May Med Magic - May 15 2010 - Meet thread

[Jeff Spencer]

For those staying there pre-cruise, I came across the hotel's first review on tripadvisors.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d1532202-Reviews-Novotel_Barcelona_City-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Looks promising.

rashdecision: k8e added to list. We're arriving on 5/14, staying at the Novotel Barcelona City, like several others, and don't have anything in particular planned for that day. I suspect we'll be tired like we were in 2007 and will take it easy. We'll be staying a day after the cruise and will probably do the day trip up to Montserrat.

sayhello: It seems like Disney might be winging it a bit. Perhaps they weren't sure how the ABD add-on would be received and were a bit tentative on the goodies in case they had to cancel it.

On the website, i also added a link to the EBTA thread at the top of the links page as there are folks posting from the Magic to the thread.

I'm in Houston for a couple of days on business. I should be getting ready for my meeting tomorrow morning but the first thing I wanted to do was catch up on the cruise thread.

 

[abird]

I'm flying through Atlanta on the 13th. Flight 114 at 5:50 pm.

Jill in CO

We are flying through Atlanta on the 12th. Flight 108 at 7:00 pm to Barcelona via Madrid. I have a question for anyone out there....we don't fly much at all and have never flown internationally....our Delta flight (4962) arrives in Atlanta at 6:07 pm and we leave at 7:00 pm on Flight 108. Is that going to give us enough time to get through all our checkouts since it's an overseas flight?? Also, in Madrid we change planes also (from Delta to Spanair) with only 70 minutes of time. And another question, do we have to abide by Spanair's luggage rules (they have only a 44 lb limit on weight whereas Delta's is 50 lbs. Thanks for any advice or info. Anne

 

[tripodjw]

We are flying through Atlanta on the 12th. Flight 108 at 7:00 pm to Barcelona via Madrid. I have a question for anyone out there....we don't fly much at all and have never flown internationally....our Delta flight (4962) arrives in Atlanta at 6:07 pm and we leave at 7:00 pm on Flight 108. Is that going to give us enough time to get through all our checkouts since it's an overseas flight?? Also, in Madrid we change planes also (from Delta to Spanair) with only 70 minutes of time. And another question, do we have to abide by Spanair's luggage rules (they have only a 44 lb limit on weight whereas Delta's is 50 lbs. Thanks for any advice or info. Anne

If the flights were booked as one trip (i.e.one booking reference ) then the heavier hold luggage limit "should" apply. If they were booked separately then it is likely the airline will apply its own luggage allowance - unless the airlines have a reciprocal agreement.

I had a work trip in Atlanta last yr and Heath joined me to fly onto Orlando for our DCL cruise. On the trip home we had one booking for Delta from MCO to ATL and a separate booking on Brit airways from ATL to Heathrow. (They were booked separately as work paid for the trip to Altanta and we just paid the Delta flight cost to MCO).

We were told at MCO by Delta thatthey could check our luggage all the way to heathrow- even though the bookings weren't linked. This also saved us paying an extra bag fee on Delta (the BA allowance was 3 bags each and Delta internally was 1 each). it was explained to us as being a special dispensation because Delat and Brit Air were part of a reciprocal agreement on luggage handling. he suggested there were a lot of airlines in this agreement.

So to a conclusion - check with your airline

 

[ebony]

Hi all
Do are any of you guys fancy doing Nice and Monte Carlo as a group by the train? The trains run every 30 mins and only cost €1.50 to nice and €2.50 to Monte Carlo apparently the station is only a short walk at the back of the bay or alternatively we could take the #100 bus that also is just outside the port.

We would be interested as well in doing this.

 

[DopeyFan1966]

For all of you that have experience with these cruises and doing excursions:

Is it possible to get from the ship to the Vatican by 1030? We are scheduled for a tour at 1030 at the Vatican and was wondering if we will be able to make it on time. We are currently registered for the "Rome on Your Own" excursion, should we not do that and take the train or bus from the port so we make it on time?

Thanks for any help you can provide us. I don't know how you guys get all this done. It's a lot of work.

cindy

 

[jojo6617]

We would be interested as well in doing this.

Fab the more the merrier! ...

