Northern Sights and Mickey's MAGICal Delights-1st Baltic Cruise-June 12,2010-Pt 2

[MJGirl]

Heading out Wednesday as well!! Direct flight from Toronto to London Heathrow.

Check list - Laundry all done ... FE gifts completed. SM gifts bought, but not organized, credit card companies called, photo copies of passports done, foreign currency all sorted, ..

To Do - pack, drop off the puppy, and remember what I will ultimately forget!!!

 

[3princessMommy]

Tomorrow morning am heading to the biggest market in Kampala to attempt to find replacement formal dresses for the girls, since the ones I ordered will definitively not make it here before we leave. Wish me luck. It's a rabbit's warren of stalls and stuff. Hopefully no rain 'cause then it's just a muddy mess.

Then we're off on Thursday. Flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam to London. Am pretty confident I won't meet any fellow cruisers along the way though...

I'm sure there's a ton of stuff I'm forgetting...but I got all my SM stuff, just need to wrap the final items. Got all the FE stuff and it's organized and ready to go. Need to print off our door magnets and pack my suitcase and DH's suitcase. Hopefully we'll make it with just those. Would hate to have to lug 6 suitcases around, but....

Almost there!

 

[Hygiene99]

Wishing you all a Great Cruise!!!!

 

[dylan'smom]

I always think of collecting souvenirs too late - at the end of the trip

Any good suggestions of items to collect at the various ports (besides postcards!) ?

It's funny you would mention this because I was just wondering what to get my mom. She has her 90th Bday the day we return, & I asked her what I could bring her from the trip. She said nothing, of course.

I ran through all the ports for her, trying to spark some interest... Then I said and of course we sail out of Dover. She said 'Oh the White Cliffs of Dover!! Bring me a postcard!!'

I never consider this ahead of time either & would love to think of something for her and others besides that!!

bev

 

[cquick]

We will see everyone in one week. We leave for London on Monday and I plan to spend tomorrow packing. I was a little bummed when I saw the weather for London on Tuesday and Wednesday with rain forecasted. We are planning the London Eye and dinner at Porters on Wednesday and the tour to Stonehenge on Thursday, so hopefully it will not be raining.Carol

You'll still have fun in London and the Countryside of England no matter what the weather!

 

[cquick]

It's funny you would mention this because I was just wondering what to get my mom. She has her 90th Bday the day we return, & I asked her what I could bring her from the trip. She said nothing, of course.

I ran through all the ports for her, trying to spark some interest... Then I said and of course we sail out of Dover. She said 'Oh the White Cliffs of Dover!! Bring me a postcard!!'

I never consider this ahead of time either & would love to think of something for her and others besides that!!

bev

My mom will be 81 in July. I plan to bring her vodka from Russia!

 

[Arizona Rita]

This is starting to get exciting!
We started packing tonight and will hopefully finish tomorrow.
FEs already sent to England, working on SM gifties, SIL finished the shell of the FE hanger but now I have to decide whether I want to decorate it or not.
All the other things are done as well, I have a wonderful DH, he takes care of the really important stuff.
We leave on Tuesday through Philly on UA to Heathrow.
48 hours from now I will not be sane!

 

[cquick]

We are flying on Virgin Atlantic out of Orlando on Wed. Probably nobody else is flying out of Orlando! Connie

 

[carolmb]

You'll still have fun in London and the Countryside of England no matter what the weather!

Thanks...I am packing travel umbrellas just in case.

 

[Meum]

Heading out Wednesday as well!! Direct flight from Toronto to London Heathrow.

Check list - Laundry all done ... FE gifts completed. SM gifts bought, but not organized, credit card companies called, photo copies of passports done, foreign currency all sorted, ..

To Do - pack, drop off the puppy, and remember what I will ultimately forget!!!

Tomorrow we pack and I pack my pups suitcase for babysitter. She knows something is up

Tomorrow morning am heading to the biggest market in Kampala to attempt to find replacement formal dresses for the girls, since the ones I ordered will definitively not make it here before we leave. Wish me luck. It's a rabbit's warren of stalls and stuff. Hopefully no rain 'cause then it's just a muddy mess.

