that we booked our flights early. I had called around some of the travels agencies and was getting different stories as to when was the best time to book. My dh kept thinking it would be better to just purchase tickets or maybe wait til we had enough miles for tickets rather than purchase some miles for tickets. We were about 20,000 miles short, but now I know it was worth it after hearing about the price of tickets now.
jlawall
<font color=royalblue>Captain Lucky, the Great Pro
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2002
- Messages
- 11,591
Alot of times, the FF tix have you doing stopovers which would make a long flight unbearable............so we "bit the bullet" for this trip............we wouldn't be able to go either at the present prices!!! 
Looking for the family in cabin 6570. We are in the connecting 6568, unfortunately when we booked we were trying to book connecting cabins for our group of 8, our reservation got a little mixed up. Anyway, hoping that 6570 would be interested in switching with our friends in 6560.
I can only remember a cat. 8 and a cat. 11.
Andrew DEREK UK
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2004
- Messages
- 29,143
Havent been on this thread much as posting on the Repo for 2008 in August go on that one and lots of excitment on 31st if we got a cabin or not.
A few threads around saying Med cruises not selling well, strange looked at DCL website again very limited availabilty of July ones, some low availability for June ones, compare to Carribean in September 2007 and there is massive availability, i think some posters have seen the two transatlantics havent done so well and particularly the West/b in August has had to ffer free tips and low kids prices.
I get the feeling some people just want to keep knocking the Med cruises to ensure the Magic doesnt come here again as the fact is they are well booked up at this time.
A few threads around saying Med cruises not selling well, strange looked at DCL website again very limited availabilty of July ones, some low availability for June ones, compare to Carribean in September 2007 and there is massive availability, i think some posters have seen the two transatlantics havent done so well and particularly the West/b in August has had to ffer free tips and low kids prices.
I get the feeling some people just want to keep knocking the Med cruises to ensure the Magic doesnt come here again as the fact is they are well booked up at this time.
AnnaS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2001
- Messages
- 10,338
I have seen them also Andrew. I think considering there has been no heavy advertising, DCL is doing pretty well with the med. cruises. I also check availability here and there - prices have gone and stayed up and not many cat. available.
We were on the last West Coast and the same exact excitement happened. I really think their prices should not increase til a month or so later. Give everyone a chance to book. We would have loved the Eastbound Repo. (I did not try) or the 4 Night Wonder (never been) 2 X Castaway Cay stops and use Nassau Day at sea. I actually tried to book this but there were problems all morning with the dcl website. I also emailed DCL and received a reply a day later. I am going to wait for this 4 Nighter. (I wanted to do this in addition to a stay at WDW) Too much to save for this Med. cruise - one son is going to Acapulco for Spring Break (which I help), my other son is going to the Bahams in June (which I help). Next year I have a ton of things already in the way so we might just do WDW and invite friends/family. We shall see. Nothing definite.
And, there was exictement on the first day of the Med. cruise bookings also. Wendy and I were on the phone all morning for this. The West Coast will sell out faster since air to CA will not be as expensive as International flights too.
Did you book the Repo? I lost track reading all the threads, prices, etc.
We were on the last West Coast and the same exact excitement happened. I really think their prices should not increase til a month or so later. Give everyone a chance to book. We would have loved the Eastbound Repo. (I did not try) or the 4 Night Wonder (never been) 2 X Castaway Cay stops and use Nassau Day at sea. I actually tried to book this but there were problems all morning with the dcl website. I also emailed DCL and received a reply a day later. I am going to wait for this 4 Nighter. (I wanted to do this in addition to a stay at WDW) Too much to save for this Med. cruise - one son is going to Acapulco for Spring Break (which I help), my other son is going to the Bahams in June (which I help). Next year I have a ton of things already in the way so we might just do WDW and invite friends/family. We shall see. Nothing definite.
And, there was exictement on the first day of the Med. cruise bookings also. Wendy and I were on the phone all morning for this. The West Coast will sell out faster since air to CA will not be as expensive as International flights too.
Did you book the Repo? I lost track reading all the threads, prices, etc.
Andrew DEREK UK
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2004
- Messages
- 29,143
Yes will do a repo in August 2008 for the second time with DCL, my third transit of the Panama canal.
