May Med Magic - May 15 2010 - Meet thread

[jedijill]

I ended up with a 11:20 flight. I know the risks but anything later would cause me to get back to Denver on the 27th and I was trying to avoid another vacation day.

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Disney sent out a little booklet (I just got it a few days ago) with fairly generic information about cruising, what to pack, things to do before you go, etc, but in the back it has a page with specifics about departure locale, times, etc. There's also a cool postcard from Goofy & Captain Mickey that lists the specifics of your reservation.

Sayhello

I want Mickey Mail! lol

Jill in CO

 

[Jeff Spencer]

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on that one. Personally, I think anything before noon is asking for trouble, and unnecessary stress, but I suppose if everything goes perfectly, you could make an 11am flight. We are scheduled to disembark at 7, then you need to get your luggage, and get to the airport, which is 45 minutes away, I've been told. Then get through security for an international flight, which, these days, they are recommending 3 hours for. Can it be done? Yes. Is there a lot of potential for things going a little wrong & messing this up? Yes. Is it worth the stress? Only you can answer that! For my part, I skipped the 11am flight, and got one for later in the afternoon. Just not worth the stress! I may regret it, but I'd rather regret waiting around the airport for my flight than regret *missing* my flight!

Sayhello

It depends on the airline I guess. For Barcelona, American Airlines' recommendation is 2 hours before departure, not 3 hours. I too have been looking at an 11 am departure on 5/26 but am still considering staying another day.

 

[peterpanstout]

Yikes Jill. That is cutting it close for the airport. When we got off the boat in Barcelona after the trans-atlantic the lines for taxis were super long. But it seemed to move fast. Thinking happy thoughts!

I will of course pick up some Ritter's for you. No problem at all (as long as my tiny brain remembers). I am hoping to make a trip there this week.

Sayhello, thanks for the info. I'll be on the lookout! Always makes for a more exciting trip to the mail room!

 

[Christyvoltron]

Better safe than sorry! Our motto has always been "the best-laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley." I hope it works out for you -- I would be a nervous wreck.

 

[bengals01]

Need to find a hotel to stay 5/13 and 5/14 and want to share excursions. I am traveling with dh

 

[jedijill]

Yikes Jill. That is cutting it close for the airport. When we got off the boat in Barcelona after the trans-atlantic the lines for taxis were super long. But it seemed to move fast. Thinking happy thoughts!

I will of course pick up some Ritter's for you. No problem at all (as long as my tiny brain remembers). I am hoping to make a trip there this week.

Sayhello, thanks for the info. I'll be on the lookout! Always makes for a more exciting trip to the mail room!

I like to live dangerously. j/k Just reading that's its only about a 30-35 minute taxi ride to the airport. I'll just make sure that I am quick to get off in the morning.

Thanks for picking up the candy! I've got to get back to Germany some of these days. Closest I've come is flying into Frankfurt a couple of years ago and taking the train to Paris. Maybe someday when I can afford my BMW I will take delivery in Germany.

Jill

 

[Jeff Spencer]

As it turns out, I save $360 on airfare by departing on 5/27 versus 5/26 so I decided to also play it safe and stay the extra day. Airfare on American turned out to be a not so bad $879. Having a $1212 voucher from American on top of that effectively made it $576. I too feel happy to have one more thing checked off the pre-cruise things-to-do list

 

[k8e]

I did a western med cruise on RCI in Oct. 2008 out of Barcelona. If I recall correctly, the taxi ride to the airport was no more than 30 minutes. Also, if you are worried about having an early flight out, you can always choose to carry your own luggage off the ship which should make disembarkation quicker.

 

[Travelbee]

OK, did you guys get a packet from Disney yet? I see people know where the boat is docked and when we are leavcing, does that mean they sent packets out? DCL told me they won't send out luggage tags until 2 weeks before. Which means I will not get them, ugh, but wondering what else I am missing.

We got our packet last night with information on where the boat is docked. A few others on this thread have received it much earlier. The luggage tags are sent out with the cruise documents, about 2-4 weeks before the cruise.

With regards to the airfare, our friends tried to book the same itinerary as we did and their rates increased $400 ($100 pp). It is such a strange market. They ended up booking a later flight from London to Barcelona to get the same rate. BTW - anyone has suggestions on hotels in London? We'll be staying two nights pre-cruise. Is it fairly easily to get into the City by train if we stay near the airport?

 

[BckBlue]

MPS516 can you pm me please.

 

[BckBlue]

Anybody else on here on the easyjet flight from gatwick to Barcelona arriving at 13.55?

 

[bengals01]

can you pm me too about the excursions

 

[dawne577]

bengals01 - we're staying at Hotel Novotel(grand opening 3-01) at a decent per night rate. We'll only be staying one night pre-cruise. Thanks to Jeff for the recommendation.

It certainly seems like the airlines are playing "chicken" with fares. Who will give in first? When I was looking I swear that just doing a search on a specific flight caused that fare to increase. I certainly felt relieved after it was booked. Congrats to everyone who were able to finalize their flight!

