May Med Magic - May 15 2010 - Meet thread

[rguinness]

This is awesome.... Ok - on to next question.....

Formal/Semi Formal nights.....

When we called Disney, they said there are TWO semi-formal and ONE formal, BUT when I looked at the DISboard blog Navigator pictures - it only shows ONE semi and ONE formal?

I'm planning on renting a tux and I could wear it both nights (they give you two shirts).... Means not packing a suit

So - will ours be the same you think? Is it different by what seating order you have?

Signed
Clueless in NJ?
AKA -Rich

 

[sayhello]

I'm an engineer...I research, analyze, evaluate and examine. I can't help it!

And that's why we love you!

Sayhello

 

[Jeff Spencer]

This is awesome.... Ok - on to next question.....

Formal/Semi Formal nights.....

When we called Disney, they said there are TWO semi-formal and ONE formal, BUT when I looked at the DISboard blog Navigator pictures - it only shows ONE semi and ONE formal?

The 4/24 itinerary is different than ours for one thing. Whether it's that or that Navigator is in error I don't know. I do know we did have 1 formal and 2 semi-formal nights on the 11 night Med cruise in 2007 and I expect we will on the 5/15 cruise as well. I would bet that their Villefranche night is also semi-formal as it's the Captain's Gala but we'll see.

I'm planning on renting a tux and I could wear it both nights (they give you two shirts).... Means not packing a suit

You could do that; however, you might be the only person wearing a tux on semi-formal night.

 

[jedijill]

I, like most the rest of you have been going back and forth with what to do in Corsica and I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm just going to do a quick tour of the town on my own and then head back have some lunch and enjoy the ship some while it is quiet. It's going to be the halfway point of my 23 day traveling extravaganza and I want to be careful not to do too much.

I think I'm planning the same thing. If you want company, let me know.

Jill

 

[sayhello]

I, like most the rest of you have been going back and forth with what to do in Corsica and I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm just going to do a quick tour of the town on my own and then head back have some lunch and enjoy the ship some while it is quiet. It's going to be the halfway point of my 23 day traveling extravaganza and I want to be careful not to do too much.

I think I'm planning the same thing. If you want company, let me know.

Jill

It's times like this when I'm really glad all my excursion decisions have been made for me! I'd be changing my mind every other day!

Sayhello

 

[pixiedust519]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

 

[k8e]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

I'm not sure what kind of experience others have had on this, but...I did a private Amalfi Coast tour with a group of 7 in 2008, we went to Pompeii last. We opted not to use the guide and instead use the audio tour/maps you can purchase with admission. We found that the maps were horrible. We'd aim to see a specific thing only to end up pretty close to where we started. We didn't use the Rick Steves tour/maps though, so I can't advise on that. Pompeii is pretty large and I think a guide might get you to the places you want to see quicker. I believe our tour group is getting the guide this time, so I hope to see more.

 

[DopeyFan1966]

WOW. My wife Karen and I (Rich) booked this cruise recently and we are very excited!!!!

We've done Disney Cruises before but are totally new to DISboards.

We're on this cruise sans kids ( to celebrate our 20th anniversary ) and we're struggling with figuring out the excursions :-(. We've found Jeff's site (awesome!) and are looking for any suggestions and/or to join folks on private tours.

We'll be spending our evenings looking back through this thread - wish we had found you guys sooner. We look forward to meeting everybody!!!!!

Thanks
-Rich and Karen

I'm looking for someone to share a Florence tour with. It is 600 Euros for 5 - 8 people and there are 3 of us. It is a Florence only trip, no Pisa. The description is back on page 205 or 206 I think.

Cindy

 

[HelenMartinez]

This is our first cruise but we enjoy dressing up so we are looking forward to the formal and semi formal nights. My DH owns a tux and will also bring a sports coat for the semi formal nights. As for me I will bring a long dress and some more casual style dresses for the semi-formal night. I think the best thing is too feel comfortable in what your wearing.

 

[emmalouisenicholson]

I want to see DH wearing that dirndl!



That was Travelbee (Connie) and it was for Group A. She sent it to me and I'll be happy to forward to you.

Hi Jeff!

Please can you forward to me too?

Emma

 

[taras]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

Here's one idea if you're a do-it-yourselfer:
The first time I went to Pompeii, my guidebook (Lonely Planet) only had a page or so description, and I planned to spend the whole day there. So, when I got to the site, I bought a Pompeii-only guidebook at the gift shop. It was a red paperback, about 80 pages or so with a large foldout map in the back, and worked out really well. I've been back to Pompeii twice since, and ended up reusing that guidebook each time.