Yes its strange that people think as there is less freenzy that the Meds are not selling but if you compare availability on the meds in the summer agianst availability for Carribean cruises in September they have sold very well indeed, i think is the Transatlantic ones that have issues, I personally wouldnt do all thoose sea days in a row, Yes the repo in 2008 has a few but has higlights in the cruise of PC and Acapulco.
Yes its strange that people think as there is less freenzy that the Meds are not selling but if you compare availability on the meds in the summer agianst availability for Carribean cruises in September they have sold very well indeed, i think is the Transatlantic ones that have issues, I personally wouldnt do all thoose sea days in a row, Yes the repo in 2008 has a few but has higlights in the cruise of PC and Acapulco.
jlawall
<font color=royalblue>Captain Lucky, the Great Pro
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2002
- Messages
- 11,591
We are not going to the West Coast in 2008........it was our least favorite DCL trip, we would be up for a Caribbean in 2008 but now we only have Wonder trips as options...............I would book Panama but as a teacher, I can't go when the two trips are offered...............it's getting harder to book so far in advance!!
Oh well, at least we have this summer to look forward to!!!!
Oh well, at least we have this summer to look forward to!!!!
Andrew DEREK UK
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2004
- Messages
- 29,143
We are not going to the West Coast in 2008........it was our least favorite DCL trip, we would be up for a Caribbean in 2008 but now we only have Wonder trips as options...............I would book Panama but as a teacher, I can't go when the two trips are offered...............it's getting harder to book so far in advance!!
Oh well, at least we have this summer to look forward to!!!!
Yes booking so far in advance and juggling school holidays then flights is very difficult
FYI: Article from today's Chicago Tribune:
CRUISING 2007
Plot your strategy for tours before your ship sails
By Arline and Sam Bleecker
Special to the Tribune
Published February 4, 2007
Excursions are the Achilles' heel of cruising.
Some lines, of course, do a better job with them than others, especially small or boutique lines that favor one-of-a-kind shore experiences. But second only to food, most complaints we hear about from cruisers concern excursions.
One disgruntled passenger even quipped that excursions can be injurious both to your wallet and your world view.
Our own experiences tally disappointments to spare.
On a tour in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for example, our guide was completely indifferent to our group's desire to learn the history of this ancient Roman and Byzantine city and spoke, egotistically, almost entirely about himself.
On another Med outing, the guide spoke English so poorly that she left us mostly confounded by her unintelligible view of Venice.
More recently, in Cartagena, Colombia, a walking tour of the fortified historic district yielded little about this quaint locale because the guide larded toss-away visits to a church and a square or two with never-ending stops to ship-sponsored shops.
And so it goes as cruise lines urge passengers to "play it safe" on ship-arranged tours.
In some cases, though, it's not the cruise line's fault that excursions fall short of expectations. Brutal economics are against both them and you.
Excursions are big business. With profitability from fares squeezed as they are, cruise lines must extract as much additional revenue as they can. Excursions are surefire moneymakers, so most lines push them hard--real hard.
Indeed, on a recent cruise to the Caribbean and Central America, our ship's "excursion director" boastfully touted herself as a shopping consultant. Her onboard talks offered little if any information about upcoming port stops other than which shops were good for emeralds and which for leather goods. She proffered no advice for anyone interested in exploring independently or suggested what to see in port unless--guess what?--it was on a ship's tour. Even then, she merely read word for word from distributed materials we already had in hand.
Cruise lines do have to contend with many factors, though. With hundreds, if not thousands, of passengers to accommodate, lines are compelled to partner with the larger local tour operators, those that have the capacity to handle multitudes. In the Caribbean, in particular, this often results in one-size-fits-all excursions: that is, options offered by one ship that aren't necessarily better--or different--than those of another ship calling at the same port.
In some places, this can prove overwhelming. Take, for example, Coxen Hole, a port on Roatan Island, Honduras. Recently, in a single morning there, the Grand Princess, Holland America's Ryndam and Italy-based MSC Lirica disgorged about 6,000 passengers--about one-fifth the entire island's population of 30,000.
