May 12, 2007 -- Taking the Magic to the Mediterranean -- 14 day Repo Cruise! Part 2

[OH 6]

My my my - we're still chatty. I'm trying to catch up on posts, and while I'm doing that I'm getting more behind - 3 more posts while I was trying to catch up....

OK - so we got 8:30 dinner too....OK with us - we eat late usually anyway. Plus we love dinner and a show...so eating with Erik & Co. will be a blast!!

No surprise in the mail yet - did we determine that the TAs would send those out to us after they get them from Disney or will we get them directly from them???

Oh heavens - that video was bad - we were in the med in September and it looked nothing like that...smooth as glass most days...that's enough to make anyone swear off cruising.

Still no progress on the priate stuff yet. I'm a bachelor this week - Mike's working at JFK in NY through Friday. Maybe I'll make some progress this weekend when he gets back. We have tickets to see Lilly Tomlin the following weekend in Myrtle Beach - can't wait...

Gotta go check on the kids - it's very quiet and that usually means trouble ...or they're all napping

 

[cquick]

Hey all, I'm still wondering how to log on at WDW? We'll be at the All Star, can I haul the lap top somewhere to log onto the internet?

Erik, how did you log on during your last trip?

HI! from Sunny Florida. My mom and I went ot MK today, both of us rented those ECV's....MAN! I CANNOT WAIT unitl I can WALK again! It was very stressful just trying not to run people over! A man walked strainght into the side of my mom's and she stopped quickly and a man ran into the back of her! She was so stressed by the time we got home! I almost had little kids sitting on my lap! Those things are hard to guide!

Also, Saratoga Springs has WiFi and you should be able to find out other places on Allears, I'll go there if nobody else can help you. Colnnie

 

[cquick]

Also, you'll have to call All Star and find out if they have internet. Saratoga Springs offers in room high speed...as does Animal Kingdom Lodge as far as I know. I know that not all resorts apparently have it. You can also probably go on allearsnet.com and do a search for which resorts have internet access and where other access points within the parks and resorts might be.


Later!


Erik

Hey, Eric, it might look like I copied your answer about the internet, but I DIDN"T!

 

[Scoobypop]

Man am I bummed that Ave. Q closed in LV, I keep waiting for the announcement here, but still nothing We love one of their offshoots Johnny and the sprites. Of course, we just now got Wicked (tkts in September 07)

Kelly, when are your Wicked tickets for? We're going 9/11.

 

[wrabitdad]

No air info for us yet. Amost begining to sound like the fiasco over the online excursion bookings back in Feb.

DCL originally told TA 45 days out and that was also in the letter from them. Nothing online yesterday or today so TA called and was told not until 30 days out.

I called DCL directly today and CM said domestic air is 30 days and for the Med it is 45 days. CM looked up our res, put me on hold, came back and said "you know there's a deviation involved" (guess they still can't handle that we're doing the B2B), that they were making a change in the flight and that she would email the info tomorrow.

Emailed TA tonight and asked her to follow-up with DCL tomorrow. The concern is the closer to the date the less chance DW and I will be able to sit together (after 25 days maybe that won't be an issue ).

Still no "gift" in the mail. Are folks getting these directly or through TA?

Bob

 

[kpros]

No air info for us yet. Amost begining to sound like the fiasco over the online excursion bookings back in Feb.

DCL originally told TA 45 days out and that was also in the letter from them. Nothing online yesterday or today so TA called and was told not until 30 days out.

I called DCL directly today and CM said domestic air is 30 days and for the Med it is 45 days. CM looked up our res, put me on hold, came back and said "you know there's a deviation involved" (guess they still can't handle that we're doing the B2B), that they were making a change in the flight and that she would email the info tomorrow.

Emailed TA tonight and asked her to follow-up with DCL tomorrow. The concern is the closer to the date the less chance DW and I will be able to sit together (after 25 days maybe that won't be an issue ).

Still no "gift" in the mail. Are folks getting these directly or through TA?

Bob

Hi Bob

They seemed to get our air figured out OK. So keep checking with them.

