Much Anticipated Med Cruise 6/29/2011

[thinkoflaura]

so i contacted Kelsie at Dreams Unlimited about the oceanview promotion. here's what she said (most of which we know, but still good to keep in mind):

"When you book these discounted categories, they are non-refundable, non-transferable. Payment in full is due at the time they are booked. You can not cancel or make any name changes.

The only reason they are offering these is that they need control over which staterooms is assigned. My thought is there is a good possibility you will receive an Oceanview stateroom on Deck 1 with the smaller 2 windows. They always have a difficult time booking these staterooms."

The "view" room was about $500 more for us (total) and the verandah rooms were about $1000 more. it's tempting but we're not gonna make the change.

but boy, i would love some natural light in our room!!!

 

[keenercam]

I had our TA check it too (Tracy formerly of DU, now has her own travel agency). Quite candidly, we went to a lot of trouble to book cabins right across the hall from each other (one oceanview and one inside, sideways) and even though we'd save a little money, it isn't worth not having any control over the location.

 

[thinkoflaura]

we went to a lot of trouble to book cabins right across the hall from each other

we are in the same boat (no pun intended!) LOL we are traveling with my parents who are in a handicapped accessible room. we're 2 doors down now. it will be really inconvenient if we are far apart.

i want to find one of those travel clocks that start lighting up the room at daybreak. (do those even exist or am i making this up?)

 

[keenercam]

I wanted to share that we booked our 3 nights pre-cruise at the Hotel Barcelona Catedral. It was so hard to choose, but ultimately we chose based on the location and the fact that the reviews on TripAdvisor were so good. My kids may want to sleep near the pool, too, and I love that there are so many eating establishments nearby, including lots of tapas places. FUN!

Now all I have to worry about is:
end of trip airport hotel
travel insurance
flights
port excursion or tour company research and planning
looking at navigators to get an idea of when to plan spa & PALO reservations

 

[DCLShel]

Well, after much discussion at home last night, we decided to go with the GTY Oceanview stateroom. At the very least, we'll be on Deck 1 but will have a little more space, a split bath and some natural light (we were booked in an inside stateroom before). I specifically asked my DH if he would be ok on Deck 1 and he assured me he would. He doesn't care too much for the inside rooms. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get bumped up to Deck 2 or even higher.

Barcelona hotel - check! Trip insurance - check! Airfare - check! Excursions/private tours - uh, not so much!

Quick question for everyone - Are any of you using DCL's transfer from the port back to the airport or, are you going to take a taxi? I've heard good & bad on both. Thanks!

 

[keenercam]

Well, after much discussion at home last night, we decided to go with the GTY Oceanview stateroom. At the very least, we'll be on Deck 1 but will have a little more space, a split bath and some natural light (we were booked in an inside stateroom before). I specifically asked my DH if he would be ok on Deck 1 and he assured me he would. He doesn't care too much for the inside rooms. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get bumped up to Deck 2 or even higher.

Barcelona hotel - check! Trip insurance - check! Airfare - check! Excursions/private tours - uh, not so much!

Quick question for everyone - Are any of you using DCL's transfer from the port back to the airport or, are you going to take a taxi? I've heard good & bad on both. Thanks!

Shelley - I will keep my fingers crossed that you guys get an awesome cabin assignment.

I just booked our airfare; from what I remember it has gone up about $50/person in the past week for the flights we wanted so I felt very compelled to not take anymore chances.

Our TA strongly suggested not trying to make the 10:45 a.m. non-stop flight back on Saturday, so we are going to stay overnight near the airport on Saturday and fly back Sunday. It may be that we just sleep the day away on Saturday (and I am going to be sure to find a hotel with a pool) but it will take a lot of the pressure off and we'll just get back Sunday afternoon instead. For our flight coming back, the seat availability was pretty limited. I am glad I did this now.

If we were going to BCN we might have used DCL transfers even though it seems absurd to spend $30/person for a bus ride of less than 10 miles. As it is, I will have to figure out what the transportation options will be to get to whichever hotel we stay at.