It's hardly possible to enjoy a sense of immersion when most of the people you run into on shore are fellow passengers.
So what can you do to avoid a cookie-cutter experience at a port stop?
-Do your homework at home--before your trip. Sure, it would be lovely leaving it to the cruise lines and excursion directors. After all, you're on vacation and, hey, who wants to be burdened with details? But experience tells us you can have a more rewarding time discovering on your own rather than following the bouncing yellow umbrella of a tour guide.
There are plentiful travel books and the Internet to help you find what's hot and what's not. Compared to shipboard port lectures, which often are little more than sales opportunities for the line to steer you to sponsored shops, you'll dig up useful information on how to get around independently.
-Paying less and getting more is a major benefit of preplanning. For instance, in Venice, cruise lines' excursions to the popular glass capital in nearby Murano will be several times more costly than simply hopping onto one of Venice's ubiquitous water taxis on your own, which also will leave you much more time to explore that quaint island.
In fact, weeks before arriving in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, one couple on a recent cruise had independently booked the same Tortuguero Canal tour as we did with the cruise line. Not only did their tour last longer and cost 75 percent less than ours, but the couple also toured with only four people in their boat versus the 30 or so in ours.
-In unfamiliar places, it's natural to feel uncertain about going it alone. Consider forming a group with a few like-minded passengers. Armed with research and a guidebook, you can hire a taxi or a local guide and still feel relaxed. There's not only safety in numbers, but it also doesn't hurt to have a few more wallets for splitting the tab.
-Cruise ports typically bustle with cab drivers, guides and representatives from local tour companies eager for your business. And playing it by ear has its advantages. At a stop in Cristobal, Panama, a spirited elderly British couple trotted only a few hundred feet from the ship to the booth of a local enterprise and purchased a tour package for a train ride that would take them through a rain forest and to visit the famed canal at half the cost of the ship's excursion.
So does it ever pay to go with your ship's options?
Definitely.
Passengers with physical limitations, for example, are pretty much assured of tender care on an excursion booked through the line.
If you're visiting a port for the first and perhaps only time, a tour can be a worthwhile way to get the big picture. Just don't expect to linger long anywhere.
Booking a ship's tour may not always be the best deal, but you can rest assured the guides are reputable.
And, perhaps on the minds of many passengers: Your tour guide won't strand you or swindle you--and you're guaranteed to get back to the ship before it sails.
CRUISING 2007
Plot your strategy for tours before your ship sails
By Arline and Sam Bleecker
Special to the Tribune
Published February 4, 2007
Excursions are the Achilles' heel of cruising.
Some lines, of course, do a better job with them than others, especially small or boutique lines that favor one-of-a-kind shore experiences. But second only to food, most complaints we hear about from cruisers concern excursions.
One disgruntled passenger even quipped that excursions can be injurious both to your wallet and your world view.
Our own experiences tally disappointments to spare.
On a tour in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for example, our guide was completely indifferent to our group's desire to learn the history of this ancient Roman and Byzantine city and spoke, egotistically, almost entirely about himself.
On another Med outing, the guide spoke English so poorly that she left us mostly confounded by her unintelligible view of Venice.
More recently, in Cartagena, Colombia, a walking tour of the fortified historic district yielded little about this quaint locale because the guide larded toss-away visits to a church and a square or two with never-ending stops to ship-sponsored shops.
And so it goes as cruise lines urge passengers to "play it safe" on ship-arranged tours.
In some cases, though, it's not the cruise line's fault that excursions fall short of expectations. Brutal economics are against both them and you.
Excursions are big business. With profitability from fares squeezed as they are, cruise lines must extract as much additional revenue as they can. Excursions are surefire moneymakers, so most lines push them hard--real hard.
Indeed, on a recent cruise to the Caribbean and Central America, our ship's "excursion director" boastfully touted herself as a shopping consultant. Her onboard talks offered little if any information about upcoming port stops other than which shops were good for emeralds and which for leather goods. She proffered no advice for anyone interested in exploring independently or suggested what to see in port unless--guess what?--it was on a ship's tour. Even then, she merely read word for word from distributed materials we already had in hand.
