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

[Buckeye Gal]

Oh - I sure hope not!!! My Mom was stressed enough as it was!!!
Are you on board?

By the way - We are booked on the Sept 27 DD also!!!

I WISH I was on board...sorry! I'm sure someone will see your plea.

Woo Hoo!! Another Double Dip'n cruiser!! If you haven't made it over to the Meets board for our 9/27/08 cruise, I highly recommend it! It's Named "Double Dip Delight". Looking forward to getting to know ya!

PS: I'm sure mom is totally enjoying herself already!

 

[Thistle]

Trenton, Emily, and Shirley:

It will be interesting to know if that's why the ship left port about 20 minutes late. Nonetheless, she now has a couple of weeks to relax and enjoy herself!

It appeared to look like the ship left late because of a pilot. The pilot that just came back from the first ship took the Magic out. So maybe a pilot was sick that day. Let's hope it also meant everyone could make the ship before it left too!

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

Thanx for the first-hand report, Bronwen!

 

[bonzie1]

It was GREAT to see everyone at Scott and Lynn's wine and cheese meet! Joe and I felt like honorary members of this cruise for the day!

HAVE FUN YOU GUYS!!!

Can't wait to read your reports when you get back!

 

[tig82174]

Well everyone......it's 12:42am aboard the Magic right now...and those of us who aren't lucky enough to be on the B2B have to get off the ship in just a few hours. I have only a few minutes left on my internet package....and so I thought I'd post before I go to bed.

We wish that we could say goodbye and thanks to everyone individually....but that is impossible....so on behalf of myself and Jason......


THANKS AND WE'LL MISS ALL OF YOU!!!

Truly this trip has been an amazing experience for us....before this trip if you'd told us that there could be anything better than 14 days on a Disney Cruise ship travelling to Europe---we'd never have believed it.....but we've proved there is something better.....making that journey with all of you!!

We will never forget the strong sense of community we created through these boards....and all the friendships we formed on this trip.....the warm welcome we received from everyone right from the start....the fun on excursions....the conversations by the pool....the deck parties and dances and meals......I know I'm overly sentimental at the moment because we have to leave the ship.......but everyone on this cruise who shared their FAITH TRUST & PIXIE DUST with us made this an even more MAGICal experience than we could have hoped...so THANKS!

To those who are heading home....safe travels....to those who are remaining aboard...have a great trip....and to EVERYONE......SEE YOU ON THE BOARDS!!!


Erik


(p.s. Jason and I (and a few other DISers we know of) are booked on the Sept. 27th, 2008 Double Dip cruise......anyone else care to join?....or start a thread? heheheh)

 

[milestogo]

Hey Eric, I just got out of Pirates and went to see if you guys were around, but it was a ghost town around the ship. Have a safe trip everyone, we'll let you know how its going. It was great to meet so many of you and several I barely saw, love to all, Kelly

 

[lenzs4]

We are booked also - come join us on the thread - it is a long one already!!!
(p.s. Jason and I (and a few other DISers we know of) are booked on the Sept. 27th, 2008 Double Dip cruise......anyone else care to join?....or start a thread? heheheh)[/quote]

 

[Buckeye Gal]

Oh yes, Erik and Jason and all of you craving your next trip...please join us on the 09.27.08 Double Dip Delight thread!! I think we're up to 38 pages, and we have a fun group bonding already! I know the Double Dip won't be nearly as exciting as what you just experienced, but we're going to have a great time nonetheless!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1344864

Hope you all had a wonderfully memorable trip! Sending you well wishes for a safe, uneventful return home, and I know I can speak for many that we're anxious to read your individual trip reports!

 

[Juergen]

Hi everyone
it was nice to meet you around the ship. Thanks for all the little goodies.
we had a magical time with all of you.
we arrived safely at home in the afternoon.

see you on the next Disney-Cruise

Juergen & Maria

by the way in Germany its warmer than in Spain

 

[hopemax]

Well, I guess I am the first person back on the computer. The Orlando bound cruisers had another adventure. We made an unexpected delay due to a faulty fuel pump that forced us to land in Boston, refuel and continue to Philly. That was followed by a mad dash through the Philly airport to barely make the connecting flight. My DH and I were in the leading group and the plane was pretty empty, but it was pretty full by the time we left, a half hour after scheduled time. Of course, not all our luggage made the connecting flight so we had to hang around the Orlando airport for an extra 20 minutes for another flight from Philly with the remainder of the luggage. For those of you that didn't stick around, there was a bunch of bags from our flight.

But we made it back to my parents, after a fabulous adventure (although we could have done without the last part.)

 

[tig82174]

well.....it's about 10:40pm in Chicago....and if anyone remembers, we're not supposed to BE in Chicago tonight....we're supposed to be at WDW!!!!