 

[DorothyDamato]

Hey!

DCLShel - what did you pay for trip insurance? Disney is quote about $300+ for 3 people. Also, I was uncomfortable with catching at 10 am flight, so I went with staying in a hotel in Barcelona. I am in the process of asking whether the hotel has a shuttle to and from the airport (which would be by first choice). Will take a taxi from port to hotel. I remember reading on a cruise chat site that the wait is not bad for a taxi from the port on the way home to the airport.

KeenerCam - I want to take a look at all the info you sent me. Will see if I can figure it all out and then maybe I will handle the fish thing. Sounds like fun! Will let you know. Am going to try and read tonight. Will let you know by this weekend.

 

[keenercam]

Dorothy - I am looking at insuremytrip for trip insurance because I want it to cover all of the various things that I have booked, including hotels, etc.

As for transportation from the port and to the airport, I did a search on here for Barcelona and found a thread talking about some bad experiences families had waiting for cabs at the port. I decided to book private transport from the port to a hotel near the airport.

As for finding a hotel that has a shuttle, I went on priceline.com and put in the dates and a search for a hotel near the airport, and chose "airport shuttle" under hotel amenities. There seemed to be several that don't charge extra.

Also, have you guys seen the thread on the main DCL forum here about doing Villefranche on your own? Lots of great info there and fun pix, too.

 

[thinkoflaura]

Dorothy - I am looking at insuremytrip for trip insurance because I want it to cover all of the various things that I have booked, including hotels, etc.

As for transportation from the port and to the airport, I did a search on here for Barcelona and found a thread talking about some bad experiences families had waiting for cabs at the port. I decided to book private transport from the port to a hotel near the airport.

As for finding a hotel that has a shuttle, I went on priceline.com and put in the dates and a search for a hotel near the airport, and chose "airport shuttle" under hotel amenities. There seemed to be several that don't charge extra.

Also, have you guys seen the thread on the main DCL forum here about doing Villefranche on your own? Lots of great info there and fun pix, too.

i also compared prices for insurance through insuremytrip.com - i think ultimately we bought a policy direct from Travelguard (but they had the same prices as what was found on insuremytrip.com... we just happened to call TG with questions and booked directly)

i saw the Villefranche thread... it was very interesting. Up til now, I kind of had it in my head that either we leave my daughter (will be 6 at cruisetime) on the boat or we take her with us for the excursions... pretty much the plan was to drag her along every day, even if it meant opting for a shorter excursion or whatever... but after reading that thread it dawned on me that there will be some ports where we can take her for the AM, then return to the ship, drop her off and then go back out! That revelation was very liberating!

question though -- what company did you book for the transport from the port? we'll be traveling to Sitges (about 30 miles away) and have been trying to find a good option from port to Sitges, then Sitges to BCN 2 days later.

 

[DorothyDamato]

You wanted to know about Flight info - as soon as I could, I booked a flight for about 1100 per person, and then had to pay all sorts of government fees so it ended up being around 1300.

I am ok with whatever you do for the master list with name/cabin number/hotel. All your suggestions sound good.

So - if I coordinate this fish extender list....

Does everyone have to buy this fish extender to attach to their door if they are going to do it?
Am I just getting a list of names of people?
Is part of the task seeing what type of theme we want to do (like something from your home state? Being from NJ - all I can think of is those stupid foam crowns from the Statue of Liberty).
Are these little gifts - do you put limits on items and size for this trip since we dont want to haul large items around the world?
In my head, I am thinking it would be an excel spreadsheet with name, cabin number and whether they are set with their little surprise?

 

[DorothyDamato]

Thanks for the info on Villefranche! - will have to check out the Main Dis forum! I am thinking I am going to be tired by Villefranche and won't care whether Brangalina have boats. Sounds like more fun just to boogey around!

Hmm. Good idea about the the 'airport shuttle' too. Hopefully, I will hear something back from my hotel tomorrow and then continue my search if need be.

