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

[milestogo]

Hey guys, we're planning to do the hop on hop off bus and subway.

Celeste, on the repo thread there is another single female staying on the b2b. So, I'll pm her a copy of your post and get her over here.
Kelly

 

[Coalchick]

A while back, so folks were considering organizing a Florence excursion. Did anything happen with that - we have some folks out of our group of ten that may want to do Florence and might be looking to go with another group of folks. I am really struggling with what to do. For those of you that have been to Florence before - would a 5 year-old get more out of seeing Florence and a drive-by of Pisa or would time be better spent with her seeing Pisa and Cinque Terre? Decisions / Decisions. Help!!!

I have enjoyed reading about everyone's air travel plans - I guess I find our out in the morning - I know it is silly, but I can't wait.

Have a good night!

 

[Hygiene99]

Check with your local library. We just discoverd that ours allows FREE access to Rosetta Stone and two other language on-line tutors! WICKED COOL!

Prices, for the repo are Dirt cheap!!!

 

[Hygiene99]

Oh Peter? What do you think? I think the Hop on/off bus sounds like a great idea.

Read about it on another thread... had not yet mentioned it to ya but had planned to!

 

[sweetsue]

Leslie, Joanne, Angelo, Rosemarie, Joseph, Sandra

I've added you to the list. Are you Leslie?

Sue

 

[sweetsue]

Our air arrangements were released this morning by DCL. We are pleased.

Delta Air from Atlanta to Barcelona, departing 22 May and arriving 23 May at 1100 a.m.

Returning on Air France through Paris on 6 June.

I am surprised they split airlines, but am very happy with the arrangements.
The days will drag as departure nears.

No wonder I couldn't book an economy ticket on the Air France flight! Seems like DCL has grabbed the entire plane! We decided to book late (3:30) and see Montserrat before we go.

Air France is a partner airline with Delta. They are all part of the SkyTeam alliance. They even have some codeshare flights. You will be EXTREMELY pleased wtih Air France vs. Delta. Be happy - very happy - that you're flying Air France instead of Delta.

Sue

 

[figment52]

Is anyone considering doing the hop on/off bus in Rome? Torn between keeping my DCL reservation (Ultimate Rome Experience) or doing the hop on/off bus.

If I do the hop on/off bus I will most likely join you. It is all about convincing my father that I know what I am doing and we are going to be safe and not stranded in Rome.

The more we talk about it the more we are leaning this way. We don't want to waste time in lines for a glimpse of this or that.

 

[icunurse_celeste]

Hey guys, we're planning to do the hop on hop off bus and subway.

Celeste, on the repo thread there is another single female staying on the b2b. So, I'll pm her a copy of your post and get her over here.
Kelly

Thanks Kelly,
I appreciate it. I was getting bummed that I hadn't had any response. I would really like to go for a walk and leisurely look around the area. The hydrofoils are pretty fast between areas and fairly cheap- I think less than 15Euros. I would even be happy with just running around Sorrento and then having a nice lunch.

I would not be comfortable going into Naples, as it is a higher crime area. In all of Italy, IT IS important to be aware of pick pockets.



Nobody needs to be worried about being stuck in Rome- there are lots and los of trains between the two areas and it is about an hour trip. You can buy your tickets in advance and even reserve your seat- or you can just get on and pay the conductor.



Hmmmm, Florence and a 5 year old.....
I haven't been to most of Rome, but not Florence before, but I have had a 5 year old. Is said 5 year old a boy or girl? Does said 5 year old have some form of electronic entertainment during transportation times that will keep he/she busy? I know my son probably could care less about seeing Florence, which is part of the reason he is staying home- but he probably would think it is neat to see the leaning tower of Pisa. As he has seen this on TV- he would think it was cool. I also think a child would think it would be fun to climb it an see how it leans. Just my 2 cents....

(My son is now 8)

 

[misseulalie]

Hello everyone!

Long time no post!!!

I have been busy with getting everything ready for the first cruise, plus I'm working a few days a week as a substitute teacher to save up a little $$ for spending money.


Did everyone who wanted bracelets get them?
If not, please PM me and I'll get them right out...

Thanks to those who sent in $$ for the bracelets. It was not necessary but appreciated.

I think I have about 20-30 pages to catch up on, Hopefully by tomorrow I will finish, but by then there will be another 20 pages!

Jennifer

 

[garylpn]

could not get the extra night in barcelona, but did get a nonstop, so sort of a score
delta flight 94 jfk to barcelona nonstop, arrives 0735 5/23

so we can still salvage some of the day to sightsee

return bcn to paris, air france depart 6/6 1255, then air france to jfk, arriving 1810

add us to the train to rome, gary and karen, i can't see spending that much $ for something i can do myself that easily
camera and lenses packed, i guess i'll need some clothes?
gary
gary

 

[kpros]

Here's the latest lanyard list.

