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

[tig82174]

Hi everyone, Jason here! I guess I have to come of hiding now that you know I am here.

Nice to hear that everyone is as crazy about Disney and DCL as we are.

Hi Jason! Welcome!!!




p.s. What are you doing playing online? Aren't there dishes to be done?

 

[Scott H]

Jason, welcome to DIS, glad to see ya here, you will enoy.

 

[milestogo]

Jason, we can see you there and the dishes!

 

[seaulater]

Yeah it really looks like our best flight is going to be in Iberia through Orbitz.com.....so I have to research the luggage limitations....I was looking at the Iberia website and it looks like it said that the limit was 66lb....but it kinda looked like it was 66lb TOTAL!!....which is NUTS!! If that's the case then i pity whoever has to sit with us at dinner cuz we'll be that funky couple wearing the same thing every night......like Tom Cruise in the film Castaway!

We were able to buy a mailing tube onboard last year when we won our ducky sketches.

we'll have to do some research. I"m curious....how were you able to book a flight aboard delta from spain? do they fly internationally? do you ahve to book directly with them for that? Because none of the lowfare websites like travelocity or orbitz are showing flights with delta as an option.

Delta does fly internationally (in case someone hasn't answered this), however, we are actually booked first class with our FF miles with their partner airline Air France.

Linda

 

[bonzie1]

Happy Saturday to all!

I'm just about caught up with everyone's posts! WELCOME Jason!

On food... We visited the Noodle Station in June, and found it to be very disappointing. Our nephew, who normally loves this type of food threw his away. Hopefully that was just a fluke, and you who go will be more pleased.

On tours... We LOVED the "On the Wild Side" tour at AK and would recommend that to everyone.

On flights... we better get busy and book our airfare

 

[tig82174]

On flights... we better get busy and book our airfare

Yeah I hear ya! We gotta get our flight booked, too .....that's proving to be a challenge logistically, though.

Our challenge at this point is that we've come to realize that it's going to be next to impossible to get home to Rochester on the 26th cheaply. We can book a flight that takes us BCN straight through to Rochester but it's significantly more expensive than if we booked ourselves into JFK and then got a cheaper flight from JFK up to Rochester. (Rochester is a NOTORIOUSLY expensive airport to fly into and out of .....it's one of the downsides of living here. Buffalo is literally an hour away from us and airfares in and out of Buffalo are usually anywhere from 15%-20% or more cheaper!.....we would fly out of Buffalo, as we sometimes do, but more than 3 full weeks is a long time to leave our car in the barn at hte airport....and we're really afraid that with jetlag and everything from the long trip back from BCN we'll be in no shape to drive 60-90 minutes late at night.) Anyhow that leaves us with needing to figure out how to fly into JFK and then up to Rochester but it's clear that NO flight is going to get us into JFK with enough time to get our bags, transfer over to another airline (probably in another terminal), check in, and make the last flight up into Rochester......which means we have to look into staying overnight in NYC (which isn't a cheap option EVER really ). So we have to sit down and work out some spreadsheets (Jason loves that kind of silliness ! ) My goal is to ahve airfare booked by the end of August.

Now we're off to Central NY to visit Jason's family.....tmw is his grandparents' 50TH anniversary!! And there's a big party for them everyone under the sun is invited to!

 

[ssnyder]

Hi everyone, Jason here! I guess I have to come out of hiding now that you know I am here.

Nice to hear that everyone is as crazy about Disney and DCL as we are.

Welcome Jason. DH had done the same thing for awhile when we were on our last cruise. He hadn't told me he was lurking until one day I came home from work and his first comment was "you better check the boards because you have caused quite a stir". (I had said something that was misunderstood). My mouth sort of fell open when I realized what he had been doing. Anyway, now I'm glad to know that he is watching us (and posting) because I don't have to update him on the discussions.

 

[tig82174]

I checked with my TA regarding an 11:10am departure from BCN and he verified with DCL that it would be OK. We're flying Continental to San Diego on 6 June. I'm booking a r/t and throwing away the return. It'll cost us $3017.96 for 2 adults and 2 children at 75% of the adult fare. We'll fly Southwest from Norfolk to Orlando on 12 May. I'm wondering if we're getting a good price on the Continental flight...should we book now or wait a while. I have to ticket our reservation by midnight on the 22nd.

