June 5, 2016 - Magic Goes to England, Ireland, Scotland and France

[nzdisneymom]

Hello!

Reporting in for roll call! I'm still in shock that we pulled the trigger on this trip, as we just had 7 days on the Magic in January and figured it would be another 2 years until we cruised with Disney again. This itinerary was just too good to pass up!

It'll be me, my DH, and two DS, aged 8 and 10 at the time we'll cruise.

I'm betting against the winter weather here in Chicago, as the last two years have been so bad, school went a week longer to accommodate snow days. If we have more than one snow day in 2015/16, then my kids are missing the last day(s) of school!

Kim

Kim - welcome! We're in agreement about the itinerary being too good to pass up! I'm Cindy D., traveling with DH (Gary) and two sons (Nathan - nearly 20 when we sail, and Zachary who will be 18). Our boys were about the same age as yours when we first started cruising!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Janet here.. in the beginning phase of planning this trip and I am already feeling SOOOOO overwhelmed! Gosh so much to consider! Did anyone see that there are two nights that have pirate parties on the schedule? Maybe the final night hasn't been picked yet? I can't imagine they would do 2?

Janet - I noticed that, too, and thought maybe it was an error, too. We aren't big fans of the Pirate party but I do love those crepes!

 

[Kim3]

Has anyone here ever requested a price adjustment from DCL? The price of our stateroom category is now coming up as $1250 cheaper than when we booked it last week. I hear this is really a rare occurrence for DCL.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Has anyone here ever requested a price adjustment from DCL? The price of our stateroom category is now coming up as $1250 cheaper than when we booked it last week. I hear this is really a rare occurrence for DCL.

We have never had that experience with DCL but have with other cruise lines. It's worth a call - do you have a TA? If so, they'll have to do it for you, but if you did your own booking, then call and ask! That's excursion money right there!

 

[DisneyDDS]

We are also thinking of booking something in London with our points for a few days prior. I've never booked a concierge collection room before. I know there is a $95 fee, but I wonder if there is limted availability? There may be a few of us trying to book.

I was also looking at staying at Oxford University a few nights. They rent rooms in the various colleges by the night. They seem inexpensive. About 100£ per night including breakfast. Some of the historic colleges are beautiful, but I am certain that you will be staying in a dorm room if you stay there. Oxford might be a decent hub for sightseeing, too.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We are also thinking of booking something in London with our points for a few days prior. I've never booked a concierge collection room before. I know there is a $95 fee, but I wonder if there is limted availability? There may be a few of us trying to book.

I was also looking at staying at Oxford University a few nights. They rent rooms in the various colleges by the night. They seem inexpensive. About 100£ per night including breakfast. Some of the historic colleges are beautiful, but I am certain that you will be staying in a dorm room if you stay there. Oxford might be a decent hub for sightseeing, too.

Oh my goodness, that reminds me that FSU has that in London, too... They are by the British Museum... I should check into it in case we change our minds about staying in Dover.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Zachary was supposed to go to New Orleans for a band trip later this month. We had it all paid for but last night were notified that the trip has been cancelled. How sad is it that I immediately thought that those dollars will cover our two nights in Dover?!

 

[MPS516]

Kim,

If you searched same number of guests and same stateroom category and it is cheaper call DCL and tell the Agent you found this and would like cancel your reservation and rebook same room. We are well outside the window for penalty (unless you are concierge). Regrettably our reservation is currently $ 2,500 higher for the 4 of us than it was opening day so we will not be calling for price adjustment.
.

 

[MPS516]

Janet here.. in the beginning phase of planning this trip and I am already feeling SOOOOO overwhelmed! Gosh so much to consider! Did anyone see that there are two nights that have pirate parties on the schedule? Maybe the final night hasn't been picked yet? I can't imagine they would do 2?

Janet,

Are you paid in full and seeing this on the plan my activities page ? Disney's Parks Blog says they have replaced Pirates night on the Magic in Northern Europe and the Wonder in Alaska with Frozen Day. From the description it really sounds like it would have to be a sea day given all the daytime occurrences. Depending on which cruise and what time of the summer there may not be fireworks with sunset being so late.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Janet,

Are you paid in full and seeing this on the plan my activities page ? Disney's Parks Blog says they have replaced Pirates night on the Magic in Northern Europe and the Wonder in Alaska with Frozen Day. From the description it really sounds like it would have to be a sea day given all the daytime occurrences. Depending on which cruise and what time of the summer there may not be fireworks with sunset being so late.

We noticed the double pirate night listing, too. When you log into your DCL reservation, it's listed in the Custom Pre-Arrival Guide under the My Cruise Activities page:

Day 9 - Mon, Jun 13 Dublin, Ireland
9:45 PM (Until 10:30 PM) Top Deck, Mid Ship Pirate Deck Party (Ship Activity) Pirate Night is a Disney Cruise Line deck party featuring pirate-themed festivities. Crew Members and some favorite Disney Characters join in the fun.

