June 18, 2011 - 11 Night Mediterranean Sailing from Barcelona

[goofydadeo]

Hoping to find a few fellow cruisers who'll be joining in this great cruise!
It'll be me, DW, DS (17*) and DD (13*). This will be DCL cruise #11 for us (unless we give in and book a Dream voyage before this sailing) and our first Med cruise... Anyone else??? Let us hear from you!!!

*age at time of sailing

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list

 

[lornak]

I'll be the first to join you!

My DH and I are planning on doing this cruise for our 20th anniversary! My sister and her husband are planning on going as well. We are already SO excited!! I can't wait for this summer's Med trip reports to start coming in. I want to hear all about it! We haven't really started thinking about when/where we will fly in or any pre/post trip details. I'm hoping this group may be a good place to get some advice!!

 

[goofydadeo]

Great to have someone else on this ship!

We too are just beginning to think through all the logistics and planning and just like you, we'll be looking forward to learning from those traveling this year!

Cheers!

 

[JulieWent]

Add us to the list -- Me (I will be celebrating my GASP 50th birthday on the cruise!), my DH, and my DS (15 on cruise). We've only cruised once before (Wonder 4 day cruise) but have also traveled with Disney in Europe with Adventures by Disney. I don't think we'll combine the two -- I think we'll be fine arranging our own excursions on this trip, but we did enjoy our Knights and Lights trip several years ago.

Can't wait!

Julie

 

[goofydadeo]

I here to say the big 5-0 isn't so bad - just had mine this past fall. DW is coming up soon too. After all 50 is the new 40 - yes!!!

Sounds like we both have DSs who are close in age - and that's good too!

I'd love to hear more about your ABD trip - we have not done one yet but have been investigating. Which one did you do?

 

[JulieWent]

Oh, I'm not too worried about 50. I figure reaching 50 is much better than the alternative.

We're also DVC members -- Our home has been BWV since 1999. (Looking forward to a big Christmas trip this year, but we also have some little trips planned. Mostly DS wants to slip down to Orlando this summer to check out the Harry Potter stuff once it's open.)

We did Knights and Lights (London and Paris) about three years ago now. First, we flew into England on our own for about a week and rented a car. That was an adventure in and of itself, but we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. (I'm an English teacher. Had to get my Shakespeare fix.) Then we tripped up to a great theme park called Alton Towers. DS just had to try some roller coasters while we were abroad, you see. After that, we drove down to Stonehenge for the day.

We joined ABD in London and had a thoroughly wonderful time. After doing everything for ourselves for a week, it was a real joy to allow our guides to do everything for us. We DID have time on our own, though, which we loved. We had an afternoon to go over to the British Museum, and one to explore Tussauds (big mistake, but DS wanted to try it out). It was spectacular to be able to skip the lines with our ABD tour guides as we visited the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, etc. In Paris, they were even more helpful as the lines were more daunting at the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. We just walked on by. It was definitely a nice way to tour.

We haven't done another ABD because their prices have gone up so much. We think they're worth much more than average, but we also think they're being a bit unrealistic. They have also started adding lots of moves to their itineraries. We liked just going to London and Paris. Moving more than twice in eight days might be a real hassle. (The Germany trip has participants staying at four different places in 8 days!) We prefer having a home base and striking out from there a bit more.

That said, we thought the Med Cruise might be to our liking. The ship will function as our permanent home base, and we'll get lots of exploring done. We're already planning on a private excursion in Rome because there are some very specific things we want to see there, but I think Disney's excursions are going to cover us everywhere else. (Don't know about Florence. It's the only one I'm having a hard time deciding what's really do-able.. Have to wait and see what everyone says after this summer's round of cruises, I guess.)

See... already planning! There must be a name for that particular condition. Anyway, it's good to know there are other DISers who will be on board with us. Can't wait to plan together.

Julie

 

[lornak]

Our group is growing!

I'd love to know where everyone is from....we're from northern MN. We have 4 children (13, 11, 10 and 5) but they will be staying home for this cruise!! We took a 7 night MAGIC cruise for our 15th anniversary and decided then we would do another one for our 20th. When I saw the 2011 Med cruises I knew those were for us! I booked the day they opened for platinum cruisers!!! This will be cruise #15 for me---not quite so many for my dh.

I have also started to look at some hotels and excursions. Add me to the list of overplanners! I have been reading a lot of the pre-trip info for the 2010 Med cruisers and I have gotten a lot of good info. I am also spending some time on tripadvisor and that has been really helpful. I am also thinking of booking a private tour in Rome---that seems like one that would definitely be worth it. I want to see as much as possible that day! I am leaning towards that in Naples as well. I have found a few tour companies that offer a discount if you use them in multiple ports. JulieWent, I would love to hear what you are considering as well!!!!

My biggest stress is thinking about airfare. There are so many possible options and I want to get a good price---I have heard that prices will be released 11 months from your return date. I will be looking right away. This is another area where I would love some advice! So, if anyone has any, I'm open!!!!