Hey littleowensmommy......I wondered are you planning on using the Disney Transfers to get from the boat to the Barcelona airport? Or were you going to get there independantly using a cab or car service, etc.? We have found a potential flight that can get us home relatively cheaply and quickly that is scheduled to depart at 11:30am. Our TA through mouseearsvacations.com originally told us not to schedule a flight before noon...but I'm wondering if we could fudge that by 30 minutes or if it's cutting it too close (the difference between the flight at 11:30 and the next flight for us which is like 12:30 is literally about $700 per person!). So we wondered maybe if we cancel our disney transfer and take a cab we can shave a little time off our trip from boat to plane (since i assume that the bus is a little slower so you can wiat for it load up, etc. etc.)

Thoughts anyone???

 

[littleowensmommy]

We're planning to use Disney transfers both from MCO to the ship and from the ship to BCN. We'll have alot of luggage and the two kids in tow so I'm hoping Disney will make it easier for us. I hope that they don't just stick us in a taxi since they won't have their buses in Barcelona. Our TA is All Seas and I trust them when they gave me the greenlight for the 11:10am flight. Based on that I wouldn't worry about an 11:30am departure. I didn't use Disney transfers in LA last summer. Does anyone know what Disney used then?

I just got back from WDW yesterday. I went to a reunion of our 30 July 2005 DIS cruisers. We had a great time. We all stayed at the BWV. I used the meal plan for the first time and loved it.

It's going to be 103 here today...and expected to get worse over the next 3 days. We leave for Coronado a week from Saturday. I can't wait to get out of this heat.

 

[bonzie1]

I just got back from WDW yesterday. I went to a reunion of our 30 July 2005 DIS cruisers. We had a great time. We all stayed at the BWV. I used the meal plan for the first time and loved it.

It's going to be 103 here today...and expected to get worse over the next 3 days. We leave for Coronado a week from Saturday. I can't wait to get out of this heat.

So glad you enjoyed your reunion! Isn't it great to reunite with people you never would have known if it weren't for these boards!

Glad you liked the meal plan. We tried it last month, and weren't too thrilled, but, I should add, we couldn't get reservations in any of the restaurants we wanted to use, so that could have been the difference. We were also given a different menu than the regular one to order from, and missed ordering some of our favorites.

Stay cool. It's supposed to break the 100 mark here in NJ today.

10 MONTHS GUYS!!!

 

[ssnyder]

The travel section in our Sunday paper had a story about the major airlines reducing their luggage weight limit. Instead of 70 pounds each for two checked bags, it is now 50 pounds each. They mentioned 3 airlines (United was one) and said the others would likely follow suit. Just thought I would pass that along.

 

[tig82174]

The travel section in our Sunday paper had a story about the major airlines reducing their luggage weight limit. Instead of 70 pounds each for two checked bags, it is now 50 pounds each. They mentioned 3 airlines (United was one) and said the others would likely follow suit. Just thought I would pass that along.

Lots of airlines are already at 50lb. per bag....that is what Iberia told me their limit was (approximately since they use KG, not LB), too. Jason and I have resolved ourselves to the fact that we will likely be packing LESS than we need and plan on doing some laundry....maybe some laundry before we board the ship and maybe some hwile we're aboard.....either that or just save up some money so we can afford to pay the penalty of overwieght bags!!

Really, though, I have to stress my strong objection.....I already freak out about how overweight my BODY is going to be after a DCL trip ( )....now I have to worry about my suitcases.....sooooOOOOOOOO not fair!!!!


On a related and yet unrelated note.....we had a thought about our return trip and started exploring it....and it actually appears we might be better off to change our trip a bit. We were plannign on flying one way to Orlando, staying at the world for a week before the cruise, then flying one way back to NYC or Rochester from Barcelona...but managing both teh cost and the logistics of that was becoming a nightmare....so we had an idea and it actually looks like it will be cheaper for us to book ROUNDTRIP flights from Rochester to Orlando and then fly back from BArcelona one way to ORLANDO...use up the rest of our year's allotments of points to stay at "home" (Saratoga Springs) for a night or two before coming home. So call it luck....call it disney magic...call it what you like...but looks like we'll get to visit the World both before AND after the cruise (assuming I can get us into a DVC resort after the cruise)......I know this trip is gonna rock, but I'll sure be glad when all these details are taken care of and we can just focus on the anticipation of the trip!!

 

[PrettyInTink]

I am sad to say we have to drop out of this cruise. Our son has been chosen as a Student Ambassador for his school to go to Portugal, France, and Morocco next summer and it looks like my dh will accompany him. There is a small chance we will be able to book at a later date but with this 21 day trip for dh and ds we just can't commit to anything right now. I'm crying over this one, but ds has been given a great learning opportunity in this. It will also look great on his college app.
Good Luck all, and happy sailing!!!!
If we win the lottery we will book again!

