June 14, 2014 - Taking the Magic to Venice

[jzandmeplus3]

Hi all - we are family of 6 from southern California - DH and I plus girls ages 13, 11, & 9 and son age 7 as of cruise date. This will be our 4th DCL trip. We are going on the Fantasy in about 5 weeks - Western Carribean for spring break.

I have been dreaming about a European trip with the kids and thought DCL would be easy way to do it with 4 kids. I was trying to wait for th Fantasy cruise next month to book Europe but worried since very limited cabin availability for the arrangement we need. So I did it today - booked - and understand I can reprice onboard if prices are better with onboard discount, OBCs, etc.

Just had to post and join the group - although we have our cruise in about 5 weeks, I LOVE to have vacations booked out so we can have it to look forward to - plus it will soften the blow when we disembark the Fantasy next month!

Bye for now!

Your post sounds exactly like what my husband and I discussed. What better way to to see Europe with the kids than a DCL cruise. You get to see many places and yet sleep in the same bed every night. We are a family of 5, 3 boys ages 11, 9 and 7 at the time of the cruise, from Washington state and just finished a 6 night bahama cruise on the Magic last week. We were intrigued about this cruise but weren't sure if we were ready and when we got home, there was a letter in the mail that a family friend left us $$ in his will, so my husband said that was a sign from the family friend to book the trip and live life to the fullest! So the next day I booked us on this cruise. This will be our 5th Disney Cruise. I do have to say I am worried about how we will all do on such a long flight coming from the west coast. It will be an adventure!

 

[jzandmeplus3]

Just created a SECRET page for facebook members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/562707577080921/

Just requested to join!
Thanks, Marissa

 

[jzandmeplus3]

Hi everyone!

Well, we just finished an 8 night Bahama cruise on the Disney Magic and had a great time of course. It was our 3rd Disney cruise for me and my family DH, DS 8, DS 7 & DS 5. Disney sure does know how to show you a good time and hires some of the best people around. While we were on board we were intrigued with the idea of touring Europe via the Disney Magic. We had a long talk with Danny from the Concierge team on the Magic and he said to us, it's a fantastic cruise and wonderful way to see Europe with your family. It costs less to see Europe on a cruise than to fly to different countries for 12 days and stay at different hotels, and pay for food etc. The best part you get to sleep in the same bed every night and you don't have to unpack and repack every time you visit another country. We booked the day after we got back from our cruise, as well as booking a cruise on the Wonder for Spring Break 2014 with our DVC points.

We have never been to Europe before, so I welcome anyone's words of wisdom about making flight arrangements from Washington State, to where to stay in Barcelona before the cruise to what we MUST see when we visit each country.

My DH and I will be celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary on board as well, so that makes this trip all the more special for us.

 

[disneymom13176]

Hi everyone!

Well, we just finished an 8 night Bahama cruise on the Disney Magic and had a great time of course. :

Did you go out of Galveston? If so we are doing that same one at the end of March. Would love to hear your feedback on that cruise. Feel free to PM me. Thanks!

 

[1stDisneyCruiseForUs]

This will be our 5th disney cruise. We are sailing with our 3 boys as well, they will be 11, 9 and 7 at the we set sail.

Very cool! And I see you are from Eastern Washington... I grew up in Moses Lake! Small world eh? We felt the same way about seeing Europe with the boys - no other way we'd even consider it! Disney knows how to do it right, and makes "boring old stuff" come to life - and heck, it will be fun to see the sites through their eyes. We've spent some time in Rome, but haven't visited the other cities on the trip, so it should be fun for all!

The boys don't yet know about the trip, but once they do, we should get them together and start some pre-trip get to know you's for the kids.

Happy planning all!
Steph

PS - I seriously need to update my ticker!

 

[jzandmeplus3]

Did you go out of Galveston? If so we are doing that same one at the end of March. Would love to hear your feedback on that cruise. Feel free to PM me. Thanks!

