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

[Arizona Rita]

Meum and Faith, could you please pm me your cabin numbers for the FGE. Thank you!

 

[BadPinkTink]

For those of you who live in the various port areas where we're going, I would love to have a chance to say Hey - if you plan to come near to see the ship or have a place in town where you might be to "meet and greet", please let us know! We're so appreciative of the local assistance in planning and would love a chance to say so in person! Maybe make a DIS Boards sign or if there's a spot you'll be and a time frame you'll be there, that would be cool.

awww this is so sweet. I am planning to be in town that day and come see the ship as I am meeting up with some of the cruisers. You might see me around town

Oh, that reminds me, for the locals - I like to bring back treats for my workmates, candies, sweets, etc., from places I've been. My rule is that they need to be local/regional/known in the area - any suggestions for things from your area?

I always bring Irish chocolate and candy to my American friends. Our chocolate is very different to yours, even though some have the same names. I would advise just going to a convenience store such as Spar, Centra and just stocking up on Cadbury chocolate. You should also try our chips, called Tayto which are similar to Lays. The same with soda. We have Coke and Pepsi but you should try Club Orange (similar to Fanta) and Cidona (fizzy apple juice) In Scotland try to find Iron Bru.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I always bring Irish chocolate and candy to my American friends. Our chocolate is very different to yours, even though some have the same names. I would advise just going to a convenience store such as Spar, Centra and just stocking up on Cadbury chocolate. You should also try our chips, called Tayto which are similar to Lays. The same with soda. We have Coke and Pepsi but you should try Club Orange (similar to Fanta) and Cidona (fizzy apple juice) In Scotland try to find Iron Bru.

Nice - thanks for the tips! I love to go into grocery stores in other places and see what's the same and what's different. Especially in a big city or a small village - both are so different than where we live (medium).

 

[disneydafty]

Guys remember me, I'm the one who's not travelling with you but lives in Glasgow so My DH and I are coming down to watch you arrive and especially depart, with my Mickey hands on, hearing her horn will make me cry.

Is there anyway that someone could find out when you are arriving, so that I set my alarm early enough to watch her coming up the Clyde.

Thank you and have a Magical cruise xx

 

[castaway811]

Hello! we are getting super excited for this trip. I think I have the essentials ready to go......FE gifts, my smash book and camera!!! hahahaha Now i guess i have to focus on packing our clothes. Thanks for the info BadPinkTink. Congratulations Arizona Rita! I think we may have been on the Baltic cruise with you. We only seem to be cruising every 3 years so I gotta remember how to use the DIS boards!!

What is a smash book??

 

[disneydafty]

I found out the answer, she will be here at 07:00,I'll be waiting

 

[gumbosquirrel]

Just saw this now, regarding the tram from Dublin port to the citycentre
https://www.luas.ie/lcc-rlti-summer2016/

Luas Red Line stops from Abbey Street to The Point will be closed until the end of July.During this temporary closure Luas Red Line services are operating to / from Jervis stop and a replacement bus service is running.

The replacement bus service is running from Bachelor’s Walk close to Jervis Stop to Castleforbes Road close to The Point Stop and back from Mayor Street Upper close to The Point Stop to Crampton Quay close to Jervis Stop serving stops along the Quays. The bus stops are located a short walking distance from the closed Luas stops.

You don’t need a ticket for the replacement bus.

BadPinkTink-- we have hired a private guide for our Dublin day. We're trying to arrange our meeting place and time. Guide has suggested 9:30 at St Patrick's. I have no sense how far that is from port. We do NOT want to take a shuttle or bus (traveling with a toddler, it's just not worth a screaming fit straight off the ship that will put a damper on the day). How available are cabs at the port and how much would one cost to St Patrick's? Thanks so much for all you have done to walk us through your city in advance of our arrival!!

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

I found out the answer, she will be here at 07:00,I'll be waiting

We are open to suggestions on what to do in Glasgow...we are taking the DCL transport to the city and then we will be on our own. Please help!

 

[BadPinkTink]

BadPinkTink-- we have hired a private guide for our Dublin day. We're trying to arrange our meeting place and time. Guide has suggested 9:30 at St Patrick's. I have no sense how far that is from port. We do NOT want to take a shuttle or bus (traveling with a toddler, it's just not worth a screaming fit straight off the ship that will put a damper on the day). How available are cabs at the port and how much would one cost to St Patrick's? Thanks so much for all you have done to walk us through your city in advance of our arrival!!

Thats very unhelpful that that they want you to go all the way to St Patricks to meet. Thats not near the port the city centre / main streets. To be honest they should really be meeting you at the ship, but if they are unwilling to do that, try to arrange somewhere near O'Connell Street or Trinity College. There will be taxis waiting at the ship and depending on traffic it could take around 20 minutes to get to O'Connell Street or Trinity College area. St Patricks Cathedral could be another 10 minutes, depending on traffic. You need to get a land mark or building meeting point, and then tell that to the taxi driver. Taxis are metered so it could cost around €20 to get from the ship to your meeting point. Ship ashore time is 8.15am but you will have to go through customs before you get off so you are looking at 8.45 approx leaving the ship, then approx another 30 minutes to get to your meeting point, so I would suggest a time of 9.30am. That way you are allowing for delays and hold ups. Its possible you will get to your meeting point before that, Im just not sure of traffic at that time of the morning.

