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

[nzdisneymom]

Just checking the Travel Channel lineup and saw these programs are coming on that might be of interest:

Tonight – 10 p.m. Anthony Bourdain – ROME

Tuesday, Feb 21st, 10 a.m. – Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown – Monaco
Wednesday, Feb 22nd, 10:30 a.m. – Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown – Florence

Tuesday, Feb 28th – 7 p.m. – Bizarre Foods – Venice

 

[Yensidfan]

Hi All,

We're in for this one along with the first Greece B2B.

We'll check in from time to time for now as we're concentrating on 2012 cruises!

Bob & Dale (& Gordy)

Hi Bob, Dale & Gordy,

So glad to be sailing with you guys on the B2B cruises to Greece and Venice. It is always fun to have you guys sailing with us.

We are also busy planning for our 2012 cruises. We will see you soon on the Fantasy MV, Hawaii, and NY/Canada cruises.

Pete & Faith

 

[nzdisneymom]

Not to take away from this thread in any way, but I know there are several of us B2B'ing this one and the previous one - thought I'd start a separate thread specifically for B2B'ers - totally in addition to this one and the one for the other cruise we're B2Bing... I can't keep up with who's B2Bing and thought it would nice to have a central place for us.

In case you're interested: B2Bing in the Med.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Nathan was telling me today that in Psychology class they've been studying sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. He said it reminded him of when we went to Barcelona in 2007 - the jet lag was seriously tough. That made me want to ask you all for your "tried and true" tips for minimizing the effects of jet lag.

 

[rotary2808]

Nathan was telling me today that in Psychology class they've been studying sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. He said it reminded him of when we went to Barcelona in 2007 - the jet lag was seriously tough. That made me want to ask you all for your "tried and true" tips for minimizing the effects of jet lag.

2007 was by far my worst (and first) international flying experience. We booked last minute (and I mean last minute) so all we could do was fly in and land the morning of embarkation. Never again! I was so exhausted when we landed, plus starving and it was miserably warm in Barcelona.

I found the biggest mistake I made (besides landing the day of) was taking a nap immediately upon arrival. It completely through my internal clock off and I almost missed our excursion the next day. A few years later when we went to Italy on ABD, we arrived early the day we were supposed to meet. We saw some of the nearby sights and forced ourselves to keep going. The next day we were able to tour Rome w/o any issues. This also worked for us in London w/the Baltic cruise.

 

[Deb T.]

Nathan was telling me today that in Psychology class they've been studying sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. He said it reminded him of when we went to Barcelona in 2007 - the jet lag was seriously tough. That made me want to ask you all for your "tried and true" tips for minimizing the effects of jet lag.

We've traveled extensively overseas and always end up having to take red-eye flights. DH can sleep anywhere, but even he has difficulty feeling rested after one of those long flights. I'm an extremely light sleeper and have never been able to sleep on planes, not even in the relative comfort of business class reclining seats. We have found that we do best adjusting to the new time zone by eating lunch as soon as possible, walking around (touring) in the sunshine until around 4pm, eating an early light dinner, then going back to our hotel to shower and head to bed. If we're asleep by 7pm, we wake up the next morning rested and completely on the new time zone!

 

[jedipup]

jedipup - welcome to the group! Glad to have y'all with us. We sailed the Med in 2007 with DCL and a few of the ports are the same but obviously there are new ones, too. Have you been to the ports that are on this itinerary that were not on DCL's previously? Those are the ones I am most interested in learning more about! Venice, Malta, Dubrovnik are new for us.

Hi Cindi,

We have been to all three ports on either disney or other cruise lines. The cruise lines usually provide bus transportation to a central point in Venice and Dubrovnik for about 5euros each way. If you use this option, both of those ports are very easy to do on your own. For Dubrovnik, the bus ride from the ship to the city gate is about 15 minutes. Entrance to the city is free (through a medieval gatehouse), and walking the city walls is only about 5-7 euros per person (about two years ago). There is no need to purchase a shore excursion if you plan on spending the afternoon in Dubrovnik as long as DCL offers a bus to the city as mentioned above. In Venice, there should also be a bus that will take you to a transportation center (kind of like at the magic kingdom... well it is Disney... ha ha) From the transportation center you can easily purchase a 24hour bus ticket (perfect for the overnight stay). The "bus" system is called the vaporatto is affordable (15 euro at most) and will take you to anywhere in Venice including St. Marks square. What is best about Venice is you can really walk anywhere and not get lost. There are yellow signs everywhere that point you back to the Grand Canal. As for Malta, the port is right on the city. It is a short walk into the city, but up a very steep hill. There are things to do in the city (grand masters palace), but we also took a port excursion to the blue gratto caves about 40 minutes from the port. If you have specific questions about any of these ports let me know.

