May 26, 2007 (5/26/07) "First Magical Med Cruise!!" (The M&M's!)

[kpros]

Hi Ltl Mermaid - Glad you are still around. I sent you a PM about the name badges and lanyards. I'm trying get names for the name badges. Please check the PM or contact me at prosserk@adelphia.net

Thanks
Ken

 

[kpros]

Hi everyone - since we just started a new page, I guess I'll post the name badge list again. Remember - what you see is what you get on the name badges, so if something is wrong, please PM me.

baileysgm - Carolyn, Keith, Elisabeth, Bailey (confirmed)
charwac1 – Charlene, Andy (confirmed)
Coalchick - Karen, Doug, Jordan (confirmed)
CubCatsK&D – Kim, Deb (confirmed)
dd3rover - Sheryl, Dan, Nancy, Kaitlin, Brian, Michael (confirmed)
DebWills – Deb, Linda (confirmed)
disneyfamilyforever – Mike, Cathy, Allsion, Megan, Kelly
Disneynut1955 – David, Monica (confirmed)
DisneySpirit – Tom, Lynn, Shane, Laurie (confirmed)
figment52 – Sandy, Sharon (confirmed)
first timers - Alex, Carolyn (confirmed)
garylpn – Gary, Karen
Hygiene99 – Peter, Jenn (confirmed)
icunurse_celeste – Celeste, Jennie (confirmed)
jeanneg – Jeanne, John (confirmed)
Jeisur – Laurie, David, Breighton , JoAnne, Howard (confirmed)
konslerg - Gloria, Gary (confirmed)
kpros/spros – Ken, Shari (confirmed)
LegalBriefs - Ron, Monica (confirmed)
littleowensmommy - Kathy, Ted, Owen, Amy (confirmed)
Ltl Mermaid - ?
meb51 – Marie, Steve, Beverly, Dora, Katie, Will (confirmed)
milestogo – Kelly, Jonathan, Zoe (confirmed)
NejTheLion – Jen, Debbi, Barry (confirmed)
poconoboatniks – Ellen, Bob, Kate, Brett, Bob, Helen, Linda, Colleen (confirmed but not convinced)
renegade7 – Johanna, Gary
ronunc – Ron, Becky (confirmed)
Schiffy - Mark, Carol (confirmed)
Smetheringham - ?
sunshine state kim – Kim, Todd, Savannah, Carter (confirmed)
sweetsue – Sue, Barbara, Christina (confirmed)
TikiGirl - Leslie, Ed (confirmed)
UncaTigger – Mark, Gerry (confirmed)
Winotracy/AskAGeek – Tracy, Bill (confirmed)
wrabitdad – Bob, Dale (confirmed)

Any lurkers out there?
Ken

 

[winotracy]

Ken, I'm fairly certain SweetSue is still coming. She hasn't told me that's she's not.

Tracy

 

[kpros]

Ken, I'm fairly certain SweetSue is still coming. She hasn't told me that's she's not.

Tracy

Ok, Thanks Tracy

I would really like to hear from:

disneyfamilyforever
garylpn
Ltl Mermaid
renegade7
Smetheringham

If your not interested in the name badges and lanyards, please let me know and I will take your name off the list.

Thanks
Ken

 

[winotracy]

Ok, Thanks Tracy

I would really like to hear from:

disneyfamilyforever
garylpn
Ltl Mermaid
renegade7
Smetheringham

If your not interested in the name badges and lanyards, please let me know and I will take your name off the list.

Thanks
Ken

Sorry Ken, I can't resist. You did hear from Ltl Mermaid -- see top of page

 

[kpros]

Sorry Ken, I can't resist. You did hear from Ltl Mermaid -- see top of page

nope

 

[milestogo]

Welcome back Little Mermaid and congratulations on your engagement!!!!

 

[milestogo]

Hi All,
Since this is our first time going to Castaway Cay, I'm looking for recommendations????? We have a 4 year old, so we're wondering what the differences in areas are, things we must not miss, your personal favorite, etc.????

Thanks, Kelly

 

[Hygiene99]

Hi All,
Since this is our first time going to Castaway Cay, I'm looking for recommendations????? We have a 4 year old, so we're wondering what the differences in areas are, things we must not miss, your personal favorite, etc.????

