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

[nzdisneymom]

I'm thinking of booking a segway tour while in Barcelona. We did something like this is Copenhagen on our Baltic cruise and my kids loved it.
http://www.barcelonasegwayglides.com/
Not sure if booking this on the day we arrive to make sure we stay awake or waiting until the next day (6/26/13).

Laurie - that sounds like a lot of fun. I would recommend doing it the day after you arrive because if you have flight delays, you don't want to run into your Segway tour time. In 2007, we were supposed to arrive by 9 a.m. but didn't make it in til noon which put us at the hotel and ready to finally go out for the day just after 3 p.m. We were exhausted, too. When we went to London for the Baltic, we arrived on time and had booked the London Eye for the afternoon but there was a pretty big window that we could go during, so we had time to rest before heading out for the afternoon - but we were still so tired that we couldn't do much more than stumble around the British Museum Anyway, I'd probably do it for our family the day after we got in unless you had something else you were planning to do for the day. We are planning to do the HOHO the day after we arrive.

I suppose it is finally time to introduce myself to the group...

My plan is to try to decide on a port a week. We will see how that works...

sandiedvc aka Kathy

Kathy - welcome to the group! I suspect we'll have several more DISers join us as we're under the 6 months mark and heading into excursion planning / booking phase It is a lot to figure out. Our first time through, we slammed each port full of touring and my children BEGGED me to NEVER do that to them again They were quite a bit younger then (in 2007) but I have heeded that as we are trying to not have two heavy-port days in a row. We will go to Florence as a heavy-port day, and of course Venice will also be a heavy-port day and a half Because we are back-to-backing, we'll do Rome as a heavy day on the previous sailing so we can have an easier day on this itinerary which will let us do Pompeii, too. I can't wait for DCL to put out the info for Venice and Dubrovnik.

 

[rotary2808]

Does anyone have any idea what the nights will be (Formal, Pirate, etc.)?

 

[gydell]

Does anyone have any idea what the nights will be (Formal, Pirate, etc.)?

Hi Emily!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Does anyone have any idea what the nights will be (Formal, Pirate, etc.)?

I don't know when they will be but there is a sea day between Naples and Venice and another one between Dubrovnik and Malta. I would guess Formal Night would be the first sea day. We'll be the first DCL into Venice so I'm hoping there will be some sort of hoopla for us coming into port even though we'll be arriving mid-day.

Here's our schedule - it looks like we have a couple of early departures, so maybe Pirate night will be on an early-departure day.

Itinerary with port times:
Thursday, June 27 Barcelona, Spain - 4:00 p.m.
Friday, June 28 Villefranche, France 8:45 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 29 La Spezia, Italy 7:45 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 Civitavecchia, Italy 7:15 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Monday, July 1 Naples, Italy 7:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 2 At Sea - -
Wednesday, July 3 Venice, Italy 1:00 p.m. -
Thursday, July 4 Venice, Italy - 5:00 p.m.
Friday, July 5 Dubrovnik, Croatia 1:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 6 At Sea - -
Sunday, July 7 Valetta, Malta 7:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Monday, July 8 At Sea - -
Tuesday, July 9 Barcelona, Spain 7:00 a.m. -

 

[gydell]

Just checked with Disney - formal July 2
Pirate July 5

 

[nzdisneymom]

I took some time to look over the excursions offered by DCL for the ports they have available to get an idea of what we will book through DCL. Here's what I think we're going to do for this trip:

Villefrance - on our own (but on the previous sailing, we will do Monaco, Monte Carlo, and Eze)

La Spezia - Florence & Michelangelo. This one has the David as part of it which I want to see. We can't do this on the previous sailing because it's closed the day we'd be there.

Civitavecchia - Bracciano and Wine Tasting. And for this one, we'll probably let the teens have a day onboard the ship without us, especially since we'll have full-dayed it in Florence the day before and will have an early day in Naples the following. On the previous sailing, we're using Rome in Limo for a full day in Rome, so we want to see some of the countryside and this seems to be a good fit for us. Did you all look at the prices for the Private Vehicle/Driver/Guide that DCL is offering? We are definitely getting a good price going through Rome in Limo - a fair price for sure - but after seeing DCL prices, that confirms for me that we are getting a fair price.

Naples - Pompeii Half Day. The boys want to go back to Pompeii as they've been studying it in Latin I, but they've asked to not do anything else with it. So this will be a good half-day and then they can get back on the ship while DH and I either go to the National Museum of Archaeology or just pop into town to get some pizza - that's the one thing I for sure want to do while in Naples! I guess it will depend on what time we get back from the excursion as to what we'll have time to do on our own.