Jason and I had literally the MOST AWFUL RETURN TRIP.....seriously we've never had such a bad experience travelling...it almost makes me never want to get on a plane again! First of all....the Barcelona airport is a NIGHTMARE!!!! (So all you folks who've been lurking on this thread as you prepare for Med cruises or the August Repo.....TAKE HEED.....BCN airport is really poorly organized and crowded and confusing.....make sure you allot PLENTY of time before your flights!). We were supposed to fly from BCN to Dublin then on to Chicago then on to Orlando. Our flight out of BCN was an hour late....AND the computer system at BCN is not able to print you boarding passes for every leg of your trip....only the first leg....so we landed in Dublin with no boarding passes for the next leg of our trip but less than an HOUR layover....luckily the airline recognized the issue and actually shuffled a whole group of us through the back way in the airport so we wouldn't miss our connecting flight....so we got on board the flight took our seats and were informed that the entire traffic control communication system over the northern Atlantic was out of commission and we'd have to wait to take off....so we sat in the plane....for OVER 2 hours....only to have them then announce that the problem was unresolved so we were going to take a different, and less direct, route....so rather than flying across the Atlantic we flew up over Scotland, then over Iceland and Greenland and then over and down through Canada.....which took forever....and we missed our connecting flight to Orlando....which apparently was the last flight out tonight so they booked us in a hotel and rebooked us for a 7am flight tomorrow.....only the hotel they sent us to first wouldn't accept the airline vouchers so they had to move us to a DIFFERENT hotel....only the shuttle that was supposed to come get us took over an hour to get here...and by this time our body clocks were still on Barcelona time and it was past midnight in our minds so we just broke down and took a cab to this hotel.....this GROSS hotel....and I think I'd rather sleep in the laundry room on the Magic!!! AAARGHH! What a crappy trip! OK....off to bed now to get up in a few more hours for an early morning flight to WDW to try to salvage a magical weekend!

Have fun if you're still on the boat....and safe travels and well wishes if you're home or on your way home!


Erik

 

[gismo1554]

well.....it's about 10:40pm in Chicago....and if anyone remembers, we're not supposed to BE in Chicago tonight....we're supposed to be at WDW!!!!

Jason and I had literally the MOST AWFUL RETURN TRIP.....seriously we've never had such a bad experience travelling...it almost makes me never want to get on a plane again! First of all....the Barcelona airport is a NIGHTMARE!!!! (So all you folks who've been lurking on this thread as you prepare for Med cruises or the August Repo.....TAKE HEED.....BCN airport is really poorly organized and crowded and confusing.....make sure you allot PLENTY of time before your flights!). We were supposed to fly from BCN to Dublin then on to Chicago then on to Orlando. Our flight out of BCN was an hour late....AND the computer system at BCN is not able to print you boarding passes for every leg of your trip....only the first leg....so we landed in Dublin with no boarding passes for the next leg of our trip but less than an HOUR layover....luckily the airline recognized the issue and actually shuffled a whole group of us through the back way in the airport so we wouldn't miss our connecting flight....so we got on board the flight took our seats and were informed that the entire traffic control communication system over the northern Atlantic was out of commission and we'd have to wait to take off....so we sat in the plane....for OVER 2 hours....only to have them then announce that the problem was unresolved so we were going to take a different, and less direct, route....so rather than flying across the Atlantic we flew up over Scotland, then over Iceland and Greenland and then over and down through Canada.....which took forever....and we missed our connecting flight to Orlando....which apparently was the last flight out tonight so they booked us in a hotel and rebooked us for a 7am flight tomorrow.....only the hotel they sent us to first wouldn't accept the airline vouchers so they had to move us to a DIFFERENT hotel....only the shuttle that was supposed to come get us took over an hour to get here...and by this time our body clocks were still on Barcelona time and it was past midnight in our minds so we just broke down and took a cab to this hotel.....this GROSS hotel....and I think I'd rather sleep in the laundry room on the Magic!!! AAARGHH! What a crappy trip! OK....off to bed now to get up in a few more hours for an early morning flight to WDW to try to salvage a magical weekend!

Have fun if you're still on the boat....and safe travels and well wishes if you're home or on your way home!


Erik

Oh my God! What a nightmare! Hope you made/make it to WDW safely. We're all home safe and sound (weird getting only a 2 hour flight as usually we have to get a 9 hour flight).

Anyway hope everyone else is finding their way back OK. Bye for now
Sarah

 

[BobandLee]

Sorry to hear that Eric.
We were also delayed 2 hours in BCN. And I have to agree, the airport there is not the best. Also, Disney was supposed to provide assistance to anyone who needed it. Nope. Lee and I were o.k., but there were some who needed help with there bags (and there was none) and help with information (and there was none).
Our flight home to Indiana was through JFK. JFK was also an experience. Customs was slow. The airport was hot and confusing. To top it off, we were delayed an hour in leaving. Guess we've been spoiled going in and out of IND or ORD and of course MCO.
Hopefully, the rest of your trip will be better.

