July 6, 2010 - 7/6/2010 ~ Pounds to Rubles ~ Mickey invades the Baltic Sea

[Disney Rocks]

*** I have edited this first post to be a place to keep some of our info more readily available. If you have info that you want posted here, just let me know and I'll add it as time goes on.

Watch here for announcements. ***


UPDATED: 02-20-2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISers Booked:

CarolAnnC / DISTeach / Crissup
DW2DH&DS - 7068
goingsouth - 5020
OurDogCisco - 8080
wintergreen - 6064
Disney_rocks - 8042
Denise - 6020
Thistle - 2126
justhat - 8534, 8082, 8084
nzdisneymom - 6116
sharper_fin - 2070
DMMarla07860
Nevada
daipp - 2000
eeyorelvr10
DisneyRN1 - 7066
FabuMouse
Deb T.
sshaw10060 - 2054
Twinparents - 2138, 2140
APinCA
din
slg - Deck 8
stimpy
jship210
2littlestiches
sshaw10060
cmaelltt1 - 6007, 6011
addicted.to.speed / NAG
GeneralMax
ugarxdawg
Monstro
njdisneyfans
long_time_cruiser
tfc3rid
GCLPC
disneyfortwo
Janet
Marlaymike
LisaTex - 8016
orangebird
aurorafan65
Fivepin
djpate
gandyfamily
Dopeylover54
kawigrl - cat 7 gty
caseyk20
tfc3rid
Iowazipcode
NYCDisneyFan
DisneyRedHeadPirate
KYDIZFAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are cabin 8522 now

 

[Deb T.]

We are cabin 8522 now

And we're in 8552!

 

[Disney Rocks]

We purchased currency from wells fargo- no fee and best rates I could find. It arrived fedex today! My thought is that with just one day in port, I don't want to waste time searching for ATMs. The exchange rate for pounds was wonderful compared to past trips (sorry Brit fellow cruisers).


joanne

Apparently we will be able to buy currency for each port onboard as well.

 

[slg]

Jeff:

Thanks for the info...wonderful news. Anyone know if the evening canal boat passes by the church of the spilled blood? I'd like to get a little look at it and the excursions I've picked doesn't include it.

slg

 

[Monstro]

We hve four excursions booked in St. Petersburg. Two Morning - two night

• Introduction to Saint Petersburg -which makes a 20 minute stop at the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood
• The Royal Ball in Catherine's Palace
• Peterhof and Hermitage
• Evening Canal Boat Tour

I'm talking to a private tour company about the same itinerary ... interested to see the difference in pricing.

Jeff

 

[wintergreen]

I thought that I would post website information for the various HOHO bus and city card options for each of the ports that I have found so far (there may be others):

Oslo:
HOHO: www.citysightseeing.no
City card: www.visitoslo.com/en/oslo-pass-prices.97622.en.html

Copenhagen:
HOHO: www.viator.com/Copenhagen-tours/Tours-and-Sightseeing/d463-g12?pref=02&aid=g3671
City card: http://online.citybreak.com/Search/Other/SearchOther.aspx?pdid=4525&onlineid=1459618727&culture=en

Berlin:
HOHO: www.viator.com/Berlin-tours/Hop-on-Hop-off-Tours/d488-g12-c97?pref=02&aid=g3664
City card: www.citytourcard.com/english/berlin/starting-page.html

Helsinki:
HOHO: www.stromma.se/en/Sightseeing/Helsinki/
City card: www.helsinkicard.fi/

Stockholm:
HOHO: www.stromma.se/en/Sightseeing/Stockholm/Land-tours/Hop-on-Hop-of-bus---Combi/
City card: www.stockholmpass.com/

Hope this is helpful.

 

[denise]

You must have been reading my mind. I was just going to search for these. Thanks so much! Now If I could get the maps to print...

 

[Deb T.]