 

[bonzie1]

I am sad to say we have to drop out of this cruise. Our son has been chosen as a Student Ambassador for his school to go to Portugal, France, and Morocco next summer and it looks like my dh will accompany him. There is a small chance we will be able to book at a later date but with this 21 day trip for dh and ds we just can't commit to anything right now. I'm crying over this one, but ds has been given a great learning opportunity in this. It will also look great on his college app.
Good Luck all, and happy sailing!!!!
If we win the lottery we will book again!

Wow, you have a mixed blessing. It's a WONDEFUL opportunity for your ds!!! But, now you had a hard decision about this cruise

Sending Pixie Dust your way! You'll be missed!

Keeping fingers crossed for that Lottery!

 

[tig82174]

I am sad to say we have to drop out of this cruise. Our son has been chosen as a Student Ambassador for his school to go to Portugal, France, and Morocco next summer and it looks like my dh will accompany him. There is a small chance we will be able to book at a later date but with this 21 day trip for dh and ds we just can't commit to anything right now. I'm crying over this one, but ds has been given a great learning opportunity in this. It will also look great on his college app.
Good Luck all, and happy sailing!!!!
If we win the lottery we will book again!

awww that's too bad......hope your DS has a fantastic time.

 

[Scott H]

Cyndi, Sorry to hear this news, well you guys always have the 11 day, drive safe.

 

[PrettyInTink]

Thanks all! Send some pixie dust our way for that lottery! DS is so excited that it makes it all worth it. I just wish he could be a student ambassador via DCL Take care everyone!

 

[tig82174]

alright our flight is booked!! We were able to confirm that the Disney transfer coudl get us to the airport in time for an 11:40am flight so we're booked and ready to go! We were able to get flights through Orbitz with Aer Lingus (Irish, I believe) that routes through Dublin then connects to American Airlines in Chicago and then down to Orlando. One way trip for the two of us was just over $1300....so that seems pretty reasonable compared to some of the prices we've been seeing on other carriers etc. (although I'll admit that hte tickets were $12 more expensive today than they were 2 days ago!! darn it!). So we're gonna fly back to Orlando, stay and relax at Saratoga til Monday afternoon (memorial day), then fly back up to Rochester.

 

[milestogo]

Hi all,
Just got my computer back from the repair guy... spontaneous shut downs due to a build up of dust and dirt (which was undoubtedly code for cat hair!)

Man a reunion... that sounds like so much fun. I wish I would have know about the Disboards for last year’s inaugural west coast trip.

I think you guys on the east coast are getting our heat wave from the past month. We had temps well over our norm for more than a month. We’re hearing about $1000 electric bills here for the air conditioning. UGH! We hit Sea World with CACruisin (down where the good weather is) and almost melted it was so hot – Susie, you were probably cooler at work! We didn’t want to leave the polar bear exhibit. Littleowensmommy, you can meet us there next year!! Going to DL this Sunday and its only supposed to be in the high 70’s for a change. Should be nice.

I got my reservations done for WDW next year – we decided to stay at the All Star Movie. It’s been a long time since we stayed at the budget resorts, but we don’t want to spend the money on the fun ones and don’t have any points left. We thought that would be fun for DD who will be 4 – has anyone stayed there or know anyone who has stayed there. I haven’t got our air yet either, I’m still watching the rates and options. I think we have finally decided to fly from BCN to Dulles and stop in to see my mom for a couple of days before heading back to Orange County. So, it sounds like Delta, Air France, Iberia are the choices that everyone is happy with – did I miss any airlines?

Jason & Erik, did you see the new Pooh show on the Disney channel introducing the new character, Darby?

 

[littleowensmommy]

I ticketed our flight on Monday. We're flying Continental on 6 June from BCN to SAN. It ended up costing us $3022.48 for the four of us. I just checked the fare this morning and it's up over $600.00! I checked again with my TA before I ticketed and he reconfirmed with DCL that any flight departing after 10:30am is fine.

We've got 1 more day of temps over 100 degrees to endure. Tomorrow will be much cooler...97 degrees.

We leave for Coronado on the 12th but I hear it's been very warm there as well. We may go to Sea World while we're out there as we have season passes.

We're getting ready to put our house here on the market. I'm not looking forward to having to keep it show ready with two messy kids underfoot. We'd like to stay in this house as long as possible (at least through Christmas) but the real estate market slowdown is making us nervous on this end. We're happy to see the slowdown in California though.

A friend of mine stayed at an All Star resort in April (I don't remember which one) and she hated it. She's a DVC member and loves Disney and she's not hard to please. I'm sure what specifically she had problems with but I'll ask her and let you know.