Am also looking into seeing if I can extend my phone plan to include 2 weeks of International calling. A friend of mine told me they were able to do that and the pricing wasn't too bad, so I am going to call and see how that works. My in-laws are elderly, and we want to keep in touch in case something happens.

 

[keenercam]

i also compared prices for insurance through insuremytrip.com - i think ultimately we bought a policy direct from Travelguard (but they had the same prices as what was found on insuremytrip.com... we just happened to call TG with questions and booked directly)

i saw the Villefranche thread... it was very interesting. Up til now, I kind of had it in my head that either we leave my daughter (will be 6 at cruisetime) on the boat or we take her with us for the excursions... pretty much the plan was to drag her along every day, even if it meant opting for a shorter excursion or whatever... but after reading that thread it dawned on me that there will be some ports where we can take her for the AM, then return to the ship, drop her off and then go back out! That revelation was very liberating!

question though -- what company did you book for the transport from the port? we'll be traveling to Sitges (about 30 miles away) and have been trying to find a good option from port to Sitges, then Sitges to BCN 2 days later.

I am going to look at using Barcelona Airport Shuttle which seems to get good reviews here. I am glad you realized that you can spend part of your port days with your DD in port and then let her enjoy the kids' clubs on the ship while you get some adult time ashore. We did that with our kids when they were younger and it was wonderful!

You wanted to know about Flight info - as soon as I could, I booked a flight for about 1100 per person, and then had to pay all sorts of government fees so it ended up being around 1300.

I am ok with whatever you do for the master list with name/cabin number/hotel. All your suggestions sound good.

So - if I coordinate this fish extender list....

Does everyone have to buy this fish extender to attach to their door if they are going to do it?
Am I just getting a list of names of people?
Is part of the task seeing what type of theme we want to do (like something from your home state? Being from NJ - all I can think of is those stupid foam crowns from the Statue of Liberty).
Are these little gifts - do you put limits on items and size for this trip since we dont want to haul large items around the world?
In my head, I am thinking it would be an excel spreadsheet with name, cabin number and whether they are set with their little surprise?

Dorothy - I think some people just hang a tote bag on their metal fish if they don't want to do a "fish extender" with pockets and personalization. And I don' t think there are any rules about how to coordinate the exchange. I'd start with making a list of who wants to participate and then people can do as much or as little as they want dependent upon how much room they have in their luggage and their own personal budgets.

So, when are your flights? We are on the evening flight out on Saturday, June 25 (PHL to BCN) and the 10:45 a.m. BCN to PHL Sunday morning. We wanted non-stops and preferred the overnight flight for the eastbound flight.

Thanks for the info on Villefranche! - will have to check out the Main Dis forum! I am thinking I am going to be tired by Villefranche and won't care whether Brangalina have boats. Sounds like more fun just to boogey around!

Hmm. Good idea about the the 'airport shuttle' too. Hopefully, I will hear something back from my hotel tomorrow and then continue my search if need be.

Am also looking into seeing if I can extend my phone plan to include 2 weeks of International calling. A friend of mine told me they were able to do that and the pricing wasn't too bad, so I am going to call and see how that works. My in-laws are elderly, and we want to keep in touch in case something happens.

We bought an international calling plan when we went to Jamaica and it significantly reduced our per minute charge. I think we paid $7.95 for a month and that reduced the charge by more than a dollar per minute, IIRC. You should check your carrier's website. Also, we bought 100 minutes of internet access on our last 7 day cruise so that I could check in with the office and that significantly reduced how much time I would have otherwise spent on calls.

 

[keenercam]

Okay, everyone! Check your email if you gave me your email address. If you didn't send it to me (Shelley, I don't have one for you), send me a PM here or email me at keenercam@aol.com.

My email to each of you has a list of questions to facilitate the sharing of information, as desired. It is a "blind" email distribution list so that no one will see anyone else's contact information until every single person on the blind list responds to that email letting me know it is okay to share their information.

Sound good?