Michael

 

[Angie_Ohio]

We walked through the port area of Malta and up several stone stairways to find St. John's Co-Cathedral(very cool). We walked up and down many side streets and back to the ship. I took a taxi to the Blue Grotto and back on my own. We had plenty of time.

 

[carpenta]

We walked through the port area of Malta and up several stone stairways to find St. John's Co-Cathedral(very cool). We walked up and down many side streets and back to the ship. I took a taxi to the Blue Grotto and back on my own. We had plenty of time.

St. John's is steeped in history and wonderful to see the Knights graves. Plus the attached museum is full of masterpieces. A note of interest is the Opera house when you first go through the city gates and see how the ruins still stand from WW2 when the Nazi's bombed it. They plan to rebuild on the existing ruins with a totally glass walls and roofs. The fresh fish in the restaurants are wonderful. One of nicest stops IMHO. The capital building is something not to be missed for it is full of old suits of armour. The people were much smaller in those days.

 

[jedipup]

We walked through the port area of Malta and up several stone stairways to find St. John's Co-Cathedral(very cool). We walked up and down many side streets and back to the ship. I took a taxi to the Blue Grotto and back on my own. We had plenty of time.

Hi, I would agree that St. Johns is a must do... it is right around the corner from the Grand Masters Palace.

 

[ame]

Nathan was telling me today that in Psychology class they've been studying sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. He said it reminded him of when we went to Barcelona in 2007 - the jet lag was seriously tough. That made me want to ask you all for your "tried and true" tips for minimizing the effects of jet lag.

I fly to the US two to three times a year. So that's a 14-15 hr flight to LA and then anything on top of that depending where I'm headed.

My tried and true tips. Always be well rested. The idea that you stay up late the night before to be so tired and sleep on the plane doesn't work. The smaller your sleep deficit is before you travel, the better.

On the plane try to get as much sleep as possible. Less alcohol is better and light food.

Try to arrive in the morning so that you can spend time outside int he sunshine (hopefully) to reset your body clock. Go for a walk and do something physical to keep you going til bedtime. Which can be as early as 7PM. And the next day voila!!

Don't *nap* during the day as it truly messes up your body clock and you can feel nauseous and really unwell. On one trip with the kids we landed at 6AM in LA from Sydney, went to Target, checked into the hotel and were at Disneyland by 2PM. The adrenalin kept the kids going and we had the best afternoon/evening!! We didn't make it to the fireworks, but we had lots of fun.

Oh and if you're horribly addicted to caffeine like me, it's a good idea to cut right back a couple of weeks before you fly. Nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with a horrible headache b/c your body clock thinks it's midday and you haven't had your morning coffee!!!

We do the same stuff coming home and it never seems to work as well, but I think that's just the post holiday blues.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for the great travel tips! I will definitely file these away for making the trip!

 

[MadHatterMom2]

Hi Everyone - First, a big thanks to nzdisneymom for keeping this organized and up-to-date. There will be me, DH, DD (14) and DS (10). We did the Baltic in 2010 and the Med last year - both with Disney. As others have said, we don't mind repeating the ports because there is so much more to experience.

I'm laughing at myself because we actually booked last month and I wasn't sure if there was even a cruise meet up yet. So imagine my surprise to find this one already full of cruisers and several pages long! Sounds like a fun group and a fun trip!

 

[Tod&Copper]

Hi Cindy,
My name is Maxine and I'm sailing with my husband, son 18 and daughter 12.
We have never been on any cruise before, this will be our first ever one and I am a bit apprehensive about all the planning everyone seems to be doing. My son will just be 18 and he is a little worried he'll not meet anyone his own age to hang out with as there is no club. What do the older kids do? My daughter is very shy, will the leaders at the club encourage her to stay?
I have so many questions

Hello there Mrs Howard !! Welcome to the disboards at long last!! I can't believe after all these years of convincing you to cruise, you are getting on while I disembark typical

Happy to help with any questions, I have all the navigators and port information leaflets from last years 10 night med, so I'll look them out for you, the ports were easy to do on your own, without paying DCL prices. I have info on, Barcelona, Villefranche, la Spezia, Valletta, Civitavecchia and Naples

Looking forward to seeing you on the WBTA in October 2013 ..... Whenever it is released

 

[Disnylvr77]

This will be our 6th Disney cruise!