Hi Everyone! I'm fascinated about the White Nights and just finished researching the sunrise/sunset times and length of days during our trip! Here's what I found:

Tuesday, July 6, London: Sunrise 4:51am, Sunset 9:19pm, Length of Day 16:27:13
Thursday, July 8, Oslo: Sunrise 4:09am, Sunset 10:35pm, Length of Day 18:25:33
Friday, July 9, Copenhagen: Sunrise 4:38am, Sunset 9:51pm, Length of Day 17:12:50
Saturday, July 10, Berlin: Sunrise 4:56am, Sunset 9:27pm, Length of Day 16:31:34
Monday, July 12, St. Petersburg: Sunrise 4:57am, Sunset 11:10pm, Length of Day 18:13:11
Tuesday, July 13, St. Petersburg: Sunrise 4:59am, Sunset 11:08pm, Length of Day 18:09:50
Wednesday, July 14, Helsinki: Sunrise 4:20am, Sunset 10:31pm, Length of Day 18:11:03
Thursday, July 15, Stockholm: Sunrise 3:57am, Sunset 9:48pm, Length of Day 17:53:05

 

[kawigrl]

Hi Everyone! I'm fascinated about the White Nights and just finished researching the sunrise/sunset times and length of days during our trip! Here's what I found:

Tuesday, July 6, London: Sunrise 4:51am, Sunset 9:19pm, Length of Day 16:27:13
Thursday, July 8, Oslo: Sunrise 4:09am, Sunset 10:35pm, Length of Day 18:25:33
Friday, July 9, Copenhagen: Sunrise 4:38am, Sunset 9:51pm, Length of Day 17:12:50
Saturday, July 10, Berlin: Sunrise 4:56am, Sunset 9:27pm, Length of Day 16:31:34
Monday, July 12, St. Petersburg: Sunrise 4:57am, Sunset 11:10pm, Length of Day 18:13:11
Tuesday, July 13, St. Petersburg: Sunrise 4:59am, Sunset 11:08pm, Length of Day 18:09:50
Wednesday, July 14, Helsinki: Sunrise 4:20am, Sunset 10:31pm, Length of Day 18:11:03
Thursday, July 15, Stockholm: Sunrise 3:57am, Sunset 9:48pm, Length of Day 17:53:05

Wow I hope the curtains are good at blocking sunlight

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hi everyone. I'll be updating cabin info on the first page today so if you have a cabin assignment now or have changed cabins, let me know.

Deb - thanks for the sunrise / sunset info - I'm so excited about the very long daylight hours because after a day of touring, it will be nice to be back onboard and still have daylight hours to enjoy sitting on the deck, etc.

Jeff - thanks for sharing the info about the St. Petersburg tours. We are interested in the evening canal boat and wondered if it was going to be offered both nights or only one.

Alice - thanks for the HOHO links, etc.

We are working on London pre-cruise and think we have a basic plan. I have to decide, though, if we think we'll do the Original bus tour or the Big Bus bus tour. Big Bus got some not wonderful reviews on tripadvisor but seems to be a bit more convenient for us and what we want to do, and they did get enough positive reviews for me to not cross them off.

But the important thing is we know when and where to go for the Beatles walking tour that DH wants to do - that will be on Sunday at 11 a.m. (after arriving on Saturday midday, that will be good because we won't try to get an early start on Sunday morning). We will likely do the British Museum on Saturday afternoon and then get a leisurely dinner and rest so that Sunday after the tour, we can do the bus tour and pick up the Tower of London and the London Eye. Monday will be Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard and then the rest of the day will be sightseeing everything else on our list. Monday night will be packing back up for Tuesday's ride to Dover.

We pre-reserved the Canterbury and Leeds Castle post-cruise excursion for Monday the 19th which will pick us up at the hotel and take us for the day.

The Dept of State has cashed our check for the boys' passports so we are hoping to get them returned shortly. And I should get the foldable, laminated map of London that I ordered from Amazon this week - it shipped on Thursday and is coming via DHL/US Postal service. I hope to have it before spring break so I can get our London itinerary a bit more solid while I have time to spread out the map Being able to see things visually will help me in that planning.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The inside cabin will at least ensure we have a dark room to sleep in, LOL!