Then we're off on Thursday. Flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam to London. Am pretty confident I won't meet any fellow cruisers along the way though...

I'm sure there's a ton of stuff I'm forgetting...but I got all my SM stuff, just need to wrap the final items. Got all the FE stuff and it's organized and ready to go. Need to print off our door magnets and pack my suitcase and DH's suitcase. Hopefully we'll make it with just those. Would hate to have to lug 6 suitcases around, but....

Almost there!

Good luck on your search for formal wear!

It's funny you would mention this because I was just wondering what to get my mom. She has her 90th Bday the day we return, & I asked her what I could bring her from the trip. She said nothing, of course.

I ran through all the ports for her, trying to spark some interest... Then I said and of course we sail out of Dover. She said 'Oh the White Cliffs of Dover!! Bring me a postcard!!'

I never consider this ahead of time either & would love to think of something for her and others besides that!!

bev

I'm thinking those little nesting dolls from Russia will be my gifts. I figure we will never to get Russia again and the people I will be buying for won't either. Besides it feels like Russia is the most foreign place we are visiting.

This is starting to get exciting!
We started packing tonight and will hopefully finish tomorrow.
FEs already sent to England, working on SM gifties, SIL finished the shell of the FE hanger but now I have to decide whether I want to decorate it or not.
All the other things are done as well, I have a wonderful DH, he takes care of the really important stuff.
We leave on Tuesday through Philly on UA to Heathrow.
48 hours from now I will not be sane!

How did you sent your stuff to England?

We leave at 5pm on Monday on the striking British Airways from San Francisco to Heathrow and then from Heathrow to Paris on British Airways on Tuesday. This is so Our neighbors were sweet to invite us for dinner tomorrow so we don't have to cook or clean and are taking us to the airport on Monday

Marianne

 

[rotary2808]

Wishing you all a Great Cruise!!!!

Thanks Peter!!!! Wish you and Jenn could be there.

 

[jeanneg]

This may be coming a little late, but has anyone made a list of the cruisers sorted by Cabin #? It's so much easier to give out FE gifts floor by floor. I'm afraid I may miss someone the way the list is now. Also, 2 parties do not yet have cabin #s....any suggestion how to find them once we board?

BTW, we leave Thursday evening......direct flight from Raleigh to London.

 

[Arizona Rita]

Marianne, very nice neighbors!
I have a friend that Ive met on another thread who lives in London area and she was kind enough to let me mail to her. Lucked out there!

AWL~ good luck with the dresses! Fingers crossed for no rain!

This thread is going to become very quiet in another day.
I know we are all going on this great journey but its a little bittersweet , kind of like Christmas, we've all built up to this point and its going to be sad when its over!

 

[nanaguide]

There are so many of you from the 2007 TA on this first Baltic cruise. I am so envious. Have a wonderful time! I will be reading your reports. It is so nice to read familiar names - Debbie, Connie, Chuck, Gydell, Scott, Lynn - hope I didn't leave anyone else out. Deb, I still think of you when I use my FE - can you believe what you started? Just got back from our 11 day Med trip - it was the BEST trip of my life. The Magic was great. We had super weather and all the ports were special. Spent 4 days in London afterwards and loved every minute of it - especially the London Eye, Tower, Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and the British Museum. I thought it was cold - brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! 62 degrees - it was hard to come back to 93 degrees here in Orlando. Back to work at Epcot on Monday. We'll be on the Dream in March and the Wonder in August to cruise to Alaska. Today we lucked out when we went to Universal - hit the soft opening of Harry Potter Land. The castle and ride are amazing - first Universal ride that I think comes up to Disney standards then went to Magic Kingdom to see the first Electrical Parade and new fireworks show - both were fantastic. Aren't we lucky we all love Disney stuff! Enjoy your cruise and the fun you wil all have together. Anna (Nanaguide)

 

[3princessMommy]

In Russia, they make black lacquer boxes with miniature scenes painted on them. They can be very pretty. The more detailed and fine the miniature painting, of course, the more expensive. The original artform was to recreate scenes from Russian folktales, but many of the ones you see today are just created for tourists with more contemporary designs. But these are small and fairly easy to pack. The nesting dolls are well-known and mostly made for tourists nowadays. But they are bulky, so if you are looking for a truly Russian item, and have limited packing space, a nice lacquer box might be the ticket.