 

[tripodjw]

I've sent reminder PM's today (Tuesday) to those who haven't yet responded regarding final details for the FE.

Please take the time to read the PM and respond - it'll make the FE easier for everyone (me and all participants) if i get the answers to the questions.

I will be splitting the list and sending it out on 16 April so if i don't have the responses by the end of 15 April (I'll go by Pacific time) it will be too late to add any info.

If you're struggling to send a PM - please just pop your answers up in this thread and i'll find them here.

Thanks guys...

 

[maddisney]

For all of you that have experience with these cruises and doing excursions:

Is it possible to get from the ship to the Vatican by 1030? We are scheduled for a tour at 1030 at the Vatican and was wondering if we will be able to make it on time. We are currently registered for the "Rome on Your Own" excursion, should we not do that and take the train or bus from the port so we make it on time?

Thanks for any help you can provide us. I don't know how you guys get all this done. It's a lot of work.

cindy

You will see here how to go by your own from the port to the Vatican:
http://www.eportreviews.com/Europe/Rome_Italy1.htm

And you will find here the train schedule:
http://trenitalia.it/homepage_en.html

 

[rashdecision]

We get to Barcelona on May 12th. We are staying at the Europark hotel. We plan on seeing the main sights. We would also like to take a day and go to Montserrat.

We are staying at the Hotel Fira Palace. I figured we would hang around the Montjuic area on Thursday since we will probably be exhausted then plan the HOHO bus around the major sites. Im going to pick up a Rick Steves book if he has one on Barcelona to thumb through. I wonder what time we can check baggage at the port? It would be nice to stowaway the bags early so we can go to the aquarium with the kids. If anyone has done the aquarium in the past... How long does it take to go through?

 

[pilar7]

For all of you that have experience with these cruises and doing excursions:

Is it possible to get from the ship to the Vatican by 1030? We are scheduled for a tour at 1030 at the Vatican and was wondering if we will be able to make it on time. We are currently registered for the "Rome on Your Own" excursion, should we not do that and take the train or bus from the port so we make it on time?

Thanks for any help you can provide us. I don't know how you guys get all this done. It's a lot of work.

cindy

What I know is that we arrive at 7:45 am, and If you take the 7:59 am train from Civitavecchia (not easy but not impossible), you arrive to Roma San Pietro station at 8:53 am. Next train is al 8:41 am which leaves you at Roma San Pietro station at 9:24 am. So, if the worst comes to the worst, you will have more than half an hour to walk from the train station to Vatican museum.

 

[Hilari Smith]

I've sent reminder PM's today (Tuesday) to those who haven't yet responded regarding final details for the FE.

Please take the time to read the PM and respond - it'll make the FE easier for everyone (me and all participants) if i get the answers to the questions.

I will be splitting the list and sending it out on 16 April so if i don't have the responses by the end of 15 April (I'll go by Pacific time) it will be too late to add any info.

If you're struggling to send a PM - please just pop your answers up in this thread and i'll find them here.

Thanks guys...

Hey tripodjw,

I thought I sent you a PM, but nothing is showing in my sent messages. Our room is #5516. Let me know if there's anything else you need.

thanks for organizing!

 

[pixiedust519]

Im going to pick up a Rick Steves book if he has one on Barcelona to thumb through.

I bought a nice very thin Rick Steves Barcelona Snapshot book that has lots of helpful info. Love that guy! Our flight gets into BCN at 8:45am on 5/14 so after we check-in to our hotel we hope to do some sightseeing based on his book. We'll probably start at the Cathedral of Barcelona because it's free 8-12:45 and 5:15-7:30 otherwise it's 5 euros in the time between. Then we will head to Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, and other areas. We are buying the T10 card for the Metro (10 rides for 7.85 euros and it's shareable) rather than the HOHO bus. Rick Steves says the metro is very easy and one of the best in Europe so we are going to trust his judgment!

 

[tripodjw]

Hey tripodjw,

I thought I sent you a PM, but nothing is showing in my sent messages. Our room is #5516. Let me know if there's anything else you need.

thanks for organizing!

You're all sorted. Thanks for checking though.

