June 17, 2016 - Magic goes to Norway and Iceland from Dover

[o&smom]

To our lovely cruise group: just a reminder that our FE closes in just under a week. If anyone is interested, please let me know before then. Also, please do not forget to post assigned stateroom numbers when you get them so that I can update our list.

Happy packing to all!

 

[Ofinn]

There will be taxis outside of the port building. Last year the line was SUPER long, so we asked Disney if we could use one of the shuttle buses to the Tivoli Hotel and then we grabbed a taxi from there.

What time was the line long. We plan on doing express walk off and then taking a cab to the airport. Our flight is at 1200 to London not to the US. I have read that makes a difference in how long it takes to get through security. We will have to get our luggage in London and then re-check in to the US.

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

5 Weeks!!





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[Cartmeller]

I am so excited for this. My husband knows a little about this, but our excursions are always a surprise for our kids! Do you know how we would go about getting a cab into the city or back to the port once we have spent our time in Beamish?

There'll be taxis at the cruise port. I think it'll cost about £50 each way and they seat 4. You can ask the taxi driver to book your return journey when you travel. You could get a taxi back to the city afterwards and then there's lots of taxi ranks in town for example at the main railway station. Be very careful with time though. Roads in the city get very congested and a 10 minute journey can end up taking an hour. The cruise port is about 20 minutes from town on a good day. You could ring Deans taxis on +44 191 444 4444 to get quotes and book in advance. Taxis are metered so fares might fluctuate according to traffic.

 

[o&smom]

What time was the line long. We plan on doing express walk off and then taking a cab to the airport. Our flight is at 1200 to London not to the US. I have read that makes a difference in how long it takes to get through security. We will have to get our luggage in London and then re-check in to the US.

I would think express walk off would be better. It has been when we have done it in the past. We did hang around a little longer because we were catching a later train to visit family in Sweden. A lot of it depends on how many ships are in port, as well. The week before, we waited for an hour for a prereserved taxi at the Tivoli hotel, because there were just so many people needing taxis for all the ships thst were in port at once.

 

[o&smom]

There'll be taxis at the cruise port. I think it'll cost about £50 each way and they seat 4. You can ask the taxi driver to book your return journey when you travel. You could get a taxi back to the city afterwards and then there's lots of taxi ranks in town for example at the main railway station. Be very careful with time though. Roads in the city get very congested and a 10 minute journey can end up taking an hour. The cruise port is about 20 minutes from town on a good day. You could ring Deans taxis on +44 191 444 4444 to get quotes and book in advance. Taxis are metered so fares might fluctuate according to traffic.

Thank you. We are not sure how long we will want to explore Beamish. So we are having a hard time figuring out the best way to go about the return part. We do not like to call it too close when returning to the port. I understand that our port day will be Father's Day. Is it tradition in England that families get together for dinner, or should we expect more traffic in the afternoon of people returning home?

 

[Cartmeller]

Thank you. We are not sure how long we will want to explore Beamish. So we are having a hard time figuring out the best way to go about the return part. We do not like to call it too close when returning to the port. I understand that our port day will be Father's Day. Is it tradition in England that families get together for dinner, or should we expect more traffic in the afternoon of people returning home?

You can spend a whole day in Beamish very easily and not get bored. It depends how much you like to try out the different transportation, walk, browse, chat to the cast members. The good thing about Beamish is that it's south of Newcastle and easier to get back to the ship through the Tyne tunnel which costs an extra £1.60. Fathers day isn't as big as it used to be but there will be lots of places book out for lunch, it doesn't usually effect traffic to much.

What I'd suggest if Beamish is high on your to-do list. Make an early start,, I think we dock at 8:15. Prebook a taxi to pick you up at the cruise port, tell them you want a quick driving tour through the city to catch the bridges, the castle keep, Grey street architecture and the Gateshead quays. Ask them to give a price. It takes 45 minutes direct so allow an hour on top of that for touring around. Great photo opportunities at Gateshead quays. Local taxis include Deans 0191 444 4444 and Blueline 0191 262 6666.

The Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside is an area along the banks of the River Tyne that was once an industrial area and busy dockside. Recently it has been redeveloped to provide art, music and culture venues including The Sage, Millennium Bridge and BALTIC art installation. NB This isn't really walkable from the cruise port.



On the drive to Beamish ask him to point out the Angel of the North.

Since spreading its wings in February 1998, Antony Gormley's The Angel of the North has become one of the most talked about pieces of public art ever produced. Rising 20 meters from the earth near the A1 in Gateshead, the Angel dominates the skyline, dwarfing all those who come to see it. Made from 200 tonnes of steel, it has a wingspan of 54 metres. Getting up close and personal with the Angel is an experience you'll never forget!

Then go to Beamish. Entry is £18.50 per adult and £10.50 per child aged 5 to 16, better still a family ticket two adults and two children is £48.50. They accept credit cards but one note of caution there are a few places in the UK that do not accept Amex. Then ask the taxi to pick you up at Beamish and take you through the Tyne tunnel to the cruise port. I've checked google and its currently taking around 30 minutes for the return journey, also allow 30 minutes to get through the port. I think its all aboard at 4:30 pm so leaving Beamish at 2:00 pm should be OK including contingency.

Hope this helps!

 

[o&smom]

Just a reminder that our FE closes in two days on May 17. Anyone wanting to join please post names, ages of children, cabin #, and any allergies. At this time we have 12 cabins participating. I will also need a few more cabin numbers or last names so that people can go to guest services to get you your gifts. I just finalized what I am doing for FEs today! Not usually so indecisive. I better get going because we leave home on June 8!

