June 27, 2013 - Magic in the Med (Venice)

[nzdisneymom]

Hi everyone - welcome to the newcomers - I've added you to the Who's Sailing list in the first post of this thread. Gotomu, sorry to see you go but certainly understand!

We were in Barcelona in 2007 arriving in the afternoon before sailing the next day. We were exhausted but got on the HOHO bus to see what we could see. We're going to be there two nights ahead this time around and plan to use the HOHO again to see what we DIDN'T see before! We are using DCL hotel staying at the Renaissance Barcelona.

Our TA has highly recommended the Renaissance Barcelona Airport if someone is looking to book a hotel post-cruise for a night before flying home.

Because we're doing B2B, we won't be in Barcelona pre-cruise for this sailing - but I would encourage any of you who will be to try to get together at some point especially if you're staying at the same hotel - it's always fun to meet and greet ahead of time.

Regarding Fish Extenders, I don't think we have a Fish Extender coordinator yet - someone who will make the official list of DISers who want to participate, get their cabin numbers and number of people in the cabin (noting children's ages, etc.) and putting that together to send out to everyone several weeks before sailing so people can prepare their items, etc. Anyone wanna volunteer or do you feel it's still too early (10 months, right?)

 

[thumpery]

Our TA has highly recommended the Renaissance Barcelona Airport if someone is looking to book a hotel post-cruise for a night before flying home.

Thank you so much for this information. We have been leaning towards this hotel for our one night post-cruise, and now I think you have helped us to go with it.

 

[elm95376]

I found this comment from someones trip report for the 2007 Disney cruise. This was from their Barcelona trip report. " I also thought I'd better visit a restroom before our long trek back to the metro. I asked at the stadium for the toilets and they said they were closed and I had to go to the ones in the icerink - next door.
Well I set off. Now on our cruise meets thread there was a lot of talk prior to the trip about the toilets in Europe and the need to take your own toliet roll and seat covers. Well when I went into the toliets I burst our laughing - there was not even a seat to put a seat cover on !"

Since many of you have been to Europe before I would like to ask how many ran into the above situation where there was not a seat cover or for that matter not even a toilet. I asked this question on the facebook page for our cruise and it seems no one had a bad experience. I am covering all bases and thought I would ask the question here also.

Thanks,

Janet...

 

[tajz90]

I've seen it several times. Squat to tinkle, bring your own toilet paper..... And euro because a lot if times you have to pay

 

[nzdisneymom]

I found this comment from someones trip report for the 2007 Disney cruise. This was from their Barcelona trip report. " I also thought I'd better visit a restroom before our long trek back to the metro. I asked at the stadium for the toilets and they said they were closed and I had to go to the ones in the icerink - next door.
Well I set off. Now on our cruise meets thread there was a lot of talk prior to the trip about the toilets in Europe and the need to take your own toliet roll and seat covers. Well when I went into the toliets I burst our laughing - there was not even a seat to put a seat cover on !"

Since many of you have been to Europe before I would like to ask how many ran into the above situation where there was not a seat cover or for that matter not even a toilet. I asked this question on the facebook page for our cruise and it seems no one had a bad experience. I am covering all bases and thought I would ask the question here also.

Thanks,

Janet...

In Capri, the restroom we used was barely a bowl over the hole, but there was toilet paper. No sink for washing up, though. We don't worry about seat covers but do want tp available.

 

[MrsScooby]

Just throwing this out there to see who else is interested...

On our Baltic cruise in 2010, we found it was easier to deal with jetlag the first day pre-cruise when we had DIS friends to meet up with for dinner...

Just so much easier to stay awake when you have others to chat about plans

So the day before the cruise we hope to see the Sagrada Familia at least, maybe some shopping, anything else low key and close by and an early dinner (well early by European standards).

Anyone else interested???
My kids will be 19 (DS-Andrew, gamer fanatic) and 16 (DD-Kelly, guitar, softball and animae fanatic) so would be great if they could meet up with others the same age before the cruise.

