June 8, 2011 – Mediterranean

[pxlbarrel]

We are currently booked on the early seating but I am a bit worried that we will never make it back to the ship. When we had the late seating on our last cruise, we couldn't enjoy the late-night buffets since we were still so stuffed from dinner. I didn't want that to happen again!!!!

hahahhaha.... I hear ya! We were on the early seating on the last cruise but I was still stuffed and couldn't enjoy the Pirate party buffet. We grabbed desserts anyway.

 

[Zoom]

hahahhaha.... I hear ya! We were on the early seating on the last cruise but I was still stuffed and couldn't enjoy the Pirate party buffet. We grabbed desserts anyway.

We skipped dessert at the dining room and had them at the pirate party buffet!!!

 

[pxlbarrel]

Woohoo...we just paid off the cruise. Even though we have until February, the exchange rate was about right for us to do it so we just did it.

Now I'm ready for the first day we can book Palo for tea!!!!

 

[chris44]

We also have dinner at the late seating, figuring we will want to have plenty of time for excursions!

 

[chris44]

By the way, goofy4u, I sent you a PM regarding our girls . . .

 

[annekevdbroek]

Hi Everyone,

We haven't booked yet - but plan to. I am kind of waiting to see if Disney offers another 'kids sale free' like they did last year. Rates aren't bad now in either case.

We did the east bound transatlantic last year and LOVED it. This year we plan to spend the month of June in/around Spain, with the cruise in the middle. This will be our second DCL trip. Our kids will be 4 and nearly 8 when we cruise. They are super excited (the 4 y/o is ready to start packing).

 

[Zoom]

Hi Everyone,

We haven't booked yet - but plan to. I am kind of waiting to see if Disney offers another 'kids sale free' like they did last year. Rates aren't bad now in either case.

We did the east bound transatlantic last year and LOVED it. This year we plan to spend the month of June in/around Spain, with the cruise in the middle. This will be our second DCL trip. Our kids will be 4 and nearly 8 when we cruise. They are super excited (the 4 y/o is ready to start packing).

Hello! We'll be in Barcelona for 2 1/2 days prior to cruise!!

 

[goofy4u]

Thanks for posting that itinerary. It looks promising.

Just curious but which dinner seating are most of the people looking for excursions on? We have the late seating ... I picked it purposely so we didn't have to be back to the ship by 5 or 6....

We have always had late dinner seating times and we really enjoy it. We don’t feel rushed getting to dinner.

 

[goofy4u]

By the way, goofy4u, I sent you a PM regarding our girls . . .

I sent you a PM as well

 

[StephenKay]

Hi there

We are joining you!!

We booked this cruise last year onboard just as an onward booking, but have decided that it ties in with DD's exam schedule and have decided to complete and pay the balance.

What a lovely treat, going on another med cruise after finishing your exams.

We did the Dover to Barcelona repo cruise last July and it was fantastic and couldn't wait to try another cruise on the med while we have the chance to have the Magic so close to us in the med.

Our family is DH, DW and DD 16. She has a great time meeting new friends in the stack (or Vibe) whatever it is called now.

We visit Europe regularly on citybreaks, so looking forward to going again this summer.

We have already done our homework for Herculaneum (Ercolano in italian if you are doing any research). It is an easy trip and, to be honest, more preserved and better than Pompeii, so going back there rather that travelling further to Pompeii. We almost spent a whole day there last time and I don't think the short timescale on a port day would do it justice.

The train station is just a couple of streets away from Naples port with the connection to the Circumvesuviana line which is only a few stops away from Herculaneum and then onward to Pompeii.

This is an easy excursion for a few euros on the train and doesn't need a disney excursion price.

Looking forward to doing some more port homework. Tunis I think may be a disney excursion to Carthage though, North Africans/Tunisians are not as organised and I wouldn't trust any local trip or your own attempt to get to Carthage would get you back in time.

Getting excited just thinking about it. Can't wait to get DH's kilt out and dusted down for formal night.... we'll be easily spotted by you all lol.

