June 29, 2011-10 "MAGICAL" nights in the Mediterranean

[keenercam]

Wow!!! How exciting that you are already booking your activities. I forgot that there were different dates depending on your level. We are silver and cannot book until March 31 I am hoping to book Palo for dinner which I figure should be easier than getting brunch... at least I hope! And the Couples Spa Villa sounds nice... I have to look to see what that is!

I can't find a lot of information on the Couples Spa Villa spa offerings but figure I can certainly find SOMETHING of interest. LOL! I love the idea of the private balcony with the lounger and a hot tub and outdoor shower. How decadent does that sound?

Cam - Did you get the pm I sent with our info? If not I can resend directly to your email.
Thanks!

Kim - I did receive your information. Thank you! I am waiting for one more family to give me the go-ahead to circulate their info and then I can send out the updated cruisers list.

Thanks for the heads-up! I had read about the Schooner excursion on one of the Med trip reports and thought it sounded very cool. However, when I was doing my initial trip planning, I thought it said it wasn't offered on our cruise. I didn't even look for it on the excursions list this morning! I just went back and modified our excursion in Malta and we're now booked on the Schooner.

I would LOVE for my DH to experience Palo but DD is not keen on the kids club so there's never a chance for us to go. Oh well - guess he can't miss what he hasn't experienced!

Shelly - I am so glad you were able to add the Schooner excursion. It kind of reminds us of the catamaran snorkel trip we did in St. Marten through DCL. I like that it includes lunch. I know the website says it is only offered on certain sailings and was thrilled that it was offered on ours. BTW, I really, really think you should book Palo brunch and dinner. It may be that Kiley will be having a good time especially if he meets up with some of the other kids from here ahead of time at the port or in the kids' club, and then you will have foregone the opportunity unnecessarily. You can always cancel the reservation later, but you might not be able to add it.

 

[keenercam]

I've added an index of topics discussed in this thread on page 1 at post 2 and the Fish Extender list on page 1 at post 3. Let me know if you can think of any other information we should put on page 1 of this thread.

 

[deplion]

Wow!!! How exciting that you are already booking your activities. I forgot that there were different dates depending on your level. We are silver and cannot book until March 31 I am hoping to book Palo for dinner which I figure should be easier than getting brunch... at least I hope! And the Couples Spa Villa sounds nice... I have to look to see what that is!

Could be worse. Us "no status" people can't book anything until 4/15.

I'm not expecting any Palo openings by then, but we'll see. If not, I guess we'll just have to "settle" for being waited on by the Disney Dining staff.

 

[DCLShel]

I've added an index of topics discussed in this thread on page 1 at post 2 and the Fish Extender list on page 1 at post 3. Let me know if you can think of any other information we should put on page 1 of this thread.

Very nice! Thanks for keeping this organized!

 

[keenercam]

Could be worse. Us "no status" people can't book anything until 4/15.

I'm not expecting any Palo openings by then, but we'll see. If not, I guess we'll just have to "settle" for being waited on by the Disney Dining staff.

I read on another thread that only half the Palo openings are on-line and that you can try to make a reservation when you board. I'd definitely get on at 12:01 a.m. on your booking date and try, and if that doesn't work, I'd try to do it as soon as I board.

I did our on-line check-in last night. Some of the information was still stored from our last cruise. New passport info had to go in, as well as arrival and departure stuff. It is so exciting to have this stuff in progress. The one thing I didn't do on the site was to reserve our port arrival time. I have to confirm what time is hotel checkout and figure out what embarkation morning will look like.

 

[DCLShel]

I found this blog about doing Rome on your own. Lots of good info for anyone feeling adventurous!

http://www.roninrome.com/ sites-and-attractions/rome-in-a-day-for-cruisers

 

[deplion]

I read on another thread that only half the Palo openings are on-line and that you can try to make a reservation when you board. I'd definitely get on at 12:01 a.m. on your booking date and try, and if that doesn't work, I'd try to do it as soon as I board.

Thanks for the tip, Cam. If I don't get Palo, I will see if they have any openings when I board the ship.

If I miss it, then it gives me something to look forward to for next time.

 

[keenercam]

Thanks for the tip, Cam. If I don't get Palo, I will see if they have any openings when I board the ship.

If I miss it, then it gives me something to look forward to for next time.

Don't forget to ask to be put on the waitlist if you can't pre-book or book when you board. If they have any cancellations, you'll get a phone call or a note in your "fish".

 

[johnwdw]

Thanks for the tip, Cam. If I don't get Palo, I will see if they have any openings when I board the ship.

If I miss it, then it gives me something to look forward to for next time.

On prior cruises, we usually had no issues. We were "wait-listed" several times and always were able to get a seating.

 

[keenercam]

I would think there is a really good chance of getting in for dinner on this itinerary since so many people will have long port days and be away from the ship or be exhausted by the time they get back. Maybe after the first couple of port days people will realize they are exhausted by dinner and wouldn't want to do Palo on the nights still to come. LOL! Okay, I am just trying to be an optimist for anyone who has to waitlist.

 

[keenercam]

Is anyone else staying at Hotel Barcelona Catedral pre-cruise? I am trying to figure out whether it would be less expensive to share a van to the port rather than hailing a cab that day.

Also, what is everyone else doing as far as choosing your port arrival time? It is the only part of the on-line check-in that I haven't completed yet.

 

[DCLShel]

Is anyone else staying at Hotel Barcelona Catedral pre-cruise? I am trying to figure out whether it would be less expensive to share a van to the port rather than hailing a cab that day.

Also, what is everyone else doing as far as choosing your port arrival time? It is the only part of the on-line check-in that I haven't completed yet.