We will meet you if you want. We are coming in on the 25th. Anyone there then?

I was hoping to meet you on the Fantasy this summer so we could chat about this cruise but I missed you in the crowd at the Dis meet.
Any ideas on a place to meet up

Sounds like a good idea. I don't know for sure yet which day we will get there, either the 25th or 26th. It will be myself and a good friend along with my 2 daughters in their 30's and my 2 granddaughters who will be 10 and almost 16.

Janet...

We have always enjoyed meeting DIS friends pre-cruise... you all should definitely plan to do it - we always meet up with whoever else is staying at the same hotel and then if others are nearby, we try to gather for quick hello. Especially if you're there a day or two before because it's a great time to exchange tips about the city.

Oh yeah, some meets will be longer than others and some will be a quick hello so we can put faces to names.

Is there a central place that is good for a meet. I remember reading about fountains that people liked alot

Or a restaurant that worked well for previous Dis meets

 

[MrsScooby]

Thanks Laurie for the information. It helps to hear from people who have done this before. I will be talking to my travel agent next week and will not book a 10am flight for the same day we disembark.

Janet

I haven't cruised the Med before, but from all the reports I read, a noon flight was doable but a 10 am flight is cutting it close. We were going to come in 2 days before cruise and leave same day we disembark but changing it to one day before and one day after to take advantage of the 10 am flights...still waiting to buy the tickets though as we are still working out some details


I won't really believe we are going until our flights are booked

 

[gydell]

I was hoping to meet you on the Fantasy this summer so we could chat about this cruise but I missed you in the crowd at the Dis meet.
Any ideas on a place to meet up





Oh yeah, some meets will be longer than others and some will be a quick hello so we can put faces to names.

Is there a central place that is good for a meet. I remember reading about fountains that people liked alot

Or a restaurant that worked well for previous Dis meets

Maybe we can ask our hotel for the name of a restuarant. Last time we were there we went to McDonalds!

 

[MrsScooby]

Wanted to drop in and say hello! We are tentatiively booked on this cruise.
Really hoping to pull it all together over the next several months.

Our group consists of myself and my DH (johnny quest here on the Dis!) Our son Mark (age 23) may join us depending on his schedule. (provided the DVC lets us add him to an 11C gty - which I have no experience with)

We're planning to fly non-stop r/t out of Phila via Usair on the same flights as Jel0511. So it'll be great to travel with fellow disers!

I have reserved the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel on my own for our precruise stay but am thinking about switching to the Hilton (which is the other DCL sponsored hotel) given its' proximity to the port. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Also it looks like the flight home is too early for debarkation day so I welcome any suggestions for post cruise as well.

looking forward to planning with everyone!

welcome aboard

I'm new to this site, but am super excited that my family of four will be cruising next June! This will be the first disney cruise for my two sons: 11 and 9. The second for my husband and I.

I have been reading about fish extenders...I would love to do this on this cruise...how do I go about doing that?

I can't wait to read up on this site...!

Super excited Mom,

Coral

welcome aboard too

The fish extenders are fun Usually someone volunteers to organize it and cruisers sign up. It can be time consuming though depending on the size of the group. It is a little early to plan now but probably in a few months

Doing the happy dance today! I just purchased our air tickets! It now feels totally official - WE ARE GOING ON A MED. CRUISE!

We are flying in early for the Adventures By Disney precruise add-on, and due to flight times, we are having to fly back home on July 10th. I am trying to decide which hotel to stay at. There is a Renaissance Barcelona Airport hotel that looks really nice and offers a free shuttle to the airport. I am able to get a 2 bedroom suite that would fit my family of four w/food for less than the other Renaissance. However, I will need to find transportation to the hotel from the port. Do you think there will be lots of taxis at the port? Any suggestions?

Congrats
Can't wait to hear how your the ABD goes. I so want to do one of those someday.