Venice and Dubrovnik - we'll have to wait and see. A friend told me that they booked an amazing kayak trip right after they got off the ship in Dubrovnik when they were there two years ago. We are not the action/adventure type so we'll probably do something on our own there as we'll probably spend our excursion money in Venice!

Malta - we'll do this one on our own as it will be the end of the two cruises. But for the first sailing we are looking at booking the Malta by Private Vehicle Van with Driver and Guide for 4 hours. The price is fair-enough when you per-person it and then we can see and do what we want to while there - get a good overview of what's around - and then when we come back on this itinerary, we'll know what we want to do or not do. The prices for these are much more reasonable than in the other ports.

Anyone else getting anxious for Venice and Dubrovnik to be listed?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Just checked with Disney - formal July 2
Pirate July 5

Gydell - thanks for checking on this!

 

[gydell]

Gydell - thanks for checking on this!

You are welcome! I am glad there is only 1 formal night.

 

[nzdisneymom]

You are welcome! I am glad there is only 1 formal night.

We are not planning for formal dress, or even much in the way of dressing up for dinners. We enjoy the specific restaurant themed nights but when they all have the same menu, we often go to topsiders. It's definitely quieter up there.

 

[seaulater]

Well, spent some time researching transfer options in Barcelona and thought I would pass on some things I found.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187497-c164113/Barcelona:Spain:Transportation.Summary.html

I did look through some posts on cruiscritic and found many that recommended taking a taxi from the airport to your hotel/port and cost being about 30 euros for 4 people.

We are coming in on a red eye and my DH wanted our own van waiting for us so we opted for suntransfers. The price was 54 euro for a 6 person minivan. We only have 4 people but didn't want to be crowded into a car with our luggage. The cost is refundable up to about 2 days prior to date I think.

I'm thinking of booking a segway tour while in Barcelona. We did something like this is Copenhagen on our Baltic cruise and my kids loved it.
http://www.barcelonasegwayglides.com/
Not sure if booking this on the day we arrive to make sure we stay awake or waiting until the next day (6/26/13).
If anyone else wants to do this as a group let me know
The segways are very easy to learn how to use

We did the Segways in 2007 in Barcelona and they were awesome. Am planning on doing again.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Guess what? We are sailing THIS year!

 

[sandiedvc]

Guess what? We are sailing THIS year!

Double AACK!

We have at least starting looking at Villefranche....

I think we will do this one on our own. I didn't really see anything on the excursion list I couldn't live without.

We are going to take the train from VF to Nice, only 7 min ride and only 1.6 euro each way pp.

You have all probably seen this, but I found it helpful to visualize where the train station is in Villefranche:

http://www.carols-cruise-port-itineraries.com/FRANCE-Villefranche2.htm

I don't have the port totally planned but I think I have an idea of what we want the day to feel like-- a leisurely stroll thru the old town. A step in the right direction!

 

[sandiedvc]

I have been wondering about the clothing end of things....

We are on early seating and it seems like a lot of excursions will get back with little, if any, time to get cleaned up and changed for dinner.

We took the Magic out of Galveston the first part of December. On Costa Maya day we took the excursion to the Mayan ruins that got back just as dinner started. We were encouraged to go straight to dinner, as is.

For those who have done the Med, was that the case for you as well?

That would save a bit of luggage space if we don't need to pack clothes for dinner.....

(I just checked and we only get 50# per suitcase instead of the 70# we are used to!!!)

 

[rotary2808]

I have been wondering about the clothing end of things....

We are on early seating and it seems like a lot of excursions will get back with little, if any, time to get cleaned up and changed for dinner.

We took the Magic out of Galveston the first part of December. On Costa Maya day we took the excursion to the Mayan ruins that got back just as dinner started. We were encouraged to go straight to dinner, as is.

For those who have done the Med, was that the case for you as well?

That would save a bit of luggage space if we don't need to pack clothes for dinner.....

(I just checked and we only get 50# per suitcase instead of the 70# we are used to!!!)

I usually just kind of wing it clothing wise at dinner. I'll do formal, semi, etc. but as far as dressing up every night I don't bother any more. I usually just go w/jeans and a nice shirt or t-shirt depending on what's been going on that day.

 

[sandiedvc]

I hate having to type euro out-- I am basically lazy

So here is how you can create the euro symbol--(on PCs, not sure of Macs)

There are three methods, but only one will work on disboards.

1. this is the one that is probably longer than typing euro out, but the only one that I can make work on Disboards. Hold down the alt button and then type the numbers 0128. and Voila! €

This is usually written as Alt + 0128

2. Easier. Hold down control, alt, and E or Alt+Ctl+ E

3. Or Hold down control, alt, and 4 aka Ctl + Alt + 4

This all worked in Word for me, but YMMV depending on what service packs are installed on your computer.