Thanks, Kelly

To be honest not much, except one is adults only!
stick with the family area near Cookies BBQ and you will have a wonderful beach day!
Good thing I know you are also on the repo!! LOL

Peter

 

[icunurse_celeste]

We are interested in this tour as well (3 of us). Perhaps some 3-9 other people that may be going with us. They are signed up for the cruise, but not truly committed to it yet. Sounds like this excursion does what we really want to do. Thanks

Happy Sunday Morning all!

Sorry I have not gotten back to everyone sooner. The tour company will pick us up from our port for .....get ready for it.....An extra fee.


What is offered is an average of one tour guide per 8 people- and 8 people per vehicle. If you can get 8 people per vehicle- the price is roughly $225 per person Yes, I know that is expensive- consider there are 8 of you to one person VS 68 of you. If there are less than 8 per vehicle, the price will be higher. I have been to Italy before, but have not seen the leaning tower or the David. (I have seen lots of David replicas, but not the real thing.)


I currently have one car that has 6 committed people and we would love to find 2 more for our vehicle. Please PM me if you are interested I am not making money off of this tour- just trying to find people, like me who want to see the same thing.


From what I understand transition time will be less due to our smaller numbers and the fact that cars are faster than busses. You have your driver/tour operator for 8 to 9 hours. It appears that you should have time in Florence after the David to do lunch and some other stuff. I'm sure you could even tell your driver to hang around for a while and then drive you back- I'm sure they understand that the more they cater to you- the higher their tip will be. I am sure that as we got more information we could narrow down times and make reservations for the some other the other things in Flroence- like the Uffizi and prebook tickets for ourselves.


Those who PM'd me- this is the same info I would have sent you.

I am more than willing to help other people set up their trip/vechiles by matching people together.

My goals for this stop are: the leaning tower of Pisa, seeing the real David, and getting some gelato.


What are my goals for other ports: I am looking at scuba diving in Olbia as the Med is the only place where this really cool red coral grows. I have also considered divning in Sorrento- but as there are more relavent historical things in Naples- I thought deferring the dive stop to Olbia sounded good. There are lots of wrecks around Olbia as well. I am currently contacting three well known dive companies in Sardenia to see if they can offer a two tank dive and maybe someone to do a "tour" of the area. IF this sounds like something you might be interested in- Please let me know. There are also some opportunties for wonderful macro shots in these areas of nudibranchs, coral, and possibly sea horses. For regular lens- there are lots of fish, supposedly more so than in other areas of the Med. and wrecks. One thing that does interest me in Sorrento (Naples) is some under water Mary statue, I don't know why this interests me-but it does. YOU must be open water certifed for this trip- I am not finding companies who are willing to do trips with non-certified divers....and as your are a stanger in a strange land, I recommend it too. I am advanced open water and currently working on my rescue diver cert.- As I am a nurse, I do know CPR (even ACLS for those of you who knows what that is)- so some people like knowing they have a dive buddy who knows how to restart your heart. (Nurse humor)


Anyways, I've gotta get back to my books- I have an exam on Monday. (For those of you who don't know me- I am in grad school)

 

[icunurse_celeste]

Forgot to mention that most companies offer a snorkeking option as well

 

[NejTheLion]

Our cruise website has been updated with the guest information for those who have registered so far. The address is http://mysite.verizon.net/nejthelion/

The shore excursion info from the website has all been condensed onto a single page. I was getting pretty tired of clicking back and forth on the DCL site.

Also, I called DCL to ask about the dates for the Barcelona excursions. It will be definitively clear once booking opens. Depending on your particular situation, the excursions that are available to you will appear when you go online to make reservations. If you are staying pre-cruise through Disney, you will have the option of taking ANY of the cruise excursions that say May 25 or One Day Prior to Embarkation (also Two Days Prior to Embarkation). If you are staying with Disney Post-Cruise, you will also have the option of booking Embarkation Day excursions on June 6. Does that make sense to everyone? The website wasn't exactly clear, particularly for our cruise where May 25 is the same as One Day Prior.