 

[rashdecision]

I am hoping to book my flights tonight but am undecided if we should fly in a day early. We have to stay a night after the cruise because of the flight times, so I really didn't want to have to stay an extra night on both ends. If we fly in on the day of the cruise, we would arrive at 11:15, would that give us enough time to get to the port?

not sure where you will be flying in from but since we are coming in from the states, the jet lag is enough for me to get in early. We are arriving on Thursday morning and can rest and tour barcelona for 2 days and aclimate to the time zone.
I have some more interesting news that many of you already probably know. We received a $100/person ship board credit for booking before nov 09. Apparently disney was supposed to send a letter notifing us of the credit but it was never sent. I called today and confirmed that in addition to $200 per cabin for booking when we were on board the last disney cruise, we got an additional $400 total in credit for the 4 people in our cabin. SWEEEEEET! If you booked before late Nov 09, you may want to check with disney or your TA. Great news today for us!!

 

[jedijill]

not sure where you will be flying in from but since we are coming in from the states, the jet lag is enough for me to get in early. We are arriving on Thursday morning and can rest and tour barcelona for 2 days and aclimate to the time zone.
I have some more interesting news that many of you already probably know. We received a $100/person ship board credit for booking before nov 09. Apparently disney was supposed to send a letter notifing us of the credit but it was never sent. I called today and confirmed that in addition to $200 per cabin for booking when we were on board the last disney cruise, we got an additional $400 total in credit for the 4 people in our cabin. SWEEEEEET! If you booked before late Nov 09, you may want to check with disney or your TA. Great news today for us!!

That is great news! That's a lot of drink of the days!

Jill in CO

 

[Welsh Girl]

Found a deal that may help with the london hotel

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/612491/4star-new-london-hotel-89-superior-
http://uk.hotels.travelzoo.com/london-hotels/746556?utm_source=top20_uk&utm_medium=email_top20

We got our packet last night with information on where the boat is docked. A few others on this thread have received it much earlier. The luggage tags are sent out with the cruise documents, about 2-4 weeks before the cruise.

With regards to the airfare, our friends tried to book the same itinerary as we did and their rates increased $400 ($100 pp). It is such a strange market. They ended up booking a later flight from London to Barcelona to get the same rate. BTW - anyone has suggestions on hotels in London? We'll be staying two nights pre-cruise. Is it fairly easily to get into the City by train if we stay near the airport?

 

[ICollectBelle]

As it turns out, I save $360 on airfare by departing on 5/27 versus 5/26 so I decided to also play it safe and stay the extra day. Airfare on American turned out to be a not so bad $879. Having a $1212 voucher from American on top of that effectively made it $576. I too feel happy to have one more thing checked off the pre-cruise things-to-do list

I know that is a BIG weight off your shoulders. We were so happy to get that done as well. Are you flying out of JFK on AA #152 on the 13TH? We'll be on that one.

Donna

 

[nanaguide]

Welsh Girl, Thanks for the Travelzoo deal info. I hadn't seen it and I check the site often. The hotel sounds great but then I read the blackout dates - May 24 thru the 27th so that leaves me out. I need a bed for May 26, 27, 28 I've been reading Rick Steves' Europe through the Back Door - 2010 and he recommends London's B & B's. I'm certainly not interested in a lot of amenties (usually I am on a trip) but since I'm doing the London trip - solo. I just want to see as much of London as possible in 3 days so a clean bed/shower will do just nicely! If you hear/see any more deals keep me posted.

Finished door decorations tonight - stuck them in hubby's large outside pocket of his suitcase - hope he doesn't notice them as I won't have room.
I sure had a hard time finding magnetic sheets but finally did at Staples. I even got out my suitcase - hope I can get everything in 1 suitcase plus my large purse bag. Thank heavens for Disney laundry rooms! I'm paranoid about getting on a cruise and not having any clothes as my suitcase is stuck in Florida so the suitcase goes with me. You will see the same outfits on me 2 or 3 times but they's be clean!!!

 

[sarahgirl]

Finished door decorations tonight - stuck them in hubby's large outside pocket of his suitcase - hope he doesn't notice them as I won't have room.
I sure had a hard time finding magnetic sheets but finally did at Staples. I even got out my suitcase - hope I can get everything in 1 suitcase plus my large purse bag. Thank heavens for Disney laundry rooms! I'm paranoid about getting on a cruise and not having any clothes as my suitcase is stuck in Florida so the suitcase goes with me. You will see the same outfits on me 2 or 3 times but they's be clean!!!

I totally understand that, I am under a pretty strict weight limit for my baggage since I am going on a 11 night tour after my cruise and my suitcase can only weigh 44 lbs max. at the start of that trip. This is taking into consideration any souviners that i might have gotten during my cruise. I'm looking at packing very minimally probably around 35 lbs including shoes. This is the reason why although I would love to participate in the FE, there is no way I have the luggage room to carry it.