 

[sandiedvc]

I usually just kind of wing it clothing wise at dinner. I'll do formal, semi, etc. but as far as dressing up every night I don't bother any more. I usually just go w/jeans and a nice shirt or t-shirt depending on what's been going on that day.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

I have a feeling we might dress a little better in ports than we usually do anyway.

 

[rotary2808]

This makes a lot of sense to me.

I have a feeling we might dress a little better in ports than we usually do anyway.

Yeah. I've got to keep in mind that if we visit any churches that rules out shorts and sleeveless tops. I'm thinking polos and blouses. Lightweight stuff since it will be summertime.

 

[seaulater]

I have been wondering about the clothing end of things....

We are on early seating and it seems like a lot of excursions will get back with little, if any, time to get cleaned up and changed for dinner.

We took the Magic out of Galveston the first part of December. On Costa Maya day we took the excursion to the Mayan ruins that got back just as dinner started. We were encouraged to go straight to dinner, as is.

For those who have done the Med, was that the case for you as well?

That would save a bit of luggage space if we don't need to pack clothes for dinner.....

(I just checked and we only get 50# per suitcase instead of the 70# we are used to!!!)

In 2007 when we did the Med, we were always running late from our excursions getting back to the ship. DCL cast members greeted us on the dock and gave us washcloths to wipe off and then encouraged us to go straight to dinner. I think we were as late as 6:45 one night. It is amazing how fast they can work in the dining rooms getting food out when they are in a hurry.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Like others, we've had the same experience with returning to the ship at (or past) time for dinner. We found that in some ports, DCL changed the dinner start times to be 1/2 hour later to accommodate the guests better. So for those days we're in port later than dinner start times, I would guess they will either adjust the times or, as others have said, just have you come when you get there - they will certainly not turn you away (they said as long as there was still 1/2 hour til the next starting time, they could get you in and out - at least that's what our server said).

Some days we would wash up in the public restroom by the dining room and go directly to dinner, bags and souvenirs in hand. Others we'd have a minute to drop our bags in our cabin before going. We rarely changed. They didn't care. On days when we sailed before dinner, we would clean up and change before going, or just go to Topsiders if we didn't want to change from the day. I loved how our servers would always ask about our days, and on the odd chance that they had a day in port (or partial day off), we'd like to hear what they got to see and do.

 

[MrsScooby]

I suppose it is finally time to introduce myself to the group...

We booked this cruise on opening day, but it has been a heck of a year and in the back of my mind I was afraid to get too attached to it because we might have to cancel.

DH and I really looking forward to this. We will be travelling by ourselves as our kids are kids no longer! They are both married with jobs and mortgages.

We were in BCN for a few jetlagged hours prior to the 2010 WBTA so we didn't see much of it. I have never been to Italy or France and have always wanted to go. There is so much to see and do that I am having a hard time in cutting the must sees down to what we can realistically do while we are in Port.

Plane tickets are booked and it suddenly occurs to me that I only have 6 weeks to decide what excursions we are going to want. Aaack! Time to get busy.

My plan is to try to decide on a port a week. We will see how that works...

sandiedvc aka Kathy

Welcome aboard Kathy
I'm also having a hard time keeping my list of sites to see down
I guess DCL "helped" by putting us in Rome and Malta on Sundays which take some of the popular sites off the list. Now I have lists for my next visit started

Laurie - that sounds like a lot of fun. I would recommend doing it the day after you arrive because if you have flight delays, you don't want to run into your Segway tour time. In 2007, we were supposed to arrive by 9 a.m. but didn't make it in til noon which put us at the hotel and ready to finally go out for the day just after 3 p.m. We were exhausted, too. When we went to London for the Baltic, we arrived on time and had booked the London Eye for the afternoon but there was a pretty big window that we could go during, so we had time to rest before heading out for the afternoon - but we were still so tired that we couldn't do much more than stumble around the British Museum Anyway, I'd probably do it for our family the day after we got in unless you had something else you were planning to do for the day. We are planning to do the HOHO the day after we arrive.

My DH is resisting the segway tour idea right now, but my kids loved it in Copenhagen (said it was the highlight of the Baltic cruise for them). You are right about the scheduling though, so if we do it it will be on the 26th.

I do know I want to see Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, park and other buildings up close too. Not sure if we should just go it alone or try to hire someone to drive us around

Just checked with Disney - formal July 2
Pirate July 5

Thanks

We did the Segways in 2007 in Barcelona and they were awesome. Am planning on doing again.

What day are you planning on? It's about 2 hours, right?

Guess what? We are sailing THIS year!

Cool Love the way that sounds