Just made our transportations reservations for Heathrow/Rennaisance Chancery Court/Dover (Folkestone)/Heathrow with Eddie Manning. Read good reviews on them on the Baltic Tips thread and decided to go with them based on that.

Really have to take time this weekend and review the excursions and make final choices.

Been very busy here with John away in India all week. He is enroute home now via Germany and will be crashing I am sure once he arrives.

Happy Saturday everyone!!

 

[slg]

Does anyone know if the canal cruise will float by the Church of the spilled blood? We aren't going on a tour that includes it and really want to see it, even if from the outside.

Also, can't decide on whether to do the evening canal the first or second day. First day we are doing a half-day tour that gets us back at around 4:45, the canal tour starts at 7 so we would need to miss dinner. Not a worry, we'll go to the buffet or get pizza or something. But the canal boat ends close to 10 and we have a 7:30 am tour in the morning, so I'm wondering if we should just turn in early...however, the next day we have a long all day tour that ends at 5, so we might be super tired to go back out for the canal tour.

Anyone have any recommendations on this?

 

[Fivepin]

The inside cabin will at least ensure we have a dark room to sleep in, LOL!

Just made our transportations reservations for Heathrow/Rennaisance Chancery Court/Dover (Folkestone)/Heathrow with Eddie Manning. Read good reviews on them on the Baltic Tips thread and decided to go with them based on that.

Happy Saturday everyone!!

We're staying at the Renaissance as well. I've gotten a couple of quotes for transportation, but am having a problem deciding on the company. Did you come across Riverside Cars in your research? I did get a quote from Eddie Manning but Riverside was considerably cheaper for the same type of vehicle, and now I'm wondering why? I can't seem to find reviews for them.
Thanks for any help.

Anyone else getting the London Pass? We are leaning towards getting one since we want to go to London Tower and Kennsington. I had already used our Marriott points to get tixs for the HOHO boat, but now just read if I get the London Pass that is also included. I could have saved some points.

BTW just found out Renaissnce Chancery got downgraded to a CAT 7, so Marriott did credit us back 5,000/night for our stay there that we booked with points. So, any of you out there who did book with points at 40,000 call guest services and they will cancel the old e cert and reissue a new one and credit your Marriott rewards account.

 

[babybear42]

We're staying at the Renaissance as well. I've gotten a couple of quotes for transportation, but am having a problem deciding on the company. Did you come across Riverside Cars in your research? I did get a quote from Eddie Manning but Riverside was considerably cheaper for the same type of vehicle, and now I'm wondering why? I can't seem to find reviews for them.
Thanks for any help.

Anyone else getting the London Pass? We are leaning towards getting one since we want to go to London Tower and Kennsington. I had already used our Marriott points to get tixs for the HOHO boat, but now just read if I get the London Pass that is also included. I could have saved some points.

BTW just found out Renaissnce Chancery got downgraded to a CAT 7, so Marriott did credit us back 5,000/night for our stay there that we booked with points. So, any of you out there who did book with points at 40,000 call guest services and they will cancel the old e cert and reissue a new one and credit your Marriott rewards account.

I just thought you might like to know that for anyone flying into Heathrow and staying at the Renaissnce Chancery then you can catch the tube train from Heathrow to Holborn Tube Station and the hotel is just a short walk away.

 

[Deb T.]

I just thought you might like to know that for anyone flying into Heathrow and staying at the Renaissnce Chancery then you can catch the tube train from Heathrow to Holborn Tube Station and the hotel is just a short walk away.

Living in American suburbs all our lives, DH and I are not at all familiar with tubes, subways, commuter trains, and other forms of local mass transportation. So, naturally, we find it daunting - all the schedules, zones, stops, transfers, and even where and how to purchase the tickets. So, my question is.... are taxis available at Heathrow to get to hotels (we're staying at the London Marriott County Hall)? And, if so, how much more expensive are they?