I've always wanted to do Europe so I see this as the perfect time to get a peek of Europe!

It's me, DH, DD (16) & DD (10).

We are in rooms 7009 & 7010 with main dining.

I am Über excited!


Stephanie

 

[MrsScooby]

Just checking the Travel Channel lineup and saw these programs are coming on that might be of interest:

Tonight – 10 p.m. Anthony Bourdain – ROME

Tuesday, Feb 21st, 10 a.m. – Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown – Monaco
Wednesday, Feb 22nd, 10:30 a.m. – Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown – Florence

Tuesday, Feb 28th – 7 p.m. – Bizarre Foods – Venice

Thanks
I caught the first one...and I am so ordering pasta when I get to Venice
I'm going to try and catch the one tonight too

Nathan was telling me today that in Psychology class they've been studying sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. He said it reminded him of when we went to Barcelona in 2007 - the jet lag was seriously tough. That made me want to ask you all for your "tried and true" tips for minimizing the effects of jet lag.

I fly to the US two to three times a year. So that's a 14-15 hr flight to LA and then anything on top of that depending where I'm headed.

My tried and true tips. Always be well rested. The idea that you stay up late the night before to be so tired and sleep on the plane doesn't work. The smaller your sleep deficit is before you travel, the better.

On the plane try to get as much sleep as possible. Less alcohol is better and light food.

Try to arrive in the morning so that you can spend time outside int he sunshine (hopefully) to reset your body clock. Go for a walk and do something physical to keep you going til bedtime. Which can be as early as 7PM. And the next day voila!!

Don't *nap* during the day as it truly messes up your body clock and you can feel nauseous and really unwell. On one trip with the kids we landed at 6AM in LA from Sydney, went to Target, checked into the hotel and were at Disneyland by 2PM. The adrenalin kept the kids going and we had the best afternoon/evening!! We didn't make it to the fireworks, but we had lots of fun.

Oh and if you're horribly addicted to caffeine like me, it's a good idea to cut right back a couple of weeks before you fly. Nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with a horrible headache b/c your body clock thinks it's midday and you haven't had your morning coffee!!!

We do the same stuff coming home and it never seems to work as well, but I think that's just the post holiday blues.

I was going to recommend the avoiding a sleep debt prior to flying as well
That's the only thing I can think of for why we didn't have a hard time when we arrived in London after a red eye
We stayed out in the sunshine, had fun things planned and went to bed around 10 without any problems. I don't remember sleeping alot on the plane either
Flying to Hawaii was much harder for us. DH and I fell asleep at 7 pm and woke up at around 2 am But apparently that is common because the tour company joked around about it at the breakfast the first morning

We have been to all three ports on either disney or other cruise lines. The cruise lines usually provide bus transportation to a central point in Venice and Dubrovnik for about 5euros each way. If you use this option, both of those ports are very easy to do on your own. For Dubrovnik, the bus ride from the ship to the city gate is about 15 minutes. Entrance to the city is free (through a medieval gatehouse), and walking the city walls is only about 5-7 euros per person (about two years ago). There is no need to purchase a shore excursion if you plan on spending the afternoon in Dubrovnik as long as DCL offers a bus to the city as mentioned above. In Venice, there should also be a bus that will take you to a transportation center (kind of like at the magic kingdom... well it is Disney... ha ha) From the transportation center you can easily purchase a 24hour bus ticket (perfect for the overnight stay). The "bus" system is called the vaporatto is affordable (15 euro at most) and will take you to anywhere in Venice including St. Marks square. What is best about Venice is you can really walk anywhere and not get lost. There are yellow signs everywhere that point you back to the Grand Canal. As for Malta, the port is right on the city. It is a short walk into the city, but up a very steep hill. There are things to do in the city (grand masters palace), but we also took a port excursion to the blue gratto caves about 40 minutes from the port. If you have specific questions about any of these ports let me know.