 

[JulieWent]

I, too, have been thinking about airfare. We're based in the Southeast (in East Alabama), so Atlanta is our airport. We can choose between British Airways and Delta, basically. I have a lot of frequent flyer miles on my Delta account, so we'll probably end up going with that, but the problem is that we're not going straight into Barcelona. We want to spend about three days in London before-hand, getting over our jet lag and playing around a little bit. So, Delta doesn't fly from London to Barcelona. That leaves me booking us on Delta to London, and then British Airways on a jaunt from London to Barcelona. It would almost be easier to do it all with BA. It's mind boggling and reminds me of why I would never be a travel agent.

So, I'll think about something else! Like excursions! I've been trying to figure out how we can keep from completely running ourselves ragged -- you know, doing an excursion in every port. I want to go to Pompeii and just do the touristy thing there, so I think we're okay with the Disney excursion for that day. Same with Florence. I would most of all love to see the art and architecture there, but I'm afraid that after Rome, DS and DH are going to be ready for a break from these. (When we were in Paris, they were good sports about letting me spend as much time as I wanted to in the Louvre, but they were both glad to move on once we'd seen the big ticket items. ) So, I may even end up doing an excursion in Florence on my own and letting them take a day off or a more appropriate "guys' excursion." Tunis looks like it's going to have some extraordinary excursions to choose from. We may just take our son to the beach in France. (Be an eye-opening experience for him! ) Anyway, it looks like I'm skipping around, but that's the way my planning is right now -- a little of this, a little of that.

Once I figure out how we'll get from Atlanta to London and then from London to Barcelona, I'll be more organized, I promise.

I think we'll probably go with LimoinRome for our private excursion in Rome. I've spent some time checking on them, and I've read a lot of good things about them from people who sailed in 2007. I'm going to ask for a Vatican / Sistine Chapel tour, a Coliseum tour, and then I'll talk with them about a side trip to the catacombs for dear teen-age son who thinks that would be interesting. There is much else to see in Rome, I know, but with one day, I want to choose well and move at a pace that won't kill us all.
(I took a group of students to Spain on a tour once. On the plane on the way back, the kids all joked about remembering that they had seen "a lot of cathedrals" but not remember exactly what they had seen. I hate traveling at a pace that makes memories like that.)

Anyway, wanted to check in. I promise not to be so wordy in the future. I want to hear what everyone else is thinking. What are you going to do?

Julie

 

[lornak]

Julie--

I like wordy so feel free! Since this really will be a trip of a lifetime for us I want to enjoy every moment of it--including the planning! I have spent a lot of time on Trip Advisor looking for private tours. So far I have focused mainly on Rome. I haven't chosen anyone yet but would like to have it done by June. I want to see it all--so will go with something that will take us to the Vatican as well as the other major spots. This will probably be our big splurge as how are you supposed to see Rome in a day?!?

I agree with you about wanting to see Pompei...I was considering a private guide that day as well. But I will have to take a look at the excursions and see if they might do the trick!

What have you heard about Tunis? I haven't even started checking that out yet. Honestly, I was thinking that perhaps that would be one day that we stayed on the ship or planned something shorter. I know we can't do full day tours in every port---we'd never make it! But if you think there are some great things going on in Tunis I would love to know about them! I'm not sure how we are going to figure out which port to "skip". We booked the 11 night on purpose so we would at least get that one sea day in the middle. But I am afraid we will need at least one more day to take it easy. How do you decide which port is the "worst" in Eurpoe?!?!?

We will be flying from Minneapolis but I will be checking airfare from all the major hubs in case it is cheaper for us. I had considered going to Paris for a few days before the cruise but I'm not sure we have the time for that! We're already leaving the kids for 13 days! Right now I am thinking we will fly into Barcelona on the Thursday before the cruise. I want to make sure we have time for any missed connections, lost luggage, jetlag, etc... I have started to look at hotels in Barcelona and am leaning towards the new Novatel that is opening this month. I will be anxious to read some reviews....

See, I really do like wordy posts!
Lorna

 

[goofydadeo]

Hi Julie and Lorna!

I'm enjoying reading your posts! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and plans.

We live in Raleigh, NC - got there by way of Atlanta (where we spent 25 years there). We will most likely be traveling via Delta (I'm in the process of hording my Skymiles right now). I am a frequent traveler so I haven't been able to keep up with the disboards lately but I'll be drawn to it the closer we get to sailing. It's addicitive!

We too are thinking about pre and post plans and we're not sure what we'll do. On the list are London and Paris (pre-cruise) and Venice (post-cruise). I'm not really sure how or when we'll decide. I've even spent a little time looking in to exchanging DVC (or one of our other timeshares) for a villa in Venice or Paris. Have either of you done something like that? I have also been looking in to taking trains - from London to Paris and from Paris to Barcelona (there is an overnight hotel train that looks interesting).

I haven't even started to look at excursions, other than doing some reading and trying to learn what might be best in each of the ports. Like both of you we don't want to run ourselves ragged with port after port of excursions but it's so hard to not miss the opportunity to "see" as much as possible in each port. This is going to be a far cry from a leisurely eastern caribbean cruise we've enjoyed on the Magic in the past!