 

[CarolAnnC]

We're staying at the Renaissance as well. I've gotten a couple of quotes for transportation, but am having a problem deciding on the company. Did you come across Riverside Cars in your research? I did get a quote from Eddie Manning but Riverside was considerably cheaper for the same type of vehicle, and now I'm wondering why? I can't seem to find reviews for them.
Thanks for any help.

Anyone else getting the London Pass? We are leaning towards getting one since we want to go to London Tower and Kennsington. I had already used our Marriott points to get tixs for the HOHO boat, but now just read if I get the London Pass that is also included. I could have saved some points.

BTW just found out Renaissnce Chancery got downgraded to a CAT 7, so Marriott did credit us back 5,000/night for our stay there that we booked with points. So, any of you out there who did book with points at 40,000 call guest services and they will cancel the old e cert and reissue a new one and credit your Marriott rewards account.

I went with Eddie Manning based on NancyIL's favorable experience using them previously. There is another car service my DH uses when in London, but they were considerably more expensive. I know NancyIL and trust her judgement.

Though the tube is definitely a cheaper alternative, after traveling across the Pond, I will be in no shape to lug around a big suitcase, lol. That plus I will take my cane just in case (have previously broken a vertabrae which can act up) I just don't want to take a chance. Gotta be in good shape for all our excursions, LOL!

Do we have any updates on the group Palo brunches? I have been trying to get a hold of LisaTx to see if she was able to get the private room for the group. My family of 4 had signed up and we are looking forward to dining with some of you!

 

[Monstro]

Do we have any updates on the group Palo brunches? I have been trying to get a hold of LisaTx to see if she was able to get the private room for the group. My family of 4 had signed up and we are looking forward to dining with some of you!

The group brunch info takes awhile. Disney usually doesn't assign that room until one month before the cruise. In addition, if all the brunch slots are booked, they ask people participating in the group brunch to cancel their other reservation(s) to allow other people to have the opportunity. I'm not saying this will work the same - this is just how it has worked for us the past 4 or 5 times we've done it. We have got the room everytime though.

By the way - we still have 4 slots in the second group. Which is my party of three, Denise's party of three, GoingSouth's party of two, and DW2DH&DS party of two.

Jeff

 

[babybear42]

Living in American suburbs all our lives, DH and I are not at all familiar with tubes, subways, commuter trains, and other forms of local mass transportation. So, naturally, we find it daunting - all the schedules, zones, stops, transfers, and even where and how to purchase the tickets. So, my question is.... are taxis available at Heathrow to get to hotels (we're staying at the London Marriott County Hall)? And, if so, how much more expensive are they?

Hi
I would think there will be taxi outside the airport, but as you're approximately 18 miles outside of London itself I would think that a taxi would be quite expensive. It's estimated on the Marriott web site that it would be around £65 to the hotel from the airport. A single fare from Heathrow to Waterloo, which is the nearest station on the tube is £4.50 per adult.

 

[Deb T.]

Hi
I would think there will be taxi outside the airport, but as you're approximately 18 miles outside of London itself I would think that a taxi would be quite expensive. It's estimated on the Marriott web site that it would be around £65 to the hotel from the airport. A single fare from Heathrow to Waterloo, which is the nearest station on the tube is £4.50 per adult.

Wow - that IS a big difference. Thanks for the information.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The group brunch info takes awhile. Disney usually doesn't assign that room until one month before the cruise. In addition, if all the brunch slots are booked, they ask people participating in the group brunch to cancel their other reservation(s) to allow other people to have the opportunity. I'm not saying this will work the same - this is just how it has worked for us the past 4 or 5 times we've done it. We have got the room everytime though.

By the way - we still have 4 slots in the second group. Which is my party of three, Denise's party of three, GoingSouth's party of two, and DW2DH&DS party of two.

Jeff

I see, thanks for the info! Have never been a part of the Palo private room, so was not sure how it worked. One brunch would probably be fine for us, but we may go for dinner ressies as well.

Getting so excited now for this cruise!