Lanyards brought to you by:
Coalchick - Karen, Doug, Jordan
first timers - Alex, Carolyn
Hygiene99 – Peter, Jenn
icunurse_celeste – Celeste, Jennie
jeanneg – Jeanne, John
kpros/spros – Ken, Shari
littleowensmommy - Kathy, Ted, Owen, Amy
meb51 – Marie, Steve, Beverly, Dora, Katie, Will
NejTheLion – Jen, Debbi, Barry
Winotracy/AskAGeek – Tracy, Bill
wrabitdad – Bob, Dale, Gordy

Lanyards completed:
baileysgm - Carolyn, Keith, Elisabeth, Bailey
charwac1 – Charlene, Andy
cocoswife - Camille, Orval
CONNIEOSCI - Connie, Frank
CubCatsK&D – Kim, Deb
dd3rover - Dan, Sheryl, Nancy, Kaitlin, Brian, Michael
DebWills – Deb, Linda
disneyfamilyforever – Mike, Cathy, Allison, Megan, Kelly
Disneyfn420 - Leslie, Joanne, Angelo, Rosemarie, Joseph, Sandra
DisneySpirit – Tom, Lynn, Shane, Laurie
Elliedaisy - Elinor, Beverly, Betty
Exploring "4" Fun - Andrea, Bill, Brittani, Devon
faithfullyeeyore - Apryl
figment52 – Sandy, Sharon
garylpn – Gary, Karen
holidayfanatic - Gill, Steve, Daniel, Ellie
Jeisur – Laurie, David, Breighton, JoAnne, Howard
Jeni1781 - Jen, Greg
Kissimmee - Rick, Heloisa, Hannah, Kevin, Aliisa, Helen
konslerg - Gloria, Gary
Ksmihein - Vivian, Troy, Bryon, Brigette, Ron, Gloria, Vickie, Veronica, Ron, Samantha
Ksmihein (cont.) - Cassidie, Dakota, Marji, Terry
LegalBriefs - Ron, Monica
lkr - Larry, Mary
LookOutBelow - Jim, Stacie
Ltl Mermaid - Melanie, Allison
MaryonB - Jim, Maryon
milestogo – Kelly, Jonathan, Zoe
misseulalie - Jennifer, Rachid, Sophia, Lena, Hajja, Fatma
njmickeyfan - Carol
padalyn - Cayla, Stacey, Barbara(BFL), Bev
pepperpike - Joe, Shirley, Nancy
plantman - Peter, Joe, Delores
poconoboatniks – Ellen, Bob, Kate, Brett, Bob, Helen, Linda, Colleen(ceeyore)
renegade7 – Johanna, Gary
rmkd - Kim, Rod, Kristen, Cameron, Kim, Tony
ronjoh - Ron, Maureen
ronunc – Ron, Becky
rufustee - Alex, Karen, Mackenzie
Schiffy - Mark, Carol
Scooby3x1y - Lori, Bruce, Pat, Marie, Daryl, Ann, Daryl, Dalton, Mason, Courtney, Garrett
sunshine state kim – Kim, Todd, Savannah, Carter
suprpump - Ed, Judy
susans - Susan, Bob
sweetsue – Sue, Barbara, Christina
TikiGirl - Leslie, Ed
TreasureIsland - Sharon, Keith, Chris, Kyle, Sandy
Yensidfan - Faith, Pete, Courtney, Peter
(no dis name) - Shirley, Sandy, Tracy, Sally
(no dis name) - Michael, Keith, George, Kathy

Who knows?
Smetheringham - ?

As always, please check your listing to make sure it's correct.

Ken

 

[icunurse_celeste]

I'm flipping back to days & I find myself awake in the middle of the night!


Welcome to another day closer to cruising!

 

[winotracy]

DISboarders Invade Rome!!​

Come join us on a train ride to Rome !! Details to follow once we have a group. For those worried about missing the boat, my plan is that we be back to the ship before sunset. The way if we have any problems, we have some time to work it out.

Possible participants:

Winotracy
Milestogo
Hygiene99
Jeanneg
kpros/spros
sunshine state kim
yensidfan
rufustee
rohjoh
rmkd
garylpn


Come one! Come all!

 

[holidayfanatic]

Is anyone considering doing the hop on/off bus in Rome? Torn between keeping my DCL reservation (Ultimate Rome Experience) or doing the hop on/off bus.

If I do the hop on/off bus I will most likely join you. It is all about convincing my father that I know what I am doing and we are going to be safe and not stranded in Rome.