If I read correctly, the port opens at 10:00am with boarding starting at 1:00pm. Correct?

I'm still thinking about the port arrival time. Our hotel check-out isn't until 12:00pm so we could take our time in the morning and miss some of the crowds at the port. However, I'm going to be really anxious to get onboard as soon as possible. So, again, I still don't know what to do!

Cam - I'm sure that's helpful, huh?! Maybe hearing what everyone else is planning will help me decide as well~

 

[keenercam]

Shelley - Obviously, you have gone through the same thought process as me. Will we be wiped out from touring Barcelona 3 days and want a little extra sleep? Or will we be dying to get to the port as early as possible? LOL!

I am trying to remember what I've heard about what there is at the port terminal. Then again, since unlike in Port Canaveral you can check in at the Magic and then get off the ship, I am thinking maybe we will want to dump our luggage there (except for carry-ons) and then go explore the port. I just have no idea how easy/hard it would be to do that.

If nothing else, I'd love to see the beach and see the new hotel (the "W"?) on the waterfront. I just don't know how much walking it would be to do that. Jenn and Andrew could even choose to remain in the terminal if Howard and I want to go explore the waterfront area.

I may have just talked myself into an early port check-in time.

Edited to Add: Here is a link to a thread I started regarding these questions and the VERY valuable information provided there:
Thread on boarding in Barcelona

 

[thinkoflaura]

I found this blog about doing Rome on your own. Lots of good info for anyone feeling adventurous!

http://www.roninrome.com/ sites-and-attractions/rome-in-a-day-for-cruisers

thanks for this link!

we are definitely planning to do Rome on our own (we'll have DD6 in tow) and plan to just get a relaxing taste of this bustling city. We'll take the train from Civitavecchia... explore the Colosseum, make our way to the Trevi Fountain, have lunch, gelato, take a ton of pictures... if we can do all that in under 6 hours we'll be absolutely thrilled.

through tips on the main board we also deduced that we can comfortably do Nice on our own... our goal was to take the DCL excursion where you take that little touristy train to sight-see through Nice... but now I've discovered we can take the (regular) train to Nice (like 1 stop from the port!) and then find the "little touristy train" on our own, saving us about 100 euros.

right now, the only DCL excursions we're hoping to book are in Malta and Palermo...

blue grotto boat trip & fishing village
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...ta/blue-grotto-boat-trip-and-fishing-village/

palermo for kids
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...rsions/palermo-italy/palermo-for-kids-sicily/

we feel pretty confident we can enjoy Capri, Rome, Cinque Terre, Corsica & Nice on our own... hope so anyway!!!

anyone else planning to take city transit (buses, trains) to sight see on your own anywhere?

 

[TPBChick]

anyone else planning to take city transit (buses, trains) to sight see on your own anywhere?

We are planning to sight see on our own in Malta, Corsica and Villefranche. I'm thinkin about taking a bus to Mdina in Malta and the train to Nice.

 

[TPBChick]

Everyone is discussing reservations at Palo. Since it will only be my 16 year old son and I traveling together, we will actually be going the other way with our dining. He really does not want to go to the formal nights with just mom. We have agreed to go to Topsiders on the formal nights. This is our first cruise. Has anyone eaten there for dinner? I am a little confused about tipping. Do you leave a cash tip when you eat there since the waiters are not included with the regular gratuities? Do you also leave a cash tip when you eat at a sitdown restauraunt for breakfast or lunch?

 

[keenercam]

Everyone is discussing reservations at Palo. Since it will only be my 16 year old son and I traveling together, we will actually be going the other way with our dining. He really does not want to go to the formal nights with just mom. We have agreed to go to Topsiders on the formal nights. This is our first cruise. Has anyone eaten there for dinner? I am a little confused about tipping. Do you leave a cash tip when you eat there since the waiters are not included with the regular gratuities? Do you also leave a cash tip when you eat at a sitdown restauraunt for breakfast or lunch?

My understanding is that there is no cash tipping at the restaurants at all. The only place we ever did a gratuity for a specific meal was at Palo.

 

[TPBChick]

My understanding is that there is no cash tipping at the restaurants at all. The only place we ever did a gratuity for a specific meal was at Palo.

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

[DCLShel]

Everyone is discussing reservations at Palo. Since it will only be my 16 year old son and I traveling together, we will actually be going the other way with our dining. He really does not want to go to the formal nights with just mom. We have agreed to go to Topsiders on the formal nights. This is our first cruise. Has anyone eaten there for dinner? I am a little confused about tipping. Do you leave a cash tip when you eat there since the waiters are not included with the regular gratuities? Do you also leave a cash tip when you eat at a sitdown restauraunt for breakfast or lunch?

I agree with Cam that the only meal outside of our dining rotation that we tipped for was at Palo. If you do a sit-down breakfast/lunch or if you eat dinner at Topsiders, no tip is expected. Please note that you can use cash to tip your servers at the end of the cruise. Just put it in the tip envelopes provided in your stateroom instead of charging to your onboard account.

Since this is your first DCL cruise, I wanted to make sure you realize that an automatic gratuity is added to all purchased beverages.

I would also encourage you not to skip any dinners in the dining rotation. Even if you don't want to dress formal, you should still eat in the regular dining rooms. (we've done this more than once. Just dress cruise casual) And, it won't be just the two of you at a table. You will be assigned to other people at your table. Topsiders for dinner is fine (we ate there a couple of times when DD was younger & dinner was taking too long); however, experiencing the dining rooms and visiting with your tablemates is part of the cruise experience.

 

[DCLShel]

Here's another link to help those going it on their own. This one is about the trains in Italy.

http://ftroute.com/ItalianTrains.htm