Mary Kay
wife of

 

[NHdisneylover]

HI all,
I just wanted to drop by in case anyone is keeping a roll call and let you all know we decided to drop this cruise. We are going in September with family and just want to do a different itenerary for this vacation time frame (which sigh, means a different line).
Have a great trip everyone

 

[amyren]

Hi everyone! I'm getting really excited about planning our trip. I bought 2 guide books today!

A couple of questions:
For those of you who have booked airfare; are you returning the day the cruise ends and if so what time is your flight? The only direct flight back to Atlanta departs at 10 am which I don't think allows us enough time to get to the airport, check in etc...

Can we use our onboard credit towards shore excursions? I've been on one Disney cruise but we didn't do any excursions. I wasn't sure if we had to pay for excursions ahead of time (when we book them) or what.

Finally, my parents are traveling with us. Will it be okay for DD to sleep in their cabin some nights? Also, if DH and I want to do an excursion on our own will it be okay for DD to leave the boat in the care of my parents? Just wondering bc they have a separate reservation number.

Thanks in advance. See you all in about 5 months!

 

[Zoom]

Hi there

We are joining you!!

We booked this cruise last year onboard just as an onward booking, but have decided that it ties in with DD's exam schedule and have decided to complete and pay the balance.

What a lovely treat, going on another med cruise after finishing your exams.

We did the Dover to Barcelona repo cruise last July and it was fantastic and couldn't wait to try another cruise on the med while we have the chance to have the Magic so close to us in the med.

Our family is DH, DW and DD 16. She has a great time meeting new friends in the stack (or Vibe) whatever it is called now.

We visit Europe regularly on citybreaks, so looking forward to going again this summer.

We have already done our homework for Herculaneum (Ercolano in italian if you are doing any research). It is an easy trip and, to be honest, more preserved and better than Pompeii, so going back there rather that travelling further to Pompeii. We almost spent a whole day there last time and I don't think the short timescale on a port day would do it justice.

The train station is just a couple of streets away from Naples port with the connection to the Circumvesuviana line which is only a few stops away from Herculaneum and then onward to Pompeii.

This is an easy excursion for a few euros on the train and doesn't need a disney excursion price.

Looking forward to doing some more port homework. Tunis I think may be a disney excursion to Carthage though, North Africans/Tunisians are not as organised and I wouldn't trust any local trip or your own attempt to get to Carthage would get you back in time.

Getting excited just thinking about it. Can't wait to get DH's kilt out and dusted down for formal night.... we'll be easily spotted by you all lol.

Mary Kay
wife of

Hi everyone! I'm getting really excited about planning our trip. I bought 2 guide books today!
Which one did you get? i went to barnes and nobles and looked at some guide books but didn't buy, too many to choose from! lol...

A couple of questions:
For those of you who have booked airfare; are you returning the day the cruise ends and if so what time is your flight? The only direct flight back to Atlanta departs at 10 am which I don't think allows us enough time to get to the airport, check in etc...
We are returning the day the cruises ends, our flight is at 12:30pm. From the TR's I've read, it is doable, but you have to be one of the first ones to get off. If you decided to get that 10am flight, i suggest you use DCL transfers which will guarantee you to get to the airport on time. I just read on the main forum that getting a taxi on a weekend is very hard and expensive. At first i was thinking to just use a taxi since it will be cheaper than DCL transfers ($30-35 per person) but then now, i'm not sure, don't want to wait for an hour to get a cab!!

Can we use our onboard credit towards shore excursions? I've been on one Disney cruise but we didn't do any excursions. I wasn't sure if we had to pay for excursions ahead of time (when we book them) or what.
Yes you can use your OBC towards excursions. I believe excursions are charged onboard but i could be wrong, you can call DCL and check just to make sure.

Finally, my parents are traveling with us. Will it be okay for DD to sleep in their cabin some nights? Also, if DH and I want to do an excursion on our own will it be okay for DD to leave the boat in the care of my parents? Just wondering bc they have a separate reservation number.
I don't think there would be a problem if your daughter sleeps in the other room with your parents, just make sure your reservations are linked.