Day 10 - Tue, Jun 14 At Sea
9:45 PM (Until 10:30 PM) Top Deck, Mid Ship Pirate Deck Party (Ship Activity) Pirate Night is a Disney Cruise Line deck party featuring pirate-themed festivities. Crew Members and some favorite Disney Characters join in the fun.

 

[MandJHuff]

We noticed the double pirate night listing, too. When you log into your DCL reservation, it's listed in the Custom Pre-Arrival Guide under the My Cruise Activities page:

Day 9 - Mon, Jun 13 Dublin, Ireland
9:45 PM (Until 10:30 PM) Top Deck, Mid Ship Pirate Deck Party (Ship Activity) Pirate Night is a Disney Cruise Line deck party featuring pirate-themed festivities. Crew Members and some favorite Disney Characters join in the fun.

Day 10 - Tue, Jun 14 At Sea
9:45 PM (Until 10:30 PM) Top Deck, Mid Ship Pirate Deck Party (Ship Activity) Pirate Night is a Disney Cruise Line deck party featuring pirate-themed festivities. Crew Members and some favorite Disney Characters join in the fun.

What she said

 

[MPS516]

I kind of expected they would carry forward the Frozen thing given such a focus on the change over this year.

A Day of Frozen Fun

The Disney Magic & Disney Wonder will feature a Day of Frozen Fun on select sailings in Europe & Alaska. The classic ships will transform into a winter wonderland for a day of frozen fun with an extravagant celebration with friends from the Kingdom of Arendelle. On one morning of the cruise, guest will awake to a see the atrium transformed into Elsa’s ice palace. A magical freeze will bring with it sparkling icicles on the grand staircase. Icy adventures will continue throughout the day with an all-new meet and greets and themed experiences.

Kristoff & Olaf will join Anna & Elsa for their debuts at sea. The chocolate loving Anna created a scavenger hunt called Anna’s Chase for the Chocolate. A Do You Want to Build a Snowman activity will give kids Elsa’s magical powers to make snow and ice. Guests will have the opportunity to learn the traditional Scandinavian dance of spinning and braiding giant ribbons in the Maypole Swirl and Twirl.



A Frozen themed dining experience will feature a menu inspired by traditional Nordic fare and special dishes inspired by the film.

The evening is filled with more than just a themed dinner menu. The atrium freeze will spread to the upper decks of the ship, with giant snowflakes, icicles and snow-covered rocks for the Freezing the Night Away deck party with Anna, Elsa and Friends. The celebration begins with a high-energy line dance, set to the movie’s ice cutting scene, featuring the arrival of Kristoff, impressively twirling his ice picks, and Princess Anna.

Anna and Kristoff’s beloved companions, Sven, the trolls and Olaf, make virtual appearances at the party. Sven engages the crowd in reindeer games like “Sven Says” and the “Troll Stroll,” and Olaf leads a sing along to his signature song, “In Summer.”

Elsa will arrive with a snowy gust of wind, calling on guests to sing “Let it Go” with her as she conjures up a wintry spectacle to cool things down for Olaf. In true Disney fashion, Elsa unleashes her magic, sending a chill through everyone as the powerful Academy Award-winning song echoes from the ship.



The evening concludes with more dancing on the pool deck, followed by fun just for adults in the nightclub featuring dance performances and frozen specialty drinks.

 

[Alohagirl73]

Really hope Disney will continue with the Frozen fun next summer on this cruise! My daughter will LOVE this over the pirate party!

 

[nzdisneymom]

I bet they do this Frozen on the Day 10 Sea Day! How fun will that be? I hope they have it for us!

 

[Alohagirl73]

One week down and only 61 more left until we set sail!!!

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise
Also, please keep in mind the new DIS policy regarding links/directions to external sites
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=52659395

 

[MPS516]

Than You IrishCowboy, looks like you added quite a few to the old list. This is encouraging, perhaps people are adhering to the policy and are spending time here on DIS.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I was wondering about sunset times for this cruise - looks like it will mostly be late, as in nearly 10 PM. That means whether you have main or late dining, you should still be able to catch sunset most evenings! I try to get as many sunrise and sunset photos as I can. On the other hand, the sunrises are super early. But I'm all about having lots and lots of daylight for port days! And Sea days!

 

[DL1957]

Regarding the two pirate nights I thing there is something going on with their programing. For any one doing the Copenhagen to Dover cruise in June/July they have us with the embarcation party at every port rather than just Copenhagen! Sue

 

[nzdisneymom]

Sue, thanks for the info programming.

I checked our passport application status and they are all four "in process" and it reports a 4 - 6 week processing time at this point. Still crossing our fingers that the boys won't need additional info sent to get theirs issued.