Live from the Second Baltic

[Deb T.]

Cindy ~ quick question here... is DCL "buying back" any unused foreign currency if you exchanged it there in the first place?

Again, thanks for all your wonderful posts and updates!

 

[WVMD]

Cindy ~ quick question here... is DCL "buying back" any unused foreign currency if you exchanged it there in the first place?

Again, thanks for all your wonderful posts and updates!

yes - they will buy back at the same rate - in the same denomination that you bought from them.

Virgil

 

[Deb T.]

yes - they will buy back at the same rate - in the same denomination that you bought from them.

Virgil

Thanks! And, I've enjoyed reading your blog so far!

 

[cindy18]

A few quick items:

On the currency exchange, I'm hoping they will actually let us exchange foreign currency back to dollars (or as a credit to our onboard account) even if we didn't get the currency onboard. From the way I read the handouts on this topic, they will. I'll let you know if I'm wrong about that.

Brent said at the show tonight (which I liked a lot by the way -- great selection of Disney songs and some real talent among the singers) that there were 400 people taking the train to Berlin tomorrow. That seemed liked a low number to me, and I was curious how that compared to the first cruise.

Met with a DVC rep earlier today. The July cruises are pretty full, much more so than the June cruises. Pre-sale for the Aulani Resort officially starts on July 1 and the DVC members on the 3rd and 4th cruises are going to get a video presentation on it. I guess they let us in on it since we'll be on board on the 1st (but we didn't get a video).

Lots of excitement among the staff about the Dream and about all the new staff members being hired and all the moving around among ships that will be going on.

Terrific Palo dinner (but what else is new), and we finished right around the time of a really picture pefect sunset. Great ending to a really great day.

 

[Goin2CtheMouse]

Cindy ~ quick question here... is DCL "buying back" any unused foreign currency if you exchanged it there in the first place?

Again, thanks for all your wonderful posts and updates!

Deb... yes - I spoke with DCL; and, if your bought you currency onboard, they will exchange it when you present your original receipt. You cannot exchange back if you did not get it onboard.... Hope this helps...

Cindy - What awesome reports... Thank you again so much. I leave here Saturday morning for TX, then BFF and I fly out Sunday afternoon for LHR... Woo Hoo It's almost here

 

[DL1957]

yes - they will buy back at the same rate - in the same denomination that you bought from them.

Virgil

Quick not on the buying back currency. They are only able to buy back rubles if you have 500 or 1,000 demominations to turn in. So keep this in mind when you go off shopping. Any thing that is not 500 or 1,000 Disney is not allowed to buy back. We did find an American express counter near Delta airlines at Heathrow whose rates where not bad to exchange the currency before returning to the states. sue

 

[Deb T.]

Quick not on the buying back currency. They are only able to buy back rubles if you have 500 or 1,000 demominations to turn in. So keep this in mind when you go off shopping. Any thing that is not 500 or 1,000 Disney is not allowed to buy back. We did find an American express counter near Delta airlines at Heathrow whose rates where not bad to exchange the currency before returning to the states. sue

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Great trip report Can not wait to hear about Germany tomorrow

 

[cindy18]

A quick note via the blackberry. We are en route to Berlin. We did not take the Disney train but instead were picked up in a car by Original Berlin Walks. Our driver is taking us to meet our guide and the 2 of them will be with us for the day before the driver returns us to the ship. The weather is glorious again and I think it's going to be quite warm in Berlin.

For people going to Berlin with Disney, the meeting time was 6:30. Parrot Cay, Topsiders and Goofy's Gallery all opened really early (before or by 6), and Cove Cafe opened early too. We waited until after 6:30 to go up to Topsiders, and it wasn't too crowded. The train tracks are unbelievably close to the ship's dock, and the cruise terminal is modern and open and clean. We walked off the ship without waiting at about 7:20.

The driver said it's 250 km to Berlin. The roads have been very clear, and he's driving at a decent pace. So far so good.

Also, as per Brent (and the personal navigator), you need to take your passport with you when you leave the ship in Germany. We're subject to random checks. We were not stopped, but Brent said anyone could be stopped and checked.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy, thx for the great info live! We are on the next sailing and you have answered a lot of our questions without us having to ask.

Enjoy today!

 

[MrsScooby]

Can't wait to hear how Germany went Cindy

 

[poohmomof5]

Thank you for taking the time to post! I leave in 6 days, and all your information is very helpful as the packing panic sets in! Enjoy your time!

 

[armyferret]

really... random passport checks? I have never heard of that before... Polizei can do anything tho, and will not hesitate to use physical force to do so.... But then again, when travelling anywhere, it's not a horrible idea to have your passport securely with you.