Thanks in advance. See you all in about 5 months!

 

[annekevdbroek]

Regarding airport transfer: We did not book a transfer last year after the ebta. When we got off the boat *everyone* was hered onto multiple buses and taken to the airport. We stated we didn't have a transfer and no one seemed to care. We knew a taxi would be cheaper, and that is what we had planned to do - but we accepted the Disney arranged ride. I'm not sure why it worked out the way it did, but we got to the airport w/o incident. There were plenty of taxis available as well. I can't recall the exact schedule, we were part of the later groups to get off the boat.

Note: the airport itself was JAMMED and a horrific mess. We had not been able to print our tickets off beforehand. It was where I thought we were going to miss our gflight, despite being hours early. We were taking a regional airline to Seville - so that may have been part of the hold up.

 

[pxlbarrel]

We're going to leave Barcelona the next day and spend the disembarkation day in the city. Should be a little less hectic.

 

[amyren]

We're going to leave Barcelona the next day and spend the disembarkation day in the city. Should be a little less hectic.

I think that's what we are leaning towards. I feel like 10 am is cutting it too close. I'd rather stay a night in Barcelona and have a direct flight than have a 3.5 hour layover in London. Plus we aren't going to have much time in Barcelona before the cruise. We are actually planning to fly into Paris before the cruise and spend 2 nights in the city and 2 nights at DLP then fly to Barcelona. I know - crazy but who knows when we will be in Europe again!

 

[mehaul]

I think that's what we are leaning towards. I feel like 10 am is cutting it too close. I'd rather stay a night in Barcelona and have a direct flight than have a 3.5 hour layover in London. Plus we aren't going to have much time in Barcelona before the cruise. We are actually planning to fly into Paris before the cruise and spend 2 nights in the city and 2 nights at DLP then fly to Barcelona. I know - crazy but who knows when we will be in Europe again!

When we did the Med in 2007, we went to DLP for 4 nights prior to the cruise. We took the train 1 day into Paris. The train station was walking distance from our hotel in DLP and is very easy to take. The kids loved DLP much more than Paris, but the then 3 year old loved that she saw the EIffel Tower. We flew out the morning of the cruise from Orly to Barcelona.

 

[amyren]

When we did the Med in 2007, we went to DLP for 4 nights prior to the cruise. We took the train 1 day into Paris. The train station was walking distance from our hotel in DLP and is very easy to take. The kids loved DLP much more than Paris, but the then 3 year old loved that she saw the EIffel Tower. We flew out the morning of the cruise from Orly to Barcelona.

That's pretty much our plan! DH and I LOVE Paris. We were there about 6 years ago and promised each other we would return. The plan is 2 nights in Paris before DLP. That way DD (also 3) can adjust to the time change before we hit the parks. I think there are enough things in Paris to interest her for 2 days.

Where did you stay at DLP? We've booked Hotel New York.

 

[mehaul]

That's pretty much our plan! DH and I LOVE Paris. We were there about 6 years ago and promised each other we would return. The plan is 2 nights in Paris before DLP. That way DD (also 3) can adjust to the time change before we hit the parks. I think there are enough things in Paris to interest her for 2 days.

Where did you stay at DLP? We've booked Hotel New York.

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel - we used our DVC points. Its walking distance to both parks and their "Downtown Disney". We went to Paris the first day we got "into town". The kids must have fallen asleep 3x in the stroller that day.
We used this company to get to and from the airport. www.parisshuttleservice.com/Disneyland-Shuttle-service.asp

 

[ssisk@remax.net]

I've been watching this cruise for two months now. Saw it reduce $400 and got excited. It's still about $400 (for 3 people total) off from my budget. Saw it increase $500 this a.m.??!! Ugh! What should I do? I hear many of you talking about sales last year; i.e. kids sale free, etc. Do you think this is preparation for a sale. Does Disney do that, increase to have a sale? Jish?! Or is this just a case of classes selling out? So depressed this a.m.! Help! ha, ha!