Ken

 

[kpros]

Hi Bob

They seemed to get our air figured out OK. So keep checking with them.

Ken

Bob

I just noticed that the return flight say "Status: passive confirmed". So things aren't totally firmed up yet.

Ken

 

[Hoagie Pie]

Hi Everyone - I got nothing in the mail today and my dining time says 6:00. How do you know how full or empty the ship is? Is there a place to look? I am starting to make my signs and they will also be my scrapbooking pages - wish we could make the barbeque - sounds like fun. The weekend is almost here and we are going Cruise shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully we will have our surprise by then.

 

[OH 6]

Not sure if any of you saw this elsewhere on The Dis, but I came across it on cruisejunkie.com - hope they're still doing fireworks for the party... :

"February 14 - Disney Magic - Disney Cruise Line
From a passenger (posted at Disboards): While doing the fireworks during the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party, there was an emergency code red call to the rear of the boat. My husband went to look and discovered that there was a misfire on the fireworks and appeared to be a fire by Palo restaurant. I am trying to find out more, and will post more later ... Here's what happened with the fireworks -- about 1/4 of the way through one misfired and hit the side of the ship. The next one misfired and landed right next to palo's and started a fire. That set off the fire sprinklers on deck 10 aft. Our assistant server is part of the fire team. He said it was a HUGE mess because the Captain sent everyone to the Pirate buffet instead of Palo's ... The captain then sent everyone to the right place and everything seems ok. All brunch's at Palo's today were cancelled, but dinner's were ok. The were no reports of injury."

Didn't we have someone in the group going on a 7 day here soon that will be able to tell us?? Anyone been on the Magic since Valentine's Day?

 

[KathyOnA1A]

Here is the text of the email I received from DCL concerning my flight back to Orlando:
3/28/07

Dear Kathleen,
Thank you for your e-mail.
In reviewing your reservation, I see that on March 12th our Reservation
Department advised that we can not do one-way airfare. ...
I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.
We look forward to sailing with you! Have a Magical Day!
Kaye
Reservations Department
Disney Cruise Vacations

So, now I'll be looking for ONE-WAY air. Anyone else getting a response like this? The only "deviation" I'm doing is to stay in Barcelona two additional nights. I didn't book the hotel through DCL because of the cost. Maybe that's the problem?

 

[OH 6]

I also see lots of mentions of door signs on here - this is my first DisBoard cruise...and don't want to look like I don't know what's going on...but what's the story on the door signs???

So far it looks like I need to work on pirate costumes and door signs...anything else I should be trying to get done before we leave??

 

[wrabitdad]

Bob

I just noticed that the return flight say "Status: passive confirmed". So things aren't totally firmed up yet.

Ken

Maybe that's what the CM was refering to when she said they were making a change?

Hopefully we'll know tomorrow.

Bob

 

[jw2736]

I heard today (from one of those inside sources) that there are only about 1200 people currently booked on our cruise. It wasnt confirmed, but why else would Disney so drastically drop the prices? I agree though, that we should be able to find a seat by the pool.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Hi everyone, we are THINKING about joining this cruise. How is everyone flying back? What airlines? Could you help me? This is a last minute thought and we don't know where to start looking.

Thank you so much!

Hi Sandy,
I see you are from Littleton. My in-laws are from Boulder and are going to/from DIA as I assume would you. They got airfare a couple of month ago and spent a total of about $550 per person. They are flying Southwest one way to Oralndo on the 11th. Flying home we are staying 2 extra nights in Barcelona and comming back on Memorial Day. They are on Swissair with us flying into BCN (Boston), spending one night in Boston and then flying back home from MHT (Manchester NH--45 minutes from Boston) on Southwest. All flights are one way, and this itenerary is not nearly as complicated as it sounds.
Defintely consider getting a tickets to a big east coast city and then flying a different, cheaper airline on to Denver. This was about $700 cheaper per person for my in-laws than just quoting straight to DIA on any airline. And don't forget you will need passports (if you don't already have them you will need to expidite).