 

[tripodjw]

Just to confirm the only people who i am still waiting for info from are those who've received PM's today entitled reminder.

All other FE people (plus those who've already replied to the reminder) are all sorted.

On Thursday, I'll start publicly naming and shaming those who've not replied by then

You have been warned

I've sent reminder PM's today (Tuesday) to those who haven't yet responded regarding final details for the FE.

Please take the time to read the PM and respond - it'll make the FE easier for everyone (me and all participants) if i get the answers to the questions.

I will be splitting the list and sending it out on 16 April so if i don't have the responses by the end of 15 April (I'll go by Pacific time) it will be too late to add any info.

If you're struggling to send a PM - please just pop your answers up in this thread and i'll find them here.

Thanks guys...

 

[sayhello]

I bought a nice very thin Rick Steves Barcelona Snapshot book that has lots of helpful info. Love that guy! Our flight gets into BCN at 8:45am on 5/14 so after we check-in to our hotel we hope to do some sightseeing based on his book. We'll probably start at the Cathedral of Barcelona because it's free 8-12:45 and 5:15-7:30 otherwise it's 5 euros in the time between. Then we will head to Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, and other areas. We are buying the T10 card for the Metro (10 rides for 7.85 euros and it's shareable) rather than the HOHO bus. Rick Steves says the metro is very easy and one of the best in Europe so we are going to trust his judgment!

Ooo. That Rick Steves book sounds good. Maybe I can talk Christyvoltron & her hubby into doing the Metro instead of the HOHO... What's the name of the book, and did you buy it off his website?

Thanks!
Sayhello

 

[abird]

If the flights were booked as one trip (i.e.one booking reference ) then the heavier hold luggage limit "should" apply. If they were booked separately then it is likely the airline will apply its own luggage allowance - unless the airlines have a reciprocal agreement.

I had a work trip in Atlanta last yr and Heath joined me to fly onto Orlando for our DCL cruise. On the trip home we had one booking for Delta from MCO to ATL and a separate booking on Brit airways from ATL to Heathrow. (They were booked separately as work paid for the trip to Altanta and we just paid the Delta flight cost to MCO).

We were told at MCO by Delta thatthey could check our luggage all the way to heathrow- even though the bookings weren't linked. This also saved us paying an extra bag fee on Delta (the BA allowance was 3 bags each and Delta internally was 1 each). it was explained to us as being a special dispensation because Delat and Brit Air were part of a reciprocal agreement on luggage handling. he suggested there were a lot of airlines in this agreement.

So to a conclusion - check with your airline

Thanks Jane for all the info The flights were booked as one trip, so hopefully that will work to our advantage (and I will call to make sure). What about the time frame I mentioned? Only 53 minutes from our plane to the international one....should I be worried?? Anne

 

[jedijill]

Ooo. That Rick Steves book sounds good. Maybe I can talk Christyvoltron & her hubby into doing the Metro instead of the HOHO... What's the name of the book, and did you buy it off his website?

Thanks!
Sayhello

I bought that book. I found mine at Borders. It's called Snapshot:Barcelona and is the Barcelona excerpt of his Spain guidebook.

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=148&id=412

Jill

 

[jedijill]

Thanks Jane for all the info The flights were booked as one trip, so hopefully that will work to our advantage (and I will call to make sure). What about the time frame I mentioned? Only 53 minutes from our plane to the international one....should I be worried?? Anne

Honestly, yes i would be worried. Atlanta is huge and not sure where your arriving gate will be. I would honestly be worried about my luggage making the connecting flight as well. Is 53 minutes even a legal connection? If it is not, then the airline should rebook you with a better connection.

Jill in CO

 

[pixiedust519]

Ooo. That Rick Steves book sounds good. Maybe I can talk Christyvoltron & her hubby into doing the Metro instead of the HOHO... What's the name of the book, and did you buy it off his website?

Thanks!
Sayhello

I got mine for $8.95 on Amazon but I have also seen it at Barnes and Noble so I'm sure most bookstores would have it.

 

[Christyvoltron]

We have that book. And his Spain book -- we bought both because we didn't realize that the small one was just part of his big one -- oh well -- that way we could both read at the same time.