 

[Nala80]

I am really sorry to hear about your terrible experience, Eric.

I agree, the Barcelona ariport is terribly disorganized. The buses pretty much dumped everyone at the terminal. The Disney rep who stepped onto the bus stood on the low step and I couldn't see him. I didn't really understand him anyway. The DCL reps in the terminal were more helpful, but the airport was a mess.

We were lucky(?) enough to get a flight direct to Atlanta, which is essentially home. A lot of cruise people were on the same flight so at least we had familiar faces. I can't imagine navigating BCN without a large group, with lots of eyes on the lookout for what I thought was very poor signage. Atlanta customs was slow too. I had been told it would take two hours, possibly longer because of the holiday. Although I didn't time it, I would guess it was just a little longer than two hours. This was the first time going through customs so I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going. Live and learn, I suppose.

Hope everyone cruising is having a great time. Wish for safe (and timely) travels for all.

 

[tazzmacd]

Erik, Sorry to hear about your problems. We flew out on Sunday at 6:55, arrived at the airport at 5:55 they did have an issue printing one boarding pass for the next leg of our flight home but no biggie. Walked right up to the flight and boarded right away, no issues at all. Frankfurt we had to issues, had plenty of time, only mistake we made was to go through customs too soon and get out of the shopping area of the airport so we had 2 hours of relaxation time before the next flight home. All in all not a bad experience at all.

Was nice finally puuting a face to so many names even though I know I missed a lot.

I will post some of the group pictures I took later on and a few of the other shots. If anybody is interested I will send you the group shots in an e-mail. Just PM me after I post them.

Cheers!!

Pat

 

[iluvdisney]

I got home last night - very late - missed my connection in Chicago to Detroit but all in all, everything was smooth til then.

It was wonderful to meet everyone and I sure hope to do this again someday!

 

[bonzie1]

WELCOME BACK GUYS!!!

I know we missed a great trip with a great bunch of friends!!!

 

[AuntyBrat]

Here is my trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18888534#post18888534

Barcelona airport is a mess. We also left an hour late, barely made our plane in Atlanta and were never so happy to get to California is our whole lives!!!

When the buses take you to the airport to drop you off, there are people lined up waiting to get on the bus and taken to the ship. I spotted a porter and got him to help with the luggage and he got us in the right line and put our luggage on the smaller carts. We never would have found the Delta line without him. And it wasn't just Delta. ALL of the airlines had long lines that moved slower than a slug with a sore foot. Security was pretty quick, but the bathrooms were gross. Oh, and the boards in Barcelona showed the original departure time, they never updated it with the delays.

 

[CACruisin']

Erik, Sorry to hear about your problems. We flew out on Sunday at 6:55, arrived at the airport at 5:55 they did have an issue printing one boarding pass for the next leg of our flight home but no biggie. Walked right up to the flight and boarded right away, no issues at all. Frankfurt we had to issues, had plenty of time, only mistake we made was to go through customs too soon and get out of the shopping area of the airport so we had 2 hours of relaxation time before the next flight home. All in all not a bad experience at all.

Was nice finally puuting a face to so many names even though I know I missed a lot.

I will post some of the group pictures I took later on and a few of the other shots. If anybody is interested I will send you the group shots in an e-mail. Just PM me after I post them.

Cheers!!

Pat

We were at the airport with you. We arrived at 5:15am Sunday morning for our Air France flight to CDG at 6:55am. We had no issues printing boarding passes all the way through to LAX. Our flight was on time and the airport was not overly crowded. BCN airport is not the greatest (absolutely no where to get anything edible to eat), but we did get through pretty quickly. CDG on the other hand, was our nightmare! Didn't like this airport 3 years ago and my opinion hasn't changed this time. I will avoid this airport like the plague in the future. I don't care if I have to pay more to fly through some place else.

Unlike AuntyBrat, we did not see any porters or skycaps and luggage carts were inside the terminal, not out on the curb. Our hotel shuttle dropped us off a LONG way from the terminal. If I were to do this again, I'd take a cab and not arrive with a large group of other travelers.

 

[CACruisin']

We made it home Sunday after more than 24 hours of travel time.

As some of you know, we made multiple trips to the Health Center. Early in the trip DD3 made a 2:30am visit when we suspected appendicitis (wasn't thankfully!) then we made more trips for an ear infection and then tonsillitis on Friday. With all of that, I'd still do the trip again in a heartbeat.

Thank you to each and everyone of you that made this trip so memorable. I won't even try to mention everyone individually. We had such a great time seeing everyone on the ship and in the ports. The kids loved all of the goodies in the fish extenders. Every thing about this trip was special. DCL did a great job, but even more, this group made this trip! Thanks again to everyone!

We have a dummy date rebooked for a future cruise, but don't know when that will be. I hope we will run into you again sometime in the future. You are all a wonderful group of people, and if you are ever going to be at Disneyland give a shout and we will meet you there.