I'm off to Herculaneum this time, so don't have the book with me

 

[Jeff Spencer]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

In 2007, our private tour did not have a guide. I'd printed off Rick Steves' self guided walking tour and I was the acting tour guide for our group. While my genetic male direction-finding skills allowed us to find and see most everything in the tour, frankly I wished we'd have gotten the guide so they could help us better appreciate what we were seeing. Our group is paying the extra 100 Euro for the Pompeii guide on this trip.

Hi Jeff!

Please can you forward to me too?

Emma

For Emma and others in Group A. Thanks to Connie for making it.

I've uploaded the file to the "FE List" page on the website. Scroll all the way to the bottom and it's under the links for the FE List Group A.

 

[Pinmeister]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

We also opted to pay the 100 euros for a guide. Everything I had read suggested it was well worth it. Nancy

 

[rguinness]

Hi Cindy...We would love to try and join you for a tour of Florence. Do you know how long it takes to get from Florence from the port? I thought I read somewhere that it was two hours. Do you know have a tour in mind?

 

[rguinness]

Hi again everyone! I am new to posting etc...My husband is the techno whiz. I just wanted to try to get a message to Tammy. (moneyhappy). On your tour of Rome, are you stopping at St. Peter's Basilica for a tour? Are you still looking for people to join your tour?
Karen

 

[jedijill]

So here's our latest dilemma... Should we hire a guide at Pompeii? Our private tour company can arrange one for our group for 100 euros. For those who are also using a private guide that day, are you hiring a guide at Pompeii or will you wing it? I know Rick Steves has some tours in his guidebooks and a podcast but we want to appreciate the ruins and not walk around aimlessly. Jeff- when you went in 2007 did you have a guide and would you recommend one?

Thoughts? Help us decide!

I've used the Rick Steves tours from his guidebooks and they are excellent. They will help you see the highlights and not wander aimlessly. That being said, there will be tour guides available outside the gates. Not sure of their prices but that is another option.

Jill in CO

 

[DopeyFan1966]

Hi Cindy...We would love to try and join you for a tour of Florence. Do you know how long it takes to get from Florence from the port? I thought I read somewhere that it was two hours. Do you know have a tour in mind?

According to the touring website that I have checked out, it is about 1 hour to reach Florence. The tour is 8 hours, leaving the port at 8am and returning around 5pm, just in time for dinner

Here is the link to the tour guide, http://www.joebananalimos.net/the_best_of_florence.html

I'm also looking into a couple that are suggested on Jeff's website for the cruise. If we use the one above and no one else joins us it would be 120 Euro per person and I was hoping to find something a little less. But, if 2 or 3 others join us then the price would go down to 75 or 85 Euro per person. Let me check out the others when I get home and get back with you.

Cindy

 

[ebony]

This is awesome.... Ok - on to next question.....

Formal/Semi Formal nights.....

When we called Disney, they said there are TWO semi-formal and ONE formal, BUT when I looked at the DISboard blog Navigator pictures - it only shows ONE semi and ONE formal?

I'm planning on renting a tux and I could wear it both nights (they give you two shirts).... Means not packing a suit

Signed
Clueless in NJ?
AKA -Rich

Firstly Welcome to our group"
Some people on our last cruise wore their Tux on formal and semi formal, dont know what my DH will do yet.

I, like most the rest of you have been going back and forth with what to do in Corsica and I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm just going to do a quick tour of the town on my own and then head back have some lunch and enjoy the ship some while it is quiet. It's going to be the halfway point of my 23 day traveling extravaganza and I want to be careful not to do too much.

I have read, that there is a beach right next to where the ship docks, so that is an option, we are thinking about dependant on the weather.

 

[snackyx]

What is the DCL policy for brining bottles of wine or cans of beer onto the ship? How about your own soft drinks? Can we buy beverages at ports and bring them onto the ship?

 

[Jeff Spencer]

What is the DCL policy for brining bottles of wine or cans of beer onto the ship? How about your own soft drinks? Can we buy beverages at ports and bring them onto the ship?

Here is DCL's policy on bringing alcohol on board the ship:

Alcohol is permitted on board. However, be aware that any fragile items (including bottled alcohol) must be hand-carried on board in a day bag and/or carry-on bag, the dimensions of which cannot exceed 22" wide, 14" high and 9" deep. Guests who request a Wine Steward to open and serve a bottle of champagne, wine or liquor that has been brought onboard will be charged a corking fee of $15.00 per bottle.

Please be advised: Disney Cruise Line reserves the right to remove fragile items (including beverages) from luggage. In such cases, items will be stored and returned at the end of the voyage. Beverage containers are considered fragile and have previously caused damage in checked luggage. All fragile items must be transported inside carry-on luggage.

You can bring soft drinks on board as well, just don't put them in your luggage!