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

[DCLShel]

when's DD's birthday? My daughter turns 6 on 6/16 and today is my parent's 45th wedding anniversary... they will be with us on the ship - i wonder if we can get a special dessert or character surprise for them on the ship?

Kiley's bday is the 30th. I ordered the stateroom decorations which includes a cake. However, usually, if you let your dining room staff know, they will bring out a special dessert for those celebrating. It doesn't matter when the anniversary or birthday occured. My birthday is Jan. 4th. I was on the MV of the Dream at the end of January and we still celebrated!

Just mention it to your servers and they will take care of it~

 

[keenercam]

Hey, everyone! How excited are you and your crew getting? I cannot believe that we leave a week from this coming Saturday!!

For those of you who are coming to dinner in Barcelona on Tuesday, June 28 at 7pm, please check your email and look at my list to be sure your information is correct. If you have not already sent me your cell phone number of where you can be reached that afternoon/evening, I'd love to have it. At some point, if everyone hasn't shown up to dinner, they may not seat us until either everyone is there or we are able to tell them that the others are not coming. If anyone needs/wants my cell phone number for last-minute questions about the dinner, etc., please send me an email.

My DDalmost23 has asked me to let you all know that if you have small children and think you might want/need a babysitter while on board, just email or PM me, and I will put you in touch with her. Besides being an absolute sweetheart who is practically Mary Poppin-ish with kids of all ages, she has outstanding qualifications, including having worked as a lifeguard at WDW.

I have been working on our packing list today as well as refining my "long-Transatlantic flight survival bags" list (I am making a bag for each member of our family that has helpful and useful and fun stuff in it to get us through the 8 hour flight.)

Next up on my to-do list:
Postcard address labels
Home address labels for DCL luggage tags
Notecard sets (helpful phrases, addresses, etc.)
Phone number labels for the back of our family "business cards" - right now they just have email addresses on the front
Instruction sheet for our housesitter
Medical authorization for our dog


What fun!

 

[TPBChick]

Hey Kim - I'm glad you asked about the Montserrat excursion on the other thread. It doesn't sound like they will drop off at the airport like the description states.

jonida3 sorry for the misinformation. It does sound like the tour around Barcelona will drop off at the airport.

Here is what an early Med cruiser had to say about the excursion.

Hi we did this excursion and the othe poster is correct in sayoing that it only dropped aodff at the Disney Hotels. I was quite disappointed as it is quite a drive to the Monastery in Montserrat and it is apparently closed every day from 10:30 am till noon. So we went all that way and could not go in to see the Black Madonna Statue. After the trip, they dropped off everyone who did not book a Disney Hotel in the Playa Catalunya. Luckily our hotel was right there. I had been told on the ship that we could get off at any of the Disney Hotels but this did not seem to be the case. One poor couple had booked the Meridian ( a Disney Hotel) but also had to get off with all their luggage and stroller etc because the Bus could not go down to that Hotel. It must have been about 2 blocks to walk over cobbled stones. They had quite a bit of luggage and I would say that they probably had to get a cab. I would suggest taking the city tour that ends up at the airport. Hope this is helpful. pj

 

[sinnika]

We are planning to visit Montserrat on our own the day after the cruise gets back (Sunday). We hope to catch the first train from Sants station.
I just booked some DCL tours for us - Erice and Segesta for Palermo, and Perfumers Apprentice for DD and I for Eze (its an afternoon tour so we all plan to visit Nice in the morning). DS wants to ride in a Ferrarri - I found a company that offers them in case anyone else is interested, PM me - I have the notes somewhere on my overloaded desk!

 

[DCLShel]

I just tried to look at the available categories of staterooms for our cruise. However, it only shows the June 18th cruise as being available. Does this mean our cruise is sold out?

Also, has anyone with a GTY reservation gotten her/his room assignment yet? As of 2 minutes ago, we're still GTY. Not complaining - I'm just curious.

 

[kmc33]

Hey Kim - I'm glad you asked about the Montserrat excursion on the other thread. It doesn't sound like they will drop off at the airport like the description states.

I am glad I asked too because I don't like the idea of not being able to go into the basilica. I was looking this morning to decide what to do. I may go pre-cruise instead.

 

[kmc33]

I just tried to look at the available categories of staterooms for our cruise. However, it only shows the June 18th cruise as being available. Does this mean our cruise is sold out?

Also, has anyone with a GTY reservation gotten her/his room assignment yet? As of 2 minutes ago, we're still GTY. Not complaining - I'm just curious.

Wow, that is amazing. I just checked this morning and they were showing at least 4 or 5 staterooms. Wonder if they sold them all in one day?

 

[keenercam]

I am astounded when I see people booking relatively last minute for these cruises. Even if you are close to the port and don't have to pay airfare, the cruise itself is not cheap.

On another (sad) note, I told Howard this morning that the 18% VAT makes our spa plans ridiculously expensive and I am going to cancel our reservations. You may remember we'd saved well over $2,000 when we re-shopped the cruise at our TA's suggestion. Even with that savings, I just can't justify dropping an additional 18% on spa services. Ridiculous!

 

[sinnika]

I am glad I asked too because I don't like the idea of not being able to go into the basilica. I was looking this morning to decide what to do. I may go pre-cruise instead.

You will get to do alot more by booking it on your own, like taking the cable car up, and there are even additional cable cars between mountains. I am looking forward to hearing the boys choir sing.