Michael

We walked through the port area of Malta and up several stone stairways to find St. John's Co-Cathedral(very cool). We walked up and down many side streets and back to the ship. I took a taxi to the Blue Grotto and back on my own. We had plenty of time.

St. John's is steeped in history and wonderful to see the Knights graves. Plus the attached museum is full of masterpieces. A note of interest is the Opera house when you first go through the city gates and see how the ruins still stand from WW2 when the Nazi's bombed it. They plan to rebuild on the existing ruins with a totally glass walls and roofs. The fresh fish in the restaurants are wonderful. One of nicest stops IMHO. The capital building is something not to be missed for it is full of old suits of armour. The people were much smaller in those days.

Hi, I would agree that St. Johns is a must do... it is right around the corner from the Grand Masters Palace.

Malta sounds amazing
How much did the cab cost to Blue Grotto?

I'm just wondering if it is possible to tour Mdina and the Blue Grotto in the time we have in port (as well as getting a look at St John's)
I know they have HOHO buses that can take you to both places, but I don't want to spend alot of time waiting for a bus...

Wondering if I should look in to getting a private company to drive us around Malta...or just bite the bullet and stick to what I can easily get to on my own

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hi Everyone - First, a big thanks to nzdisneymom for keeping this organized and up-to-date. There will be me, DH, DD (14) and DS (10). We did the Baltic in 2010 and the Med last year - both with Disney. As others have said, we don't mind repeating the ports because there is so much more to experience.

I'm laughing at myself because we actually booked last month and I wasn't sure if there was even a cruise meet up yet. So imagine my surprise to find this one already full of cruisers and several pages long! Sounds like a fun group and a fun trip!

This will be our 6th Disney cruise!

I've always wanted to do Europe so I see this as the perfect time to get a peek of Europe!

It's me, DH, DD (16) & DD (10).

Stephanie

Welcome to both of you! Glad to have more folks joining in. Yeah, it's a long time until we sail but the time will go fast!

Stephanie - we always think of cruising as a "sampler" - then if there's somewhere we want to go back later for a land-based visit, we'll know.

 

[MrsScooby]

Hi Everyone - First, a big thanks to nzdisneymom for keeping this organized and up-to-date. There will be me, DH, DD (14) and DS (10). We did the Baltic in 2010 and the Med last year - both with Disney. As others have said, we don't mind repeating the ports because there is so much more to experience.

I'm laughing at myself because we actually booked last month and I wasn't sure if there was even a cruise meet up yet. So imagine my surprise to find this one already full of cruisers and several pages long! Sounds like a fun group and a fun trip!

This will be our 6th Disney cruise!

I've always wanted to do Europe so I see this as the perfect time to get a peek of Europe!

It's me, DH, DD (16) & DD (10).

We are in rooms 7009 & 7010 with main dining.

I am Über excited!


Stephanie

Welcome Aboard

Hello there Mrs Howard !! Welcome to the disboards at long last!! I can't believe after all these years of convincing you to cruise, you are getting on while I disembark typical

Happy to help with any questions, I have all the navigators and port information leaflets from last years 10 night med, so I'll look them out for you, the ports were easy to do on your own, without paying DCL prices. I have info on, Barcelona, Villefranche, la Spezia, Valletta, Civitavecchia and Naples

Looking forward to seeing you on the WBTA in October 2013 ..... Whenever it is released

Hello
My DH and I are planning to do most if not all the ports on our own or through a private tour company.
We'd love it if you could share the details of the excursions you took when you went to the Med
and prices if you don't mind so we can compare with all the options on the internet

 

[jel0511]

What's weird for me, is that on our last Med, we only booked 1 year in advance. Others on our thread had been booked for almost a year already by the time we joined. The planning was in full swing, so I felt like I joined midway!!! This time, I'm in from the beginning and it's AWESOME!!! I can't wait for this trip!!! Welcome to all the new comers!!!

 

[mindelmouse]

What's weird for me, is that on our last Med, we only booked 1 year in advance. Others on our thread had been booked for almost a year already by the time we joined. The planning was in full swing, so I felt like I joined midway!!! This time, I'm in from the beginning and it's AWESOME!!! I can't wait for this trip!!! Welcome to all the new comers!!!

Lori = you may have come in midstream but it felt like you were there all along...we miss u on our board...come visit