EDIT....
@gumbosquirrel also get a phone number for your guide, dont just rely on online communication as you may not have wifi in the port area if you need to contact your guide

 

[nzdisneymom]

I was reading on another site that the Magic had to leave a DCL excursion behind yesterday in Dublin because they were delayed because of traffic and the ship couldn't stay any longer due to tides. They report that DCL arranged a ferry that got the passengers to the ship in Liverpool at 5 AM. While this is a rare occasion, use it as a cautionary tale to be sure to take any critical medication with you on excursions just in case.

We're doing Dublin on our own (our city map should be arriving today!) but we always allow twice as much time to return to the ship as we think we'd need - and in this case, maybe we'll allow a little more time. BadPinkTink, thanks for all the info about options for returning to the ship from the Trinity College area. Also I read that DCL collected passports ahead of time so that there was no need for individuals to pass through customs checks upon departure from the ship - although for those on the excursion, that must've been disconcerting to not have theirs. I'm sure adjustments will be made to the excursion times to allow for traffic considerations.

 

[BadPinkTink]

@nzdisneymom OH MY GOODNESS, do you know which excursion it was? Traffic down to the port can be bad at times, Dublin city centre is a mess with construction at the moment, our tram system is getting a new line and many roads on the new route have restrictions or diversions due to the track laying.

There is a regular scheduled ferry crossing Dublin to Liverpool, so I'm sure that was DCL put those excursion people on.

Yes best to allow extra time to get back to the ship, you are welcome, its been so much fun and not really that much trouble as I am in the city centre on a regualar basis and know the area really well

 

[nzdisneymom]

I haven't heard which Port Adventure it was. There's some discussion on the main DCL forum in the Transatlantic crossing thread.

 

[nzdisneymom]

In case you missed it on the main DCL forum, there's a thread about the Magic in Liverpool - they linked to an article about the celebration they'll be having when we are there on June 12th.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/disney-magic-cruise-ship-coming-11379915

 

[BadPinkTink]

ok, Ive just been on the transatlantic thread. This is the excursion that didnt make it back to the ship in time https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/dublin-ireland-wicklow-on-the-big-screen/

This is VERY ambitious for the timeframe. The first part of the tour is in Dublin city, but then it heads out of the city to Wicklow. Its approx 40 km from the morning stop to the next stop in Bray, then from Bray they do another 25 km into the mountains, and then its 60 km through the mountains back to the port and the ship.

There is just too much distance and too much packed into this and the timeframe does not allow for traffic. To me this is a two day tour, not a 6 hour tour. I can see why people would want to do it, it shows both sides, the city and country side, but its far too ambitious in the timeframe.

 

[gumbosquirrel]

I'm still new to the DisBoards scene. Is there a place/time on board for us to meet? Has anyone seen Navigator for TA or 1st Europe cruise (I think there is a 7 night before ours)? DS wonders about movie line-up for Buena Vista.

PS-- I'm reading a great book, "The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society." Haven't finished but it's a NYT bestseller about Guernsey post-WW2. Good stuff so far....

Trip is so close!!!

Am taking a night off end-of-school chaos and trip planning (as in what to pack)-- just finished "The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society." Can't say it's my favorite book from a literary perspective, but it's a quick and easy read and PERFECT for your TA flight. A friend's mom took the QE II TA just for the day in Guernsey after reading the book! What I will say is that I'm rethinking our Guernsey plans. After reading the book and learning about the 5 year occupation during WW2, I need to see more of the island than what is offered in the excursion I booked. Worth the read Magic Cruisers....

 

[DL1957]

NZDisneyMom- Thanks for adding us to the top list. Thought I would let you know that DD's name is Lauren.
Meum, yes, I do believe that we have sailed together before! Yours was one of the names i recognized.

DH Paul and I were on the Baltic as well. That was DSIS and DBIL first Disney cruise my BIL was not sure about going.

 

[DL1957]

I hit post too soon. I was going to add they will be platinum on this cruise!

 

[Meum]

Meum and Faith, could you please pm me your cabin numbers for the FGE. Thank you!

I've forgotten how to PM on here! we are in 6064, sorry for the late response

 

[Yensidfan]

Meum and Faith, could you please pm me your cabin numbers for the FGE. Thank you!

Hi, we are in cabin 6604. Looking forward to sailing with you again.

 

[Alohagirl73]

Just one week left until we are sailing away!!!!

Can't believe the cruise is in 1 week. I remember when we made our reservations our baby wasn't even born yet and had to do a fake birthdate to reserve his space on the life boat, and now he's over 1.