We did go out of Galveston. It went pretty smoothly for the most part. We flew in to Houston the day before and stayed at the Houston Marriott. We had a bus transfer from the hotel. That was a bit crazy, the bell hop at the hotel was a bit overwhelmed getting all the luggage and loading on the bus, but we finally got on our way to the ship. The first couple of days the weather was cool and the water was a little rough, but not to the point we got sea sick. Once we got to Castaway Cay, the weather improved and the seas were calmer. Transfers to and from Disney were very easy, MK was CRAZY that day. The rest of the cruise was fun and smooth sailing.

You will LOVE it.

 

[3princessMommy]

Hi All!!!

I'll volunteer to help coordinate the FE exchange. I had a friend from a previous cruise help me develop a sign up form on google docs. Go to this link:

Technical difficulties - will post link shortly when I figure out the issue.

I think anyone should be able to access it. I'm hoping that it works! This is the first time that I've used google docs, so if it doesn't work for you, please let me know and I'll see if I can fix it.

I think this set up will allow us to keep the whole list limited to only those that sign up. When you fill out the form, you won't see the spreadsheet. But when we get to the final cutoff, I'll be able to send a mass e-mail to everyone with the data. (Fingers crossed this works!)

 

[2003Eeyore]

Hi everyone~ We are so excited to be on this cruise with you guys. Its me Patti and my DD10 by the time we sail. Now I just need to get to 10 post so I can PM and ask questions!!

BigAWL love the Logo!!


Disney Dream Jan 2013

 

[3princessMommy]

Hi All!!!

I'll volunteer to help coordinate the FE exchange. I had a friend from a previous cruise help me develop a sign up form on google docs. Go to this link:

Technical difficulties - will post link shortly when I figure out the issue.

I think anyone should be able to access it. I'm hoping that it works! This is the first time that I've used google docs, so if it doesn't work for you, please let me know and I'll see if I can fix it.

I think this set up will allow us to keep the whole list limited to only those that sign up. When you fill out the form, you won't see the spreadsheet. But when we get to the final cutoff, I'll be able to send a mass e-mail to everyone with the data. (Fingers crossed this works!)

Ok - Do we have any google Docs experts on here?

So I have the spreadsheet all set up. The form is beautiful and looks great. It appears to go live when I set it, but when I input information into the form, it is not populating the spreadsheet.

Anyone have any ideas???

A previous FE organizer did this for our group, and it was SOOOO nice not to have to retype everything every time someone new joined. I thought this would be easier, now I'm questioning myself.

 

[poison ivy]

We had a google doc for the FE on our Jan 12 2013 cruise linked on the front page of our dismeet.

here's the post from the person who set it up. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43944687&postcount=55

here's the front page of our dismeet there

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2819569

I don't know how it was done but we were able to post directly into it. Somehow, it was linked thru facebook which made it difficult if you did not have a google login or FB account. We of course have neither.

However, I was able to access it thru the Dis if I was first logged into my son's FB account. Fortunately he has joined our FB group here (he's Mark Brnich) so I won't miss too much information for those who have gone to the dark side .

It's hard to maintain both channels for discussion (fb vs dis) and I refuse to be a member of the FB corporation now that they are publicly traded on the open market. Too much personal information being hacked and stored permanently and data mined by a monster corporate entity.

 

[2003Eeyore]

I am with you Poison Ivy I do not have FB either and I refuse to get it. There are people from my HS and early 20s that I dont want hunting me down Hopefully I won't miss too much I don't have anyone at home that has FB to log me in. Maybe if it is something the non-FB people could use, someone will tell us here. I need all the help I can get I am more than a little nervous of this grand adventure.

 

[poison ivy]

Hello everyone. JQ and I just returned from 4 fabulous days at the Flower and Garden festival! I decided to try my hand a trip report. Please follow along with us if you wish! Here's the link:


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3083742


2003Eeyore - I hear you about those adolescent years and FB friend requests!!

All i can picture is a bombardment of "where are they now?" photos and highlights through our many facets of life.

My favorite saying is "It's just a computer. It only knows what you tell it!!"

FB is beginning to turn off the next generation of our youth though so I'm wondering how long long before this fades. I think our kids/grandkids don't want to socialize where their parents do so it's probably only a matter of time before things wind down over there.

In the meantime I'll try to post here as often as I can and share anything of importance my son relays from the facebook group. So far he said there were a couple of polls he participated in about what time everyone has for dining and I'm not sure what else. How's that for details!!