DO NOT rely on the taxis at the port. There are DEFINITELY not enough of them. We waited over an hour for one 2 years ago... The line just got longer behind us. This time we are staying at the Renaissance that DCL is using to take DCL transfers there. Your options are stay at a DCL hotel to use their transfers or book private transfers IMO.

We had no problem getting a taxi.

I have read various reports on the taxis in Barcelona. Some raving about how great they are and others complaining they were scammed
Is there a taxi company to look for ???

Regarding Fish Extenders, I don't think we have a Fish Extender coordinator yet - someone who will make the official list of DISers who want to participate, get their cabin numbers and number of people in the cabin (noting children's ages, etc.) and putting that together to send out to everyone several weeks before sailing so people can prepare their items, etc. Anyone wanna volunteer or do you feel it's still too early (10 months, right?)

It's a little early yet..maybe after more people have booked flights
I know I'll only be joining if the FE is limited to one or more small groups. Too much time spent walking the halls in past FE exchanges for me...

 

[MrsScooby]

Maybe we can ask our hotel for the name of a restuarant. Last time we were there we went to McDonalds!

Well how was it??? Did everything taste the same??

Yes, I am up for meeting for dinner

 

[MrsScooby]

I found this comment from someones trip report for the 2007 Disney cruise. This was from their Barcelona trip report. " I also thought I'd better visit a restroom before our long trek back to the metro. I asked at the stadium for the toilets and they said they were closed and I had to go to the ones in the icerink - next door.
Well I set off. Now on our cruise meets thread there was a lot of talk prior to the trip about the toilets in Europe and the need to take your own toliet roll and seat covers. Well when I went into the toliets I burst our laughing - there was not even a seat to put a seat cover on !"

Since many of you have been to Europe before I would like to ask how many ran into the above situation where there was not a seat cover or for that matter not even a toilet. I asked this question on the facebook page for our cruise and it seems no one had a bad experience. I am covering all bases and thought I would ask the question here also.

Thanks,

Janet...

I've seen it several times. Squat to tinkle, bring your own toilet paper..... And euro because a lot if times you have to pay

In Capri, the restroom we used was barely a bowl over the hole, but there was toilet paper. No sink for washing up, though. We don't worry about seat covers but do want tp available.

Well, in France my DH said that one cafe we stopped at did not have seats in the mens room
But I didn't experience that while we were there.
We did have to pay to use the public toliets many times (Paris, London and Berlin I remember and probably others).
One occasion I was glad I had a pack of tissues in my purse as there was no TP in the restroom (Paris).
One DCL trip report I read the woman posted a picture of a hole in the floor (I think she was doing Cinque Terra on her own).
So something to be said for spending the money on a good tour guide

 

[gydell]

Well how was it??? Did everything taste the same??

Yes, I am up for meeting for dinner

It was GOOD! They don't have all our regulations so they could use the old fashion grease for the fries. Everyone there was laughing at us being in Barcelona and eating there. But where else do you go after a 2 week cruise with a 5yo?

 

[elm95376]

Well, in France my DH said that one cafe we stopped at did not have seats in the mens room
But I didn't experience that while we were there.
We did have to pay to use the public toliets many times (Paris, London and Berlin I remember and probably others).
One occasion I was glad I had a pack of tissues in my purse as there was no TP in the restroom (Paris).
One DCL trip report I read the woman posted a picture of a hole in the floor (I think she was doing Cinque Terra on her own).
So something to be said for spending the money on a good tour guide

Thanks for all the bathroom reviews. It sounds like we won't have any issues if we stay in the main tourists areas. Which since this is our first time we have plenty to see in all the main attraction areas.

Janet...

 

[elm95376]

I am trying to do some research for our trip. I would like to see Pompeii. There are 6 of us.
1. I would like some input on the best way to get there from the port; train, cab, or is it best to do a Disney Tour.
2. How long does it take to get there from the port?
3. The youngest in our group tends to get upset on roads that have a lot of turns. How bad is the road going there?
4. What else would you suggest to see for us first timers while we are there?

