May Med Magic - May 15 2010 - Meet thread

[sayhello]

I thought it was only me that did things like that !!

Hardly! I check my room assignment a *minimum* of once a day; usually far more often!!!!

Sayhello

 

[jedijill]

Hardly! I check my room assignment a *minimum* of once a day; usually far more often!!!!

Sayhello

I'm the same way!

Jill

 

[ICollectBelle]

Hardly! I check my room assignment a *minimum* of once a day; usually far more often!!!!

Sayhello

I am right there with you all!!!! Checking and rechecking

 

[rashdecision]

Rash,

Welcome back. Any photos you want posted (roll call, others) just send them to me. Down at the bottom of the home page on the web site is an email link for me.

thanks for the help. Ill pull some off the home computer when I get off work. I'd like to say it is good to be back but the weather in the southern caribbean is pretty awesome and its in the 40's here.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

Saw a neat link on another cruise thread and added it to the Civitavecchia/Rome Links section on the web page. Rick Steves provided downloadable audio tours (mp3 format) and accompanying downloadable maps. These would be great for putting on your ipod/mp3 player, especially for the do-it-yourselfer types.

 

[jedijill]

Saw a neat link on another cruise thread and added it to the Civitavecchia/Rome Links section on the web page. Rick Steves provided downloadable audio tours (mp3 format) and accompanying downloadable maps. These would be great for putting on your ipod/mp3 player, especially for the do-it-yourselfer types.

Rick Steves' tours are great. I didn't download any of the audio tours my last trip but I did use his walking tours from his guidebooks. It was a great way to get the best out of whatever you are visiting.

Jill in CO

(PS...no more drama on the EBTA...the troublemaker took his ball and went home. )

 

[Foo Family - Canada]

According to the Barcelona port authority web site there will be no other cruise ships in port on the morning of 5/26 so I would think that would make getting a taxi that much easier.

Jeff,

Thank you so much for posting this info!
We've always taken Disney transport so I'm not familiar with the arrangements if we decide to get private transport. We have a flight leaving at 12:40pm on that day. Do you have any guidance as to whether we take our luggage with us when we disembark?

 

[Greg M]

My wife and I are looking for a nice 4 star hotel in Barcelona for the night before the cruise (May 14th is our 5 year anniversary ). We would like to be close to the center without staying directly on Las Ramblas. Any suggestions?

 

[abdmom]

Does anyone know if the ship will have to clear customs and immigration when we return to Barcelona? I have an early flight.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

Jeff,

Thank you so much for posting this info!
We've always taken Disney transport so I'm not familiar with the arrangements if we decide to get private transport. We have a flight leaving at 12:40pm on that day. Do you have any guidance as to whether we take our luggage with us when we disembark?

Hello Foo Family,

Your flight at 12:40 will give you plenty of time to get to the airport. The ship will be cleared in port by 7 am, at which time passengers with earliest flights will be given priority to disembark. Your bags (except carry-ons) are left in the hallway by your stateroom door the night before we dock in Barcelona. DCL personnel collect them and have them ready to move off the ship first thing when we arrive in Barcelona. You'll disembark, go into the terminal and claim your bags there. The whole process is efficient and simple. There will be plenty of taxis outside the terminal and there are DCL personnel helping to organize the whole affair. The taxi ride to the airport is 25-30 minutes and costs about 30-35 Euro.

Hope this helps

abdmom: Yes.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

My wife and I are looking for a nice 4 star hotel in Barcelona for the night before the cruise (May 14th is our 5 year anniversary ). We would like to be close to the center without staying directly on Las Ramblas. Any suggestions?

Greg,

allan (amackay) posted a deal on a 5 star hotel in the port area that still has a great rate of 127 Euro on 5/14. You might check that one out.

Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel

 

[tripodjw]

Hello Foo Family,

Your flight at 12:40 will give you plenty of time to get to the airport. The ship will be cleared in port by 7 am, at which time passengers with earliest flights will be given priority to disembark. Your bags (except carry-ons) are left in the hallway by your stateroom door the night before we dock in Barcelona. DCL personnel collect them and have them ready to move off the ship first thing when we arrive in Barcelona. You'll disembark, go into the terminal and claim your bags there. The whole process is efficient and simple. There will be plenty of taxis outside the terminal and there are DCL personnel helping to organize the whole affair. The taxi ride to the airport is 25-30 minutes and costs about 30-35 Euro.

Hope this helps

abdmom: Yes.

Just an add on regarding luggage and disembarkation.

If you want to take your luggage off the ship yourself you are allowed to do so.

However, as you have to take everything with you when you leave your cabin (even if you a re going to breakfast before disembarking) then I'd recommend letting DCL move the luggage off the ship to the baggage claim area. It's not fun lugging lots of suitcases/bags around to the restaurant and down the gangplank/walkway thing.