 

[DVClurkerRob]

My wife and I are considering taking this cruise. Right now I am still in fact-finding mode. Can anyone tell me if there is a place to access Disney excursion options, their descriptions, and pricing?

We are taking our first cruise in June with DCL. I was thinking of waiting and booking this cruise then for the discount. However, it seems that some of you are saying I can book now and have any discounts applied to my price. Is that a correct understanding?

Also, do cruise prices typically escalate as you get closer to the sailing date?

Thanks for any help. We are Disney vets but DCL virgins.

 

[2003Eeyore]

My wife and I are considering taking this cruise. Right now I am still in fact-finding mode. Can anyone tell me if there is a place to access Disney excursion options, their descriptions, and pricing?

We are taking our first cruise in June with DCL. I was thinking of waiting and booking this cruise then for the discount. However, it seems that some of you are saying I can book now and have any discounts applied to my price. Is that a correct understanding?

Also, do cruise prices typically escalate as you get closer to the sailing date?

Thanks for any help. We are Disney vets but DCL virgins.

You can find the excursion info on the DCL site just select the port adventures, then the city and the excursion for details and pricing. The only ones that aren't there are the new ports for 2014.
As far as the pricing going up I am new at this too, this is only my second cruise but I did watch a 7 day Med for June 2013 last year and it went up as the sail date got closer. I hope that helps!

 

[DVClurkerRob]

Very helpful! Thanks.

 

[3princessMommy]

We priced this cruise today while on the Dream. Porthole cabins are now in GTY status only and about $2K more than what we paid on opening day. The verandas are staying fairly constant as far as I can tell. So it seems that the cheaper cabins are selling much more quickly than the more expensive verandas. Glad we got ours in opening day!

 

[KandiB47]

Hello everybody! We will be joining you for our first trip to Europe. Yay! It's me (will be 34), DH(will be 35), and DS (will be 8). I hope to find some friends to meet up with my son. On our last cruise, he played video games a lot by himself in the kids club. I see there are going to be other kids his age so that's great! Even just to find other kids who love video games would be cool.

What's crazy is that right now the porthole cabins are cheaper than the inside cabins! A friend if ours just booked and a 10AM was $1k more expensive than out 9B! Needless to say, they booked the 9B, next door to us!

This continues to be the case. I planned on booking cat. 10 for the split bath. I checked the cat. 9's just to see and they were cheaper. I don't recall how much cheaper but good enough to book

Nice to meet you all. Have a good night.

 

[2003Eeyore]

Hello everybody! We will be joining you for our first trip to Europe. Yay! It's me (will be 34), DH(will be 35), and DS (will be 8). I hope to find some friends to meet up with my son. On our last cruise, he played video games a lot by himself in the kids club. I see there are going to be other kids his age so that's great! Even just to find other kids who love video games would be cool.



This continues to be the case. I planned on booking cat. 10 for the split bath. I checked the cat. 9's just to see and they were cheaper. I don't recall how much cheaper but good enough to book

Nice to meet you all. Have a good night.

HiKandiB47~ Welcome~ My DD will be 10, we were on the Dream in Jan she only tried the Kids club 2 times for 15 mins each time and that was it. Maybe we can get them together so they would at least know someone. I am planning on getting into Barcelona the day before we sail. We are so excited I have never been any where like this before!

 

[3princessMommy]

Kandi!!!

It's a little slow over here just yet, but we've got more than a year to go. I'm sure it will get exciting.

There's lots of information on the first page, so check that out.

I'll also be putting together the FE exchange (as soon as I can figure out how to get the form to work on Google Docs...).

Great to meet you!

 

[poison ivy]

Hi and welcome to everyone who is joining us!!!

I'm sorry I've been a little absent lately but I know things will pick up. I'm hoping to gain a ton of information as we get closer. I've been checking in on the venice meet threads for this year from time to time in hopes of compiling some planning tips. Fortunately one of the June 27 med cruisers is on our DvC members cruise in Sept so I plan to check in with her as well.

We're really looking forward to this. Our next big step is to book airfare when it becomes available. I'm guessing that is at 11 mos.