Hurry, hurry! I can't wait to share our "Med Cruisers Chart" so that everyone can be sure their information is accurate and up-to-date.

Is anyone else getting excited?

 

[DCLShel]

Hi everyone!

There was alot of activity on this thread last night! I better get caught up~

Dorothy - we got our travel insurance through Travel Insured. It cost about $420 for three people - that includes cruise, airfare & hotel. I added the "cancel for any reason" option so it raised it a little bit.

I'm still not sure how we're going to get from port to the airport. I hate to pay $30/person but I also don't want to be stuck in a taxi line for an hour! I'll keep mulling it over.

I did my first FE (fish extender) on the MV of the Dream. It was a lot of fun but there were a TON of people participating. We're such a small group, it should be pretty easy to organize.

I happened upon the Villefranche thread yesterday afternoon. Glad I did - we will probably skip DCL's beach excursion ($98/person) and just do our own thing. Seems like a beach is a short walk from the tender drop off. I just know that by this time in the trip, my family is going to need some beach time.

Did I miss anything? If so, let me know~

 

[DCLShel]

Oh - thanks for the heads up on the international add-on for cell phones! I'll definitely check that out~

 

[deplion]

If any of you are Verizon customers, they have an "Occassional Global Traveler" program that I have used several times. If you need one, they send you a global phone, there is no daily fee, and you keep your original cell phone number and contact list.

They charge you per minute of calling, but nothing else. For almost all the places we are going, the rates are either 99 cents or $1.29 per minute. Not the cheapest per minute rate out there, but I needed a global phone and didn't use it much at all, so it was a good deal for me. You have to be a current Verizon customer to get it though.

Link if interested: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Travel/index.html

 

[DCLShel]

If any of you are Verizon customers, they have an "Occassional Global Traveler" program that I have used several times. If you need one, they send you a global phone, there is no daily fee, and you keep your original cell phone number and contact list.

They charge you per minute of calling, but nothing else. For almost all the places we are going, the rates are either 99 cents or $1.29 per minute. Not the cheapest per minute rate out there, but I needed a global phone and didn't use it much at all, so it was a good deal for me. You have to be a current Verizon customer to get it though.

Link if interested: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Travel/index.html

I'm a Verizon customer. Thanks for the info! The per minute rates aren't the best but its better than the "cruise ship rate" of $2.49/minute.

Do you remember how far ahead of time you need to sign up for this? What about shipping the phone back to Verizon - do they provide a means to do this?

 

[keenercam]

I also checked with ATT because we have iphones. I found out that I can pay $5.99 to get the GlobalTraveler package added to one of our phones for a month. It makes all calls back to the US and within Spain, Italy and France 99 cents/minute. Since we have unlimited texting in our data plan, incoming texts are free; outgoing texts will be 50 cents each. We can also buy a data plan to be able to send pictures, access our apps, etc. We can add the plan the day before we leave and remove it when we get back.

Now I have to figure out who is going to have phone access. The four of us? One "adult" and one of the "kids"? EEK!


ETA: Once I hear from Suzanne and Beth, I will circulate the cruiser chart. It has been so much fun emailing with everyone today, even if Andrew seems to think I am crazy (you'd think by now he'd be used to my compulsive organizing/coordinating!) LOL!

 

[deplion]

I'm a Verizon customer. Thanks for the info! The per minute rates aren't the best but its better than the "cruise ship rate" of $2.49/minute.

Do you remember how far ahead of time you need to sign up for this? What about shipping the phone back to Verizon - do they provide a means to do this?

They suggest you request it about a week before you depart and then they send it overnight (as best as I can recall). They also provide a return shipping box and then you have to drop it off at a UPS or FedEx location when you get back, but they pay all the shipping.

 

[DorothyDamato]

So - if you are interested in doing the Fish Extenders - Let me know and I will start a list!

Maybe we should keep it small for packing purposes.
If anyone has any suggestions on a Theme - let me know. AND - if anyone has pointers or past gift ideas - let me know that too!