This guest information we're collecting on the website is primarily used to help with the passing around of gifts. For the past couple cruises we've been on, many families have opted to give small $1 or less gifts to their fellow DIS passengers. For example, a larger group of people is already getting together to cover the lanyards that will be given out to everyone. This is in NO WAY something you should feel obligated to do. But I have to tell you that it's a heck of a lot of fun playing Santa

The main/late seating info can help people coordinate who wish to link dining. And the ages are helpful if you're interested in finding other guests in your age group (particularly good for kids).

I'll be updating this week with more links to additional shore excursion options in the various ports. Again, if you have anything to add on that subject or good information you've found about hotels in Barcelona or airlines, please e-mail me at jenstamey@alumni.virginia.edu.

Cheers!
Jen

 

[kpros]

Great job on the website Jen!!!! The excursion list is great.

Ken

 

[jeanneg]

Thanks so much for creating the website, Jen! It makes it so much easier to search through the excursions. I still don't have a clue what we're doing. We've already been to Rome so we plan on skipping the DCL excursions and opt for something locally near port. Anyone have any suggestions on that one? Also, I can't remember if it was mentioned here or on the "All sailings" thread, but I would also like to visit that fortress in Marseilles (Chateau d'If, I think it's called). They show the photo on their website but make no mention of any of the tours going there. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks!

 

[Hygiene99]

Thank you, Jen.
Awesome

 

[littleowensmommy]

Jen,

Great job with the website!!!

I have a Barcelona shore excursion dilemma. I want to do too much. We're also on the repo so we arrive at 7:00am on the 25th so we get 2 full days in the city. We have 2 kids (DS8 and DD5).

What I'd like to do:

Discover Barcelona and the Spanish Village (8:00am 25 May)
Aquarium and Park Guell (1:45pm 25 May)
Chocolate Museum (1:30pm 26 May)

Science Museum and Maze (12:30pm 25 May)

I can fit in the first three but since the Science Museum is only offered on 25 May at 12:30pm it doesn't work.


Or I could do:

Science Museum and Maze (12:30pm 25 May)
Discover Barcelona and the Spanish Village (8:45am 26 May)
Gothic Quarter City Walk (4:00pm 26 May)

Can anyone tell me how far Park Guell is from the ship and if it is possible to see it on our own on the morning of 25 May?

Bottom line Chocolate Museum and Aquarium/Park Guell vs. Science Museum and Maze. Opinions?

Thanks,

Kathy

 

[Kissimmee]

Hi. My family is booked on the June 6th 10 day Med cruise. A few of us live near WDW and are planning a pre cruise Get-Together and BBQ in the Orlando area. Possibly at Fort Wilderness or my small farm and maybe combined with a group day a WDW.

I thought we might open the doors and invite Med Cruisers for all the other Med dates except those Repositioning Cruiser types .... OK, I guess you guys can come too, but only if you promise to do the cooking.

I'm thinking April but no date has been set so suggestions are welcome.

PS: I was only teasing the Repositioning Cruisers.. They still have to cook though. wink wink

Link to thread WDW BBQ for Mediterranean Cruisers

 

[poconoboatniks]

Hey Jen, GREAT Website! I love the PDF format.

I went through the excursions and come up with a wish list. OMG No $899 excursions for us. For all you experienced European cruisers, are there any ports which we can visit on our own with doing any excursions?

Pocono

 

[Hygiene99]

Hi. My family is booked on the June 6th 10 day Med cruise. A few of us live near WDW and are planning a pre cruise Get-Together and BBQ in the Orlando area. Possibly at Fort Wilderness or my small farm and maybe combined with a group day a WDW.

I thought we might open the doors and invite Med Cruisers for all the other Med dates except those Repositioning Cruiser types .... OK, I guess you guys can come too, but only if you promise to do the cooking.

I'm thinking April but no date has been set so suggestions are welcome.

PS: I was only teasing the Repositioning Cruisers.. They still have to cook though. wink wink

Link to thread WDW BBQ for Mediterranean Cruisers

Are you sure you know what you are doing!
thanks for the invite will have to check it out

 

[Kissimmee]

Are you sure you know what you are doing!

I'm only a little crazy.... Twitch twitch