Most of the countries we're visiting are known for their textiles and Christmas ornaments. I might consider a Christmas ornament from each country...

In Denmark, they have a beautiful blue & white porcelaine. (In Russia too, you can buy a recreation of Catherine the Great's china.) But, of course, it's quite fragile. And in Norway, those folks visiting the Hadeland factory will find beautiful pieces of glass artwork.

I think the problem I'm going to have with souvenirs on this trip is that we are visiting some of the most expensive places in the world. The souvenirs aren't going to be cheap!!! So the limited packing space might be a blessing in disguise!

 

[Arizona Rita]

I have a question for anyone who may be able to answer...
Lately Ive seen photos of the characters dressed in "National Costumes" lately and I know that they did something similar on the Med but I could never find out when/where this was happening.
Does anyone know how to find the answer to this because, I will admit it, I want the photo of Mickey/Goofy, whoever in the Viking hat or dressed as a Yoeman gaurdsman, etc.
Any clues anyone?
Thanks!

 

[MJGirl]

This may be coming a little late, but has anyone made a list of the cruisers sorted by Cabin #? It's so much easier to give out FE gifts floor by floor. I'm afraid I may miss someone the way the list is now. Also, 2 parties do not yet have cabin #s....any suggestion how to find them once we board?

BTW, we leave Thursday evening......direct flight from Raleigh to London.

I have an Excel spreadsheet I created. Don't know how to post it. I pm'd you, but if anyone knows an easier way to share, then let me know.

Mary Jane

 

[3princessMommy]

The rain held off - although it gave me quite a scare! - and I made it into and out of the Oweno market. It is about 10 city blocks of tiny stalls and dirt tracks. They sell EVERYTHING you can imagine there. We managed to find a stall with some girls' formals. He went through a huge sack of bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses. I found several dresses that I thought would fit. Got them for a reasonable price (i'm sure a Ugandan would have payed a lot less, but what can you do). Brought them home and lied through my teeth to the girls about what they were for. Had them try them on. Then ran everyone over to the tailor's shop and the alterations will be done tomorrow. Then they will need to go to the dry cleaner's. In the end, it's costing me about the same for these dresses as the others I ordered. So I guess I should have done it this way from the start...Oh well. Hopefully the dresses will turn out all right!

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

This may be coming a little late, but has anyone made a list of the cruisers sorted by Cabin #? It's so much easier to give out FE gifts floor by floor. I'm afraid I may miss someone the way the list is now. Also, 2 parties do not yet have cabin #s....any suggestion how to find them once we board?

BTW, we leave Thursday evening......direct flight from Raleigh to London.

I have an excel sheet that I keep track of the rooms. It is not pretty... and I understand it but you can send me your email address I will send it out. Either by PM or to the cruise email.

I leave on Tuesday, so if anyone wants the spreadsheet... you have till Monday night

Debbie

 

[Disney Lover Linda]

It's funny you would mention this because I was just wondering what to get my mom. She has her 90th Bday the day we return, & I asked her what I could bring her from the trip. She said nothing, of course.

I ran through all the ports for her, trying to spark some interest... Then I said and of course we sail out of Dover. She said 'Oh the White Cliffs of Dover!! Bring me a postcard!!'

I never consider this ahead of time either & would love to think of something for her and others besides that!!

bev

I would try to be a picture of the family with the White Cliffs in the background if possible for her. I have never been there so I don't know if this is possible but I think she would love this even more than the postcard.

I like the nesting dolls idea from Russia - I hope we come across some reasonably priced ones and I am going to do the same thing. Thanks!