Cruise lines do have to contend with many factors, though. With hundreds, if not thousands, of passengers to accommodate, lines are compelled to partner with the larger local tour operators, those that have the capacity to handle multitudes. In the Caribbean, in particular, this often results in one-size-fits-all excursions: that is, options offered by one ship that aren't necessarily better--or different--than those of another ship calling at the same port.
In some places, this can prove overwhelming. Take, for example, Coxen Hole, a port on Roatan Island, Honduras. Recently, in a single morning there, the Grand Princess, Holland America's Ryndam and Italy-based MSC Lirica disgorged about 6,000 passengers--about one-fifth the entire island's population of 30,000.
It's hardly possible to enjoy a sense of immersion when most of the people you run into on shore are fellow passengers.
So what can you do to avoid a cookie-cutter experience at a port stop?
-Do your homework at home--before your trip. Sure, it would be lovely leaving it to the cruise lines and excursion directors. After all, you're on vacation and, hey, who wants to be burdened with details? But experience tells us you can have a more rewarding time discovering on your own rather than following the bouncing yellow umbrella of a tour guide.
There are plentiful travel books and the Internet to help you find what's hot and what's not. Compared to shipboard port lectures, which often are little more than sales opportunities for the line to steer you to sponsored shops, you'll dig up useful information on how to get around independently.
-Paying less and getting more is a major benefit of preplanning. For instance, in Venice, cruise lines' excursions to the popular glass capital in nearby Murano will be several times more costly than simply hopping onto one of Venice's ubiquitous water taxis on your own, which also will leave you much more time to explore that quaint island.
In fact, weeks before arriving in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, one couple on a recent cruise had independently booked the same Tortuguero Canal tour as we did with the cruise line. Not only did their tour last longer and cost 75 percent less than ours, but the couple also toured with only four people in their boat versus the 30 or so in ours.
-In unfamiliar places, it's natural to feel uncertain about going it alone. Consider forming a group with a few like-minded passengers. Armed with research and a guidebook, you can hire a taxi or a local guide and still feel relaxed. There's not only safety in numbers, but it also doesn't hurt to have a few more wallets for splitting the tab.
-Cruise ports typically bustle with cab drivers, guides and representatives from local tour companies eager for your business. And playing it by ear has its advantages. At a stop in Cristobal, Panama, a spirited elderly British couple trotted only a few hundred feet from the ship to the booth of a local enterprise and purchased a tour package for a train ride that would take them through a rain forest and to visit the famed canal at half the cost of the ship's excursion.
So does it ever pay to go with your ship's options?
Definitely.
Passengers with physical limitations, for example, are pretty much assured of tender care on an excursion booked through the line.
If you're visiting a port for the first and perhaps only time, a tour can be a worthwhile way to get the big picture. Just don't expect to linger long anywhere.
Booking a ship's tour may not always be the best deal, but you can rest assured the guides are reputable.
And, perhaps on the minds of many passengers: Your tour guide won't strand you or swindle you--and you're guaranteed to get back to the ship before it sails.
disneylover5
<font color=blue>I am ready to go now as well<br><
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2002
- Messages
- 4,677
I am back from my quick 3 day on the Wonder. We had wonderful weather. (80 degrees and sunny) I booked 8 cruises while on the Wonder. 6 reservations were for friends that we moved to Thanksgiving 08 (60 of us will be cruising together). The other two were for me
I moved one to the Westbound Panama for just me and my DS18. The other I moved to Eastbound Panama for DH DD14 and DD12.
DCL will bankrupt me!!
I know Andrew will be on the Eastbound Panama. Any one else on either of these Repo cruises?
Like Andrew, we have been swept up in the booking frenzie of Jan 31st. We got lucky and got both Repos with room #'s
Life is Good
MrsJobba1
Dvc owner at BWV & SSR
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2005
- Messages
- 6,024
Hi,
Just wondered if anyone could help.
We have booked the AC Barcelona privatly (it was half the price disney was charging) for the day we leave the ship.
Just wondered if anyone knew how much the disney tranfer from ship to the hotel would be? Or would it be easier just to find a taxi @ the port.
Does anyone know if there are taxi's at the port?