Cheers!

John

 

[Calfan]

Hi, fellow cruisers. We will also be on the 6.18.11 Med sailing on the Magic. It will be me, DH, DD (8.5 at the time of the cruise) and DS (6.5 at the time of the curise). My husband will be celebrating his 44th birthday on Day 2 -can't recall offhand if we will be in port or at sea). We live in California. We are DVC members. We purchased our membership on our first Disney cruise last summer -- a 7-night Eastern Caribbbean on the Magic. Needless to say, we are hooked. We were already Disney fans making regular trips to Disneyland, but now we've gone over the top. We are eyeing a hopeful Baltic cruise with Disney in the next few years, as well Adventures by Disney trips to Ireland and South Africa. We will be traveling with another DVC family of 4 from CA (with a son and daughter a few years older than our kids). I, too, have been reading the boards and making notes, but have not made any firm decisions about excusions, private tours, etc. We will be looking for kid-friendly excursions. My husband and I have each been to Europe several times, but neither of us has spent a lot of time in Spain, so we are thinking about heading to Barcelona a few days before the cruise and staying a day or two after. I am hoarding my United miles and charging even the smallest things (like my morning oatmeal in the work cafeteria) to the United Visa! This will be the first trip to Europe for our kids, and given their ages, I am a little worried about wearing them out if we do to much traveling around before the cruise. As others have pointed out, the Med cruise will be very port-intensive. I made a point to book us on the 11-day so we will have that extra sea days to relax and enjoy the ship (maybe the spa ). Looking forward to connecting with other cruisers and enjoying the anticipation.

 

[lornak]

Welcome, Calfan! It is fun to see our group growing! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and enjoying the planning phase together!!

 

[JulieWent]

Welcome Calfan! Cool that we're really getting a group together here. I have been out of it the past week or so with a bad case of spring fever, but alas, spring break is over now, and I'm back at work.

Means that it's time to start thinking about upcoming vacations again! Seriously, though. Still trying to find interesting ways to do flight plans. We were thinking about trying British Airways, but I think their recent strike has pretty much put a hold on that train of thought. Delta, while it has many issues, seems to be fairly stable finally. So, at least I have an idea of which airline we'll be flying. Now, where to go? London first or Barcelona?

Such stressful decisions!

Julie

 

[JulieWent]

Sorry for double post. Mods please delete when you get a chance.

 

[JulieWent]

We received a small cruise packet from DCL yesterday in the mail. While it didn't contain any information that I didn't already have regarding our cruise, still it was nice to get it -- a reminder that, yes, there will be a cruise, and, yes, it's really not THAT far away.



Julie

 

[lornak]

Oh I hope we get one, too!! Did it have info specific to the med cruise? I look forward to any little thing I may get from DCL!

I did purchase some travel books from ebay. I got three different Rick Steves books----"Europe through the Back Door", "Italy" and "Barcelona". I am enjoying reading them.....who knows how much information I will actually use, but it is nice to start dreaming of these destinations!! I did also check out the Rick Steves websites and he has a bunch of downloadable tours. I downloaded a bunch for Rome. Again, I don't know if I will use them but they have been interesting to listen to at home. It is a nice education on some of the sites. So far I have listened to the one on the Sistene Chapel. I can't wait to see it in person!!! If anyone did end up touring some of these locations on their own I think these MP3 files would be a great (and free!!) addition!

We have friends doing the TA next week. I have asked them to pick me up any info on Barcelona and the port terminal when they get there. I will share any information they may pick up!!

 

[Calfan]

We received the cruise packet in the mail yesterday! Like Julie said, nothing really new, but still exciting, and it made the cruise feel a little bit closer to reality. I have been checking out the Port Adventures for the 2010 Med. cruises on the assumption that they will be similar for 2011. The only port that didn't have a Port Adventure that excited me was Corsica. I think I will check out Rick Steeves and see if we can do that one on our own. Thanks for that tip.

Laura

 

[lornak]

Well, I never got anything in the mail?! Bummer. But I have started my own planning folder and files! I have a folder for each port and I am starting to collect information. I have also been reading all of the trip reports and copying and pasting anything I want to remember! I have a cute binder all ready to go and just keep inserting information as I go! I'm having a fun time anticipating!!

There have been some really interesting trip reports. If you haven't read them, you should! Lots of information on shore excursions, transportation, etc...

Anyone else officially start planning???

 

[GeorgeY]

Hello Everyone,

We were just on the wonder and booked this cruise. We originally wanted to do the June 29, but felt the extra day at sea in the middle would be a welcome rest after all the ports, and help get us ready for the 2nd half.

We are from Central Florida, very close to WDW and there will be 5 of us.
Me, DW, DS(17), DS(13), DD(6), ages at cruise time.

We went ahead and booked two cabins, connecting. We did get spoiled on our Wonder cruise last week as we upgraded at the port to a suite. We are waitlisted for a suite on this one, but I think it is going to be too expensive, if one does become available.

George