 

[o&smom]

You can spend a whole day in Beamish very easily and not get bored. It depends how much you like to try out the different transportation, walk, browse, chat to the cast members. The good thing about Beamish is that it's south of Newcastle and easier to get back to the ship through the Tyne tunnel which costs an extra £1.60. Fathers day isn't as big as it used to be but there will be lots of places book out for lunch, it doesn't usually effect traffic to much.

What I'd suggest if Beamish is high on your to-do list. Make an early start,, I think we dock at 8:15. Prebook a taxi to pick you up at the cruise port, tell them you want a quick driving tour through the city to catch the bridges, the castle keep, Grey street architecture and the Gateshead quays. Ask them to give a price. It takes 45 minutes direct so allow an hour on top of that for touring around. Great photo opportunities at Gateshead quays. Local taxis include Deans 0191 444 4444 and Blueline 0191 262 6666.

The Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside is an area along the banks of the River Tyne that was once an industrial area and busy dockside. Recently it has been redeveloped to provide art, music and culture venues including The Sage, Millennium Bridge and BALTIC art installation. NB This isn't really walkable from the cruise port.



On the drive to Beamish ask him to point out the Angel of the North.

Since spreading its wings in February 1998, Antony Gormley's The Angel of the North has become one of the most talked about pieces of public art ever produced. Rising 20 meters from the earth near the A1 in Gateshead, the Angel dominates the skyline, dwarfing all those who come to see it. Made from 200 tonnes of steel, it has a wingspan of 54 metres. Getting up close and personal with the Angel is an experience you'll never forget!

Then go to Beamish. Entry is £18.50 per adult and £10.50 per child aged 5 to 16, better still a family ticket two adults and two children is £48.50. They accept credit cards but one note of caution there are a few places in the UK that do not accept Amex. Then ask the taxi to pick you up at Beamish and take you through the Tyne tunnel to the cruise port. I've checked google and its currently taking around 30 minutes for the return journey, also allow 30 minutes to get through the port. I think its all aboard at 4:30 pm so leaving Beamish at 2:00 pm should be OK including contingency.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all your help and feedback. I know we will all have so much fun! Just not sure if it will be a rainy day and if that will make it less enjoyable for the kids. We had thought about going there straight away with a stop at the Angel of the North. Then, depending how our day/the weather is going, we would either go back to the port or make a vist to the Great North Hancock museum to see their display on Hadrian's Wall. Maybe we will just have to visit again some day!

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

Just a reminder that our FE closes in two days on May 17. Anyone wanting to join please post names, ages of children, cabin #, and any allergies. At this time we have 12 cabins participating. I will also need a few more cabin numbers or last names so that people can go to guest services to get you your gifts. I just finalized what I am doing for FEs today! Not usually so indecisive. I better get going because we leave home on June 8!

Marni,
Should we PM the people who haven't responded with their cabin numbers or give it some more time? Thanks for organizing this!
Kim

 

[o&smom]

Marni,
Should we PM the people who haven't responded with their cabin numbers or give it some more time? Thanks for organizing this!
Kim

Yes, of course. I was just reminding people of the cutoff date to join. I know people need a little time to get their FE together, and need a solid number that will not increase. We only have a few cabins not assigned, so this should not be an issue. I will be PMing anyone without by the end of the week. If people still do not have their cabin assignment, it is helpful to get a family last name to drop off at guest services for them. I had to do this on our last cruise.

And you are so welcome! So excited for this cruise!

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

Yes, of course. I was just reminding people of the cutoff date to join. I know people need a little time to get their FE together, and need a solid number that will not increase. We only have a few cabins not assigned, so this should not be an issue. I will be PMing anyone without by the end of the week. If people still do not have their cabin assignment, it is helpful to get a family last name to drop off at guest services for them. I had to do this on our last cruise.

And you are so welcome! So excited for this cruise!

Thanks! I knew you'd be on top of it!! Can't believe how close we are to sailing!

 

[o&smom]

Oops! Got caught up in end of year homework drama and forgot to post: OUR FE IS NOW OFFiCIALLY CLOSED.
Happy creating to all! Another reminder to Just love Eeyore, welchmom, Rfamily & Garrie the Unicorn that we still need stateroom numbers. Thanks!

 

[Just love Eeyore]

We are still waiting for our stateroom number.

 

[Garrie the Unicorn]

We are also still awaiting our cabin number. I believe we should probably have a cabin assigned at the end of the month.

 

[TxMermaid1]

Yep, our family are coming to see us at the port, we will go out for lunch (it's Father's Day in the UK). And then they will wave us off. Just sad our 4 year old granddaughter can't come onboard for a peek!

Where in Tx are you?

I am originally from Houston but now live in the Dallas, Fort Worth area.

Have you checked with Disney about the granddaughter coming on board? Sometimes they will do it at the embarkation port (Dover) but I'm not sure if they will do it at the other ports or not. It would be worth a call to them.

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

4 Weeks!!




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[Ofinn]

If any of you booked a GT rate cabin assignments usually come about 10-14 days before the cruise. Could be earlier, but that's the norm.

 

[Donald's friend]

Oops! Got caught up in end of year homework drama and forgot to post: OUR FE IS NOW OFFiCIALLY CLOSED.
Happy creating to all! Another reminder to Just love Eeyore, welchmom, Rfamily & Garrie the Unicorn that we still need stateroom numbers. Thanks!

Hi will you be sending out the final list?

 

[o&smom]

We are still waiting for our stateroom number.

Thanks! Will keep checking.