 

[Flossbolna]

Cindy, I hope you had a wonderful day in Berlin today! : You just made it here in time for a heat wave, I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable for touring!

really... random passport checks? I have never heard of that before... Polizei can do anything tho, and will not hesitate to use physical force to do so.... But then again, when travelling anywhere, it's not a horrible idea to have your passport securely with you.

Just to let you know that the German police is not allowed to do anything they want and they will not use physical force unless there is a valid reason like no cooperation or even attack. Germany after all is a democratic country and the rule of law applies here as well.

I assume the "random checks" refer to the area close to the coast line. Since there are no longer border passport controls on Germany's broder, the federal police still makes checks with in the border area to prevent "border related crime".

I have been living in Germany all my life (I am 38) and I never was asked by the police for my passport or identity card (which we as Germans are actually obliged to have, but not obliged to carry with us at all times).

 

[grizbuzz]

Hello from a fellow June 24 Baltic cruiser!

We stayed on ship today in Warnemunde and we basically have the boat to ourselves, though not many activities going on. The Internet is working pretty well, though!

Cruise is wonderful. Weather has been picture perfect. A few tidbits of info from me: cruise has 2000 passengers, 1600 of whom are from the US. We got to port at 10am departure day and were able to upgrade from Cat 11 to Cat 5 for $1290. Also, did laundry today and didn't need any quarters...all machines used cards.

Well I'm off to try some toad racing.

 

[tfc3rid]

Curious what the On Board internet price is...

 

[cindy18]

So first, internet costs $55 for 100 minutes, $100 for 250 minutes and $150 for 500 minutes. You go through minutes faster than you think because of how slow the internet can be.

We're heading back to the ship after a very full day of touring in Berlin. The weather was indeed warm (on a guess, mid to upper 80s for a high with little wind) but the sky was so clear and there was so little humidity that we felt very lucky. We got to Berlin at a little after 10 and basically kept moving, with a quick lunch break, until about 3:45, when we sat down in a cafe and rested with coffee and apple streudel until it was time to leave. Our guide, Jakob, from Original Berlin Walks, was really excellent. His English was quite good and he is a historian, so everything he talked to us about was placed in a complete historical context, especially for the girls' benefit. We saw the Brandenberg Gate, of course, and the US Embassy and Babelplatz, where the book burning took place. We drove around Museum Island and spent a fair amount of time in the old Jewish quarter where there are some deeply moving and poignant memorials and testimonials. We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie. We visited the Holocaust Memorial, where we saw a Disney tour group. We saw the bombed-out remains of what looks to have been a magnificent church, there as a reminder of what war can do. We stopped by the Reichstag. We did visit the remaining piece of the Berlin Wall, and it was a bit anti-climactic, but right in front of the wall was a gripping exhibit called The Topography of Terror, with SS and Gestapo offices, and that was quite worthwhile. What was most striking is what a jumble the city is. There are still buildings from long before the war, and many of those are magnificent. The city would have been incredibly grand, it seems, if so many of its buildings hadn't been destroyed. There were buildings built in West Berlin right after the war. There are more modern buildings built in the former East Berlin in the years since reunification. And there are remaining buildings from East Berlin during the Cold War. As our guide said, there is also a lot of "two of everything", one of something from the west and one from the east. It is a city that is so much a product of its history. The cafe we went to at the end was in a lovely residential neighborhood near where our guide lives, and I was glad we went there after all the more touristy spots to get a sense of what it feels like to live there. I really wish we had more time, and I'd like to go back. It's an extremely interesting city.

Now of course we are exhausted. We're moving quite well on the highway and I think we'll get back to the ship at about 7:30. Rotation tonight is AP show dinner, and we're looking forward to that, so long as we can stay awake. The show in the Walt Disney Theatre is Heath Hyche, who we saw and liked on our 7-night Western last year. We set the clocks ahead one hour tonight but have a day at sean so that will be fine. All four of us are deliriously happy for a day at sea tomorrow! We need a proper rest before St. Petersburg! Today gave us a taste of what touring St. Pete will be like. Fascinating and exhausting! Not sure what internet or bloackberry service will be like while we're at sea tomorrow, but I will post if I can.

 

[MrsScooby]

Sounds like a great tour Cindy
Can't wait for our turn

 

[OurDogCisco]

Does anyone know the cancellation policy for tours through DCL? I'm really starting to doubt our DCL excursions. I booked a private tour for St. Petersburg but I really don't know if we should keep the ones we booked through Disney for the other ports. We do not plan to do Berlin.

 

[mom_rules]

Does anyone know the cancellation policy for tours through DCL? I'm really starting to doubt our DCL excursions. I booked a private tour for St. Petersburg but I really don't know if we should keep the ones we booked through Disney for the other ports. We do not plan to do Berlin.

Ours says can be changed or cancelled up to 3 days before cruise departure date.