Thanks
ps
I would love to do the mexican cruises next year - but we couldn't afford it.
I know when I leave the ship I will be unbearable as we dont have anymore cruises in the pipeline so to speak
x
Just wondered if anyone could help.
We have booked the AC Barcelona privatly (it was half the price disney was charging) for the day we leave the ship.
Just wondered if anyone knew how much the disney tranfer from ship to the hotel would be? Or would it be easier just to find a taxi @ the port.
Does anyone know if there are taxi's at the port?
Thanks
ps
I would love to do the mexican cruises next year - but we couldn't afford it.
I know when I leave the ship I will be unbearable as we dont have anymore cruises in the pipeline so to speak
x
Rose Petal
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2006
- Messages
- 2
I wish we could sail with all of you guys!!!
We took the Western Med cruise from Barcelona at the end of June, 2006.
In Europe, I strongly recommend booking a shore excursion in any city that you have not visited before for several reasons.
1. The shore excursions are designed to maximize what you can see of the city's attractions in the limited time that you are there. In many European ports, major attractions have queues for general admission that are two to three hours long, but shore excursions have reserved tours and thus bypass the queues.
2. The guides on the shore excursions generally describe the "lay of the land" (areas to avoid, etc.) and explain signficant cultural differences, awareness of which can help you to avoid awkward, or even dangerous, situations.
Italy shore excursions;
We used Romeinlimo tour company when we docked in Civitaveccia, Livorno and Naples.
Carlo and Raffaele are both very safe drivers, speak very good English and took excellent care of us. Carlo took us to Pisa/Florence and Raffaele drove us to Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii. They took us to outstanding local restaurants that the usual tourist doesn't find... We had our best Italian meal/wine with the greatest view!! These guys are punctual, so much FUN to be around, and professional.
Carlo got us right into the Accademia that day (there was a long long line) and I am hearing now that some Princess tours were not able to get inside the Accademia. Anyone would feel very comfortable with Carlo and Raffaele.
Our time in Rome with Duman was better than anything we could have imagined. When we got off the ship, he was waiting for us. He was fun, intelligent, spoke perfect English, knowledgeable about history, politics and of course Rome and Italy. He knew what time to see the sights, when the lines would be shorter and as a result were able to do many sights. It felt as if we were with a personal friend who was sharing Rome with us.
We were a little apprehensive about using a company that was not recommended by a friend. But they were terrific in every respect. For our next trip we will certainly call them..
romeinlimo.com
Have a great cruise!
We took the Western Med cruise from Barcelona at the end of June, 2006.
In Europe, I strongly recommend booking a shore excursion in any city that you have not visited before for several reasons.
1. The shore excursions are designed to maximize what you can see of the city's attractions in the limited time that you are there. In many European ports, major attractions have queues for general admission that are two to three hours long, but shore excursions have reserved tours and thus bypass the queues.
2. The guides on the shore excursions generally describe the "lay of the land" (areas to avoid, etc.) and explain signficant cultural differences, awareness of which can help you to avoid awkward, or even dangerous, situations.
Italy shore excursions;
We used Romeinlimo tour company when we docked in Civitaveccia, Livorno and Naples.
Carlo and Raffaele are both very safe drivers, speak very good English and took excellent care of us. Carlo took us to Pisa/Florence and Raffaele drove us to Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii. They took us to outstanding local restaurants that the usual tourist doesn't find... We had our best Italian meal/wine with the greatest view!! These guys are punctual, so much FUN to be around, and professional.
Carlo got us right into the Accademia that day (there was a long long line) and I am hearing now that some Princess tours were not able to get inside the Accademia. Anyone would feel very comfortable with Carlo and Raffaele.
Our time in Rome with Duman was better than anything we could have imagined. When we got off the ship, he was waiting for us. He was fun, intelligent, spoke perfect English, knowledgeable about history, politics and of course Rome and Italy. He knew what time to see the sights, when the lines would be shorter and as a result were able to do many sights. It felt as if we were with a personal friend who was sharing Rome with us.
We were a little apprehensive about using a company that was not recommended by a friend. But they were terrific in every respect. For our next trip we will certainly call them..
romeinlimo.com
Have a great cruise!
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