Thanks,
Janet

 

[nzdisneymom]

I am trying to do some research for our trip. I would like to see Pompeii. There are 6 of us.
1. I would like some input on the best way to get there from the port; train, cab, or is it best to do a Disney Tour.
2. How long does it take to get there from the port?
3. The youngest in our group tends to get upset on roads that have a lot of turns. How bad is the road going there?
4. What else would you suggest to see for us first timers while we are there?

Thanks,
Janet

We did a DCL tour that was Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii for families. we really enjoyed it. The boys were 11 and 9 1/2 when we went. Our Pompeii portion was in the afternoon and hot... Wish we had had the reverse order for the excursion to go to Pompeii earlier in the day. We rode a hydrofoil from Naples to Capri and then tomSorrento, then a motor coach for the remainder of the day. I don't recall it being windy or not.

 

[tajz90]

I am trying to do some research for our trip. I would like to see Pompeii. There are 6 of us.
1. I would like some input on the best way to get there from the port; train, cab, or is it best to do a Disney Tour.
2. How long does it take to get there from the port?
3. The youngest in our group tends to get upset on roads that have a lot of turns. How bad is the road going there?
4. What else would you suggest to see for us first timers while we are there?

Thanks,
Janet

We did it on our own. We walked to the train station and bought a ticket to Pompeii. Its right across the street from train station stop. On the way back to Naples, we stopped at the Herculeum. It was well worth it. Easy and much cheaper than taking tour. You can rent earphones for audio tour at destination.Our kids were 11 and 7 when we went.

 

[elm95376]

We did a DCL tour that was Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii for families. we really enjoyed it. The boys were 11 and 9 1/2 when we went. Our Pompeii portion was in the afternoon and hot... Wish we had had the reverse order for the excursion to go to Pompeii earlier in the day. We rode a hydrofoil from Naples to Capri and then tomSorrento, then a motor coach for the remainder of the day. I don't recall it being windy or not.

Thanks Cindy. Can't wait until we have a list of all the tours and the cost. My main concern is with 6 of us it will be costly to do a DCL tour at each port, so I need to decide which ports we should do the DCL tour and which ones we can do on our own.

Janet

 

[elm95376]

We did it on our own. We walked to the train station and bought a ticket to Pompeii. Its right across the street from train station stop. On the way back to Naples, we stopped at the Herculeum. It was well worth it. Easy and much cheaper than taking tour. You can rent earphones for audio tour at destination.

Thanks. It's good to know that it is doable on our own. I'm hoping this is one port that we can do on our own. With 6 of us it adds up quickly doing DCL tours.

Janet

 

[tajz90]

Thanks. It's good to know that it is doable on our own. I'm hoping this is one port that we can do on our own. With 6 of us it adds up quickly doing DCL tours.

Janet

We actually did all the ports in 07 on our own. Very easy to do and cheap. You just have to pre plan. We are planning on going on our own again. The train systems are super easy to use.

 

[MrsScooby]

It was GOOD! They don't have all our regulations so they could use the old fashion grease for the fries. Everyone there was laughing at us being in Barcelona and eating there. But where else do you go after a 2 week cruise with a 5yo?

Oh yeah
When my kids were little my son would eat almost anything but my daughter was not open to trying new food.
We'll have to at least try the fries now.

We did it on our own. We walked to the train station and bought a ticket to Pompeii. Its right across the street from train station stop. On the way back to Naples, we stopped at the Herculeum. It was well worth it. Easy and much cheaper than taking tour. You can rent earphones for audio tour at destination.Our kids were 11 and 7 when we went.

Thanks. It's good to know that it is doable on our own. I'm hoping this is one port that we can do on our own. With 6 of us it adds up quickly doing DCL tours.

Janet

We actually did all the ports in 07 on our own. Very easy to do and cheap. You just have to pre plan. We are planning on going on our own again. The train systems are super easy to use.

We were hoping to find a private company tour guide to take us around, but if that doesn't work out it is good to know we can manage on our own