Wow, that is amazing. I just checked this morning and they were showing at least 4 or 5 staterooms. Wonder if they sold them all in one day?

I checked this am too and saw insides, portholes and verandas open. Now its just cat 10's. Perhaps they pulled the other rooms down while they are assigning the guarantees. That would be my guess.

I am astounded when I see people booking relatively last minute for these cruises. Even if you are close to the port and don't have to pay airfare, the cruise itself is not cheap.

On another (sad) note, I told Howard this morning that the 18% VAT makes our spa plans ridiculously expensive and I am going to cancel our reservations. You may remember we'd saved well over $2,000 when we re-shopped the cruise at our TA's suggestion. Even with that savings, I just can't justify dropping an additional 18% on spa services. Ridiculous!

Cam, i completely agree! I am hoping they offer some super duper specials once on the ship to offset the 18%. The spa is one of my few big endulgences on the ship. Here's hoping for good deals for us!

 

[TPBChick]

I just tried to look at the available categories of staterooms for our cruise. However, it only shows the June 18th cruise as being available. Does this mean our cruise is sold out?

Also, has anyone with a GTY reservation gotten her/his room assignment yet? As of 2 minutes ago, we're still GTY. Not complaining - I'm just curious.

We got our 11C GTY assignment some time ago. We are first time cruisers and only two of us in our party. We got an 11A cabin which we are happy with. Right now some cabins are showing once again and only category 10 and higher are available. Hopefully, they are saving the best upgrades for frequent cruisers like you. Good luck, you deserve a great upgrade for your waiting.

 

[kmc33]

You will get to do alot more by booking it on your own, like taking the cable car up, and there are even additional cable cars between mountains. I am looking forward to hearing the boys choir sing.

Thanks for the encouragement! I think that's what we will do. I would really like to hear the boys choir too. I think I read that they sing at 1:00 pm.

 

[kmc33]

I just tried to look at the available categories of staterooms for our cruise. However, it only shows the June 18th cruise as being available. Does this mean our cruise is sold out?

Also, has anyone with a GTY reservation gotten her/his room assignment yet? As of 2 minutes ago, we're still GTY. Not complaining - I'm just curious.

Looks like they are now showing limited availability. I too was wondering if they pulled them down while making the final assignments. Here's hoping for a good one for you!

 

[3 girls mom]

We're going to Montserrat before the cruise. My mom was there mid-May and picked up a guide book. It says that "the Boys' Choir is not present at Montserrat in July, Christmas holidays, and on a few other days during the year."

I tried the website, and it also says that the boys are off from June 24 until August 20.

Bummer.

 

[keenercam]

Good morning, cruisers!!! Two weeks from today, we will all be boarding the Magic!!!!

For those of you with older teens, can you please PM me their Facebook names if you think they'd like Andrew to get in touch with them? He found McKenna (Dorothy's daughter) and he also texted her but he hasn't been able to track anyone else down. It might be fun for the teens to "connect" ahead of time. Again, only if you are comfortable with the prospect.

 

[DCLShel]

Looks like they are now showing limited availability. I too was wondering if they pulled them down while making the final assignments. Here's hoping for a good one for you!

Good assessment! I checked this morning and we have our stateroom assignment - 2088. While we had hoped for a higher deck, I'm thrilled to be in a Cat. 9B. Its bigger than the inside room we had originally booked, we'll have natural light and a split bathroom. Its a win-win!!

I picked my brother and his family up from the airport last night. They just got off the Wonder and loved the Alaskan cruise! The pictures are amazing - I can't imagine what the scenery looked like in person. Might have to put that cruise on my wish list~

10 days until we leave!! Two weeks until we sail!!

 

[keenercam]

Shelley - We have sailed on Deck 2 a couple of times and loved it. So glad you got your cabin assignment. I've added it to the master list of cruisers and to my fish extender chart.

Waiting to see if anyone else who was GTY has a cabin number now. If you do, please post it or email me at keenercam@aol.com (or PM me here); I will add it to the master list and recirculate by email soon.

 

[kmc33]

Good assessment! I checked this morning and we have our stateroom assignment - 2088. While we had hoped for a higher deck, I'm thrilled to be in a Cat. 9B. Its bigger than the inside room we had originally booked, we'll have natural light and a split bathroom. Its a win-win!!

That's great! It seems that many of the upgrades have been within category. That's a nice upgrade!

 

[deplion]

We finally got our cruise documents.

We also now have a cabin number assigned to us. We were VGT until this afternoon, but we have now been assigned to cabin 7524.

Having an actual cabin number makes it seem so much more real. Can't wait to see you guys on the 29th!!

 

[keenercam]

Yay for all the cabin assignments!! I think that of the families who are doing the Fish Extender, only grizbuzz doesn't have a cabin number on my list yet. Is that right?

 

[DCLShel]

Just trying to organize some thoughts~ We (as a group) have some different times we've talked about getting together. Some are more definite (dinner in Barcelona) than others. I just wanted to put things on paper.

The following is what I recall:

June 28th, 7:00pm - Dinner at Tallar de Tapas (organized by Cam)
June 29th, 1/2 hour before Sailaway Party - Promenade Lounge - FE meet to update stateroom list (organized by Dorothy) Do we want to include everyone on our thread in case some don't make it to the dinner?
July 5th - Walk to train station as group in LaSpezia - I'm not sure this is something we decided to do for sure. Is anyone still interested?

Am I missing anything?