 

[abdmom]

I think I'll be carrying luggage off myself. I've had luggage issues (totally lost luggage and items stolen out of luggage) on 2 of my 5 cruises. These were not DCL though. So, I'm just a little paranoid over handing over my luggage and then trying to find it while dashing to the airport.

 

[sayhello]

OMG, it SNOWED here overnight! At least 2 inches, probably closer to 3, and it stuck, and it's STILL OUT THERE! The roads, except for the major highways, are solid ice. It's starting to warm up, so I'm hopeful things will be better before the evening commute, but this is just WRONG in *so* many ways!!!!

Damn, I need a vacation!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

I think I'll be carrying luggage off myself. I've had luggage issues (totally lost luggage and items stolen out of luggage) on 2 of my 5 cruises. These were not DCL though. So, I'm just a little paranoid over handing over my luggage and then trying to find it while dashing to the airport.

I'm with you on that. The whole idea kinda bugs me. How can I certify to the airline that the bag hasn't been out of my control, when it *has been*, for several hours? I mean, it was sitting out in a public hallway, where anyone could do anything to it without my knowledge?

Plus the fact that, if I hold out the stuff I need for the morning, and put it in my carryon, I'm going to have to find a spot to re-pack before checking in, because I'm going to want some of that stuff in my checked luggage.

I may just skip breakfast, and get something once I'm off the ship.

Sayhello

 

[jedijill]

OMG, it SNOWED here overnight! At least 2 inches, probably closer to 3, and it stuck, and it's STILL OUT THERE! The roads, except for the major highways, are solid ice. It's starting to warm up, so I'm hopeful things will be better before the evening commute, but this is just WRONG in *so* many ways!!!!

Damn, I need a vacation!

Sayhello

We are supposed to get another 2-5 issues this afternoon/tonight. It will be back up to 60 by Sunday.

I'm ready for spring!!!!

Watched Rick Steves' show on Cinque Terre last night and Samatha Brown's Barcelona show. I'm ready to go now!

Jill

 

[Travelbee]

Jane (tripodjw) - Can you please add my friends (Helen & Nelson) to the FE list? They have decided to participate as well.

My wife and I are looking for a nice 4 star hotel in Barcelona for the night before the cruise (May 14th is our 5 year anniversary ). We would like to be close to the center without staying directly on Las Ramblas. Any suggestions?

In addition to the Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel, there's also a deal for the 4-star Hotel Avenida Palace through Travelzoo. The cost is $127 (92€) per night and includes a free guaranteed upgrade to a suite and buffet breakfast. It's supposed to be two blocks from Las Ramblas.

Follow the direction on this link to get the deal: http://hotels.travelzoo.com/international-hotels/773298

 

[sayhello]

We are supposed to get another 2-5 issues this afternoon/tonight. It will be back up to 60 by Sunday.

I'm ready for spring!!!!

Watched Rick Steves' show on Cinque Terre last night and Samatha Brown's Barcelona show. I'm ready to go now!

Jill

But it already *IS* Spring here! (Supposedly!!!) We haven't had snow since the end of February! It was *raining* when I left work. ALL the snow was gone. It's just not fair!!!! (I know, whine, whine, whine).

I watched Samantha Brown's Barcelona show, too. I really need to seriously plan what I'm doing in Barcelona! Especially on the 26th. My flight to Israel doesn't leave until 6pm...

Sayhello

 

[Foo Family - Canada]

Hello Foo Family,

Your flight at 12:40 will give you plenty of time to get to the airport. The ship will be cleared in port by 7 am, at which time passengers with earliest flights will be given priority to disembark. Your bags (except carry-ons) are left in the hallway by your stateroom door the night before we dock in Barcelona. DCL personnel collect them and have them ready to move off the ship first thing when we arrive in Barcelona. You'll disembark, go into the terminal and claim your bags there. The whole process is efficient and simple. There will be plenty of taxis outside the terminal and there are DCL personnel helping to organize the whole affair. The taxi ride to the airport is 25-30 minutes and costs about 30-35 Euro.

Hope this helps

abdmom: Yes.

Thanks again for your insight into this. I still haven't made up my mind on whether to take our luggage or not upon disembarkation.

I think most of us are grabbing flights connecting from/to North America. Do you have any advice on checking in with the foreign airline leg of the flight?

Also, I am trying to get some confirmation for those of us that have connections, do we clear customs at the first point of entry into the EC which in our case is Frankfurt or at the final destination which would be Barcelona? We only have a 55 minute transfer window before boarding our Frankfurt leg on our way over to Barcelona so if customs gets in the way, we could risk missing our flight.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

OMG, it SNOWED here overnight! At least 2 inches, probably closer to 3, and it stuck, and it's STILL OUT THERE! The roads, except for the major highways, are solid ice. It's starting to warm up, so I'm hopeful things will be better before the evening commute, but this is just WRONG in *so* many ways!!!!

Damn, I need a vacation!

Sayhello

Post a picture of the snowman when you're finished making him.