The hop on hop off bus is probably the best way to see a lot in one day. There are a number of companies that do this and one we used back in December was different to the company you have linked to above. We decided to go with the company we saw most buses for, as you were then guaranteed to get buses turning up more regularly. It worked out well for us in the end. We never had to wait too long for a bus. I'll do some research and let you know which company we used. You also do not need to book these tours in advance, just pay when you get on the bus.

For those taking the train in to Rome, one of the stops on the way in to the city centre is the Vatican. We would recommend jumping off here, doing all you need in terms of sightseeing and then jump on a hop on/off bus from this point. The beauty of this, is that lots of people pile off here to explore the vatican and therefore you should be able to get on and find decent seats. Once you have finished with the tour and you want to make your way back to the port, the bus even stops at Termini.

Our son toured around most of Italy on his own last year (aged 20 at the time) so there is no need for anyone to feel intimidated by the prospect of being on their own - if they want to. He is coming with us on this trip and we hope to use him as a guide for a number of the cities we will be visiting. As you can see from this site there are lots of opportunity to hook up with other people, if you don't want to be on your own.

If you do Rome on your own (I include being with others) Vs the DCL excursion, you will save mega bucks, which can then be put to use elsewhere.

Finally, I am now allowed to post URLs. We found these very helpful reports on the ports that we are visiting while doing some research. They are well worth a read and puts everything into perspective.

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Rome.htm
http://www.europeportreviews.com/Naples.htm
http://www.europeportreviews.com/MarsailleFrance.htm
http://www.europeportreviews.com/Villefranche.htm
http://www.europeportreviews.com/BarcelonaSpain.htm

When you go into these links, there are often other very useful links that explain in great detail how to get to certain places, including train stations etc.

Hope this helps!

Gill

 

[rmkd]

Thanks Kelly,
I appreciate it. I was getting bummed that I hadn't had any response. I would really like to go for a walk and leisurely look around the area. The hydrofoils are pretty fast between areas and fairly cheap- I think less than 15Euros. I would even be happy with just running around Sorrento and then having a nice lunch.

I would not be comfortable going into Naples, as it is a higher crime area. In all of Italy, IT IS important to be aware of pick pockets.



Nobody needs to be worried about being stuck in Rome- there are lots and los of trains between the two areas and it is about an hour trip. You can buy your tickets in advance and even reserve your seat- or you can just get on and pay the conductor.



Hmmmm, Florence and a 5 year old.....
I haven't been to most of Rome, but not Florence before, but I have had a 5 year old. Is said 5 year old a boy or girl? Does said 5 year old have some form of electronic entertainment during transportation times that will keep he/she busy? I know my son probably could care less about seeing Florence, which is part of the reason he is staying home- but he probably would think it is neat to see the leaning tower of Pisa. As he has seen this on TV- he would think it was cool. I also think a child would think it would be fun to climb it an see how it leans. Just my 2 cents....

(My son is now 8)

Hi - I have been doing A LOT of research considering our 2 daughters will be with us (ages 4 and 6). I wanted to let everyone know that children under 8 CANNOT climb the tower. Bummer!

 

[cocoswife]

Good Morning!!

I just wanted to share that we are actually considering doing the repo!!! We are looking at a 27 day vacation, oh my God!!! The longest we have been on vacation is 17 days and no, it wasn't enough. At this point, we are asking ourselves if we can be away for so long, will we get homesick? Will I have a job when we get back? Anyone know where I can get information about the excursions on the repo? I am waay behind now.

 

[milestogo]

Hi all, has anyone purchased their tickets for the double decker hop on hop off bus. I just realized that you need to purchase this in advance. I love this idea, but am wondering if it is a reputable website or possibly a fake? This is exactly what we were looking for and it looks perfect for us. Thanks, Kelly

 

[rmkd]

Here is the link to the 110 HOHO bus in Rome. This bus has reviewed on several sites. No need to purchase tickets ahead of time. You can purchase at the train station or many other locations.

http://www.trambusopen.com/

 

[milestogo]

Coco's wife: here is the thread for the repo cruise. there are about 11 families doing it. Also, go on Disneycruise.com to the Eastbound 14 night and the excursions are listed.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1064911&page=373


Children under 8 can't climb the Pisa tower! My daughter will be so bummed!!!!!!

Thanks for the info about the hop on hop off buses. That is the way to go for us. Holidayfanatic: do let us know which one you took.

 

[holidayfanatic]

Here is the link to the 110 HOHO bus in Rome. This bus has reviewed on several sites. No need to purchase tickets ahead of time. You can purchase at the train station or many other locations.

http://www.trambusopen.com/

This is the HOHO bus we used last year. As RMKD says, you can purchase these on the bus on the day. These buses are numerous and you never have to wait long to get on one.

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, you can even jump on this at the Vatican.