 

[NHdisneylover]

I also see lots of mentions of door signs on here - this is my first DisBoard cruise...and don't want to look like I don't know what's going on...but what's the story on the door signs???

So far it looks like I need to work on pirate costumes and door signs...anything else I should be trying to get done before we leave??

Nicholas--Here is a link to a gigantic thread about door signs. Everything you ever wanted to know about them and more can be found here. We made two more today (with trivia questions). Happy surfing!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=838817

 

[NHdisneylover]

That is as valid a reason as any other

You live on the east coast - so it should not be too big a deal to shift your dinner a bit at home to match within about an hour of what time you have on the ship. Imagine if you lived in Calif - 3 hours + a shift

I really shouldn't stress about it. We are always pretty flexible when we travel. Even the kids hiked Dioamond Head at 5:00 am the first morning we were in Hawaii (a drastic time change for us), took a nap that afternoon and handled the rehersal dinner that went until midnight Hawaii time (through the night on our schedule) better than the West Coaster adults there. The ONLY thing that seems to throw them is dinner. It seems their stomachs don't adjust as fast as the rest of them. Not that we ever starve on the Magic, but they LIKE the main dining room meals and food and I hate it if they are sad because they are too full to eat at dinner by having succumbed to a snack first.

Of course, my other issue is wanting to stalk Erik and Jason at meals to see the ties. AND I am a PLANNER. I feel compelled to know as much as possible as soon as possible so I can plan for every possiblity. Drives my hubby nuts.

 

[KathyOnA1A]

Delta's cheap flights had disappeared, but I found BCN-MCO for $520 on SwissAir through Orbitz. Whew! I think there may be others on that flight on the 28th. Sounds like we'll be able to recognize each other by that time!

 

[AuntyBrat]

No air info for us yet. Amost begining to sound like the fiasco over the online excursion bookings back in Feb.

DCL originally told TA 45 days out and that was also in the letter from them. Nothing online yesterday or today so TA called and was told not until 30 days out.

I called DCL directly today and CM said domestic air is 30 days and for the Med it is 45 days. CM looked up our res, put me on hold, came back and said "you know there's a deviation involved" (guess they still can't handle that we're doing the B2B), that they were making a change in the flight and that she would email the info tomorrow.

Emailed TA tonight and asked her to follow-up with DCL tomorrow. The concern is the closer to the date the less chance DW and I will be able to sit together (after 25 days maybe that won't be an issue ).

Still no "gift" in the mail. Are folks getting these directly or through TA?

Bob

Bob,

It seems like if you call the regular number you get 30 days, 30 days, blah blah blah....HOWEVER, the online travel resource says:

Air Transportation

View your flight details within 45 days of your embarkation date by visiting My Online Check-In or by calling Disney Cruise Line® directly at (877) 566-0967†.

I called the number above (which is for your airline stuff) yesterday, gave them my ressie, sat on hold a few and had my airline stuff emailed to me within 10 minutes. My online info STILL doesn't have my airline stuff. I would suggest calling this number and seeing what you get. By the way, my TA called the regular number she uses and got told 30 days too.

Good luck!!

 

[Kissimmee]

Hi everyone, we are THINKING about joining this cruise. How is everyone flying back? What airlines? Could you help me? This is a last minute thought and we don't know where to start looking.

Thank you so much!

Not sure this is the best but we booked via sidestep.com on Swiss-air ~$475 incl taxes per person. That was the average for 3 adults and 2 kids.

Problem is that the flight leaves at 9:50 so you have to make real sure you coordinate with the staff the day before to make sure your transfer leaves early.

 

[AuntyBrat]

Not sure this is the best but we booked via sidestep.com on Swiss-air ~$475 incl taxes per person. That was the average for 3 adults and 2 kids.

Problem is that the flight leaves at 9:50 so you have to make real sure you coordinate with the staff the day before to make sure your transfer leaves early.

You're a braver man than I Gungadin!!! When I called DCL to see about scheduling our own airfare they were advising people to not schedule a flight before 1030am.