Northern Sights & Mickey's MAGICal Delights - 1st Baltic cruise - June 12,2010

[Claire L]

Don't forget the days will be really long with 18+ hours of daylight, sun rising before 4am and setting around 11pm!

Claire

 

[PrettyInTink]

Ooooh, names. Lets see.....

I can't think of a single one! I'll ask Kevin, he's good with these things.

Oh, and just for everyone enjoying their nice fall weather, I hit snow today for about a 200 mile stretch in WYOMING. Its OCTOBER.
Scott and Lynn, could you tell Wyoming to turn off the snow until after Halloween?

 

[gydell]

Which ones did you do?

I wouldn't do the one we did in Cadiz again, waaay too much walking. We did the White Villages of Andalusia. Barcelona we did the full day excursion to Monserrat and in Tenerife we did one of the ones that went to Mt. Teide National Park.

Like I said, the only disappointment we had was the Barcelona one.

We did the Andalusia horses - we were suppose to have lunch included but because we had to wait on late people by the time we got there there was none left for us. They had switched lunch to tapas and not told anyone.
In Barcelona we did the chocolate factory and city tour. We were suppose to do the church but by the time the tour guide took us about 3/4 mile walk out of the way to get a small glass of free punch at his friends shop the church had closed.
In Tennerife we did the animal park. What a mess. We had to wait outside for about 45 minutes so the park could take our pictures as a group. Then we got a speech about how glad they were to have us so about an hour after arriving we got in the park. Our guide had no flag or anything so by the time we got into the park - the park had to take our picture one by one she was nowhere to be found. At all the shows all the other cruise lines had reserved seats so there weren't many seats left.

 

[CustardTart]

Hi all ... Looks like I will only be doing the June 12th Baltic Tour with you nice folks. I thought about doing the 7 day repo as well but after going through the budget .... , I'll stick to the 12 day only.

I can't believe how chatty you all are! I go away for a day and am 8 pages behind.

I did some research of my own, and if nothing changes, it looks like we might get a Premi'Ear' while on board. Toy Story 3 (in 3D) is scheduled to be released on June 18, 2010. That should be fun for any kids on board.

I like the "Having a ball in the Baltic!" How about something to do with the Little Mermaid, since we will be in Copenhagen. Another thought of mine was "DISers in the Baltic!" or "Disney Vikings of the Baltic" since it was the vikings that looted Northern Europe, not pirates. Just a thought.

So I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. Looks like some of you met already! Got room in your circle for another DISer nut?

Any fellow Canadian's out there?

Gotta go for now! Talk to you soon!

Hi there! That's very exciting news about the possible Premi'Ear!!! I'm not a kid but I love Woody and the gang...

Love your Little Mermaid idea - what about something like Mickey Meets the Mermaid - Baltic Cruise 2010...?

 

[rotary2808]

Hi all!
Getting closer to booking time!

Sue those are great tips! I am figuring for 300 bucks a shore excursion for both Kevin and I per port. I figure if some are a little less, some will be a little more and we will break even.
Kevin and I cycle and we would love to do some cycling around the ports. Copenhagan is one of the bike friendly cities in our cycling magazine. So fun!

Any word from IC? DVC? I'm getting anxious! We are shooting for a Cat 11 deck 7 aft room.

Nothing yet. Cyndi I saw on one of the other Baltic threads that someone posted some of the point #'s. They had gotten them from member services. You might want to take a look through those. I think they had the points for Cats. 10-7.

 

[rotary2808]

Hi all ... Looks like I will only be doing the June 12th Baltic Tour with you nice folks. I thought about doing the 7 day repo as well but after going through the budget .... , I'll stick to the 12 day only.

I can't believe how chatty you all are! I go away for a day and am 8 pages behind.

I did some research of my own, and if nothing changes, it looks like we might get a Premi'Ear' while on board. Toy Story 3 (in 3D) is scheduled to be released on June 18, 2010. That should be fun for any kids on board.

I like the "Having a ball in the Baltic!" How about something to do with the Little Mermaid, since we will be in Copenhagen. Another thought of mine was "DISers in the Baltic!" or "Disney Vikings of the Baltic" since it was the vikings that looted Northern Europe, not pirates. Just a thought.

So I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. Looks like some of you met already! Got room in your circle for another DISer nut?

Any fellow Canadian's out there?

Gotta go for now! Talk to you soon!

That would be so cool if Toy Story 3 premiered on our cruise. Even for the big "kids" like me.

 

[CustardTart]

A friend of mine contacted MS and the points for a Cat 6 are 771 per person for all the Baltic cruises...

 

[rotary2808]

We did the Andalusia horses - we were suppose to have lunch included but because we had to wait on late people by the time we got there there was none left for us. They had switched lunch to tapas and not told anyone.
In Barcelona we did the chocolate factory and city tour. We were suppose to do the church but by the time the tour guide took us about 3/4 mile walk out of the way to get a small glass of free punch at his friends shop the church had closed.
In Tennerife we did the animal park. What a mess. We had to wait outside for about 45 minutes so the park could take our pictures as a group. Then we got a speech about how glad they were to have us so about an hour after arriving we got in the park. Our guide had no flag or anything so by the time we got into the park - the park had to take our picture one by one she was nowhere to be found. At all the shows all the other cruise lines had reserved seats so there weren't many seats left.

Boy, you just ran into all sorts of trouble didn't you? After that I don't know that I would trust them either.

 

[granmaz]

Hi all ... Looks like I will only be doing the June 12th Baltic Tour with you nice folks. I thought about doing the 7 day repo as well but after going through the budget .... , I'll stick to the 12 day only.

I can't believe how chatty you all are! I go away for a day and am 8 pages behind.

I did some research of my own, and if nothing changes, it looks like we might get a Premi'Ear' while on board. Toy Story 3 (in 3D) is scheduled to be released on June 18, 2010. That should be fun for any kids on board.

I like the "Having a ball in the Baltic!" How about something to do with the Little Mermaid, since we will be in Copenhagen. Another thought of mine was "DISers in the Baltic!" or "Disney Vikings of the Baltic" since it was the vikings that looted Northern Europe, not pirates. Just a thought.

So I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. Looks like some of you met already! Got room in your circle for another DISer nut?

Any fellow Canadian's out there?

Gotta go for now! Talk to you soon!

Hi there. I like the Little Mermaid connection in the name.

Don't forget the days will be really long with 18+ hours of daylight, sun rising before 4am and setting around 11pm!

Claire

Now that would be something to really look forward to.

We did the Andalusia horses - we were suppose to have lunch included but because we had to wait on late people by the time we got there there was none left for us. They had switched lunch to tapas and not told anyone.
In Barcelona we did the chocolate factory and city tour. We were suppose to do the church but by the time the tour guide took us about 3/4 mile walk out of the way to get a small glass of free punch at his friends shop the church had closed.
In Tennerife we did the animal park. What a mess. We had to wait outside for about 45 minutes so the park could take our pictures as a group. Then we got a speech about how glad they were to have us so about an hour after arriving we got in the park. Our guide had no flag or anything so by the time we got into the park - the park had to take our picture one by one she was nowhere to be found. At all the shows all the other cruise lines had reserved seats so there weren't many seats left.

Sounds like a nightmare or three.

Hi there! That's very exciting news about the possible Premi'Ear!!! I'm not a kid but I love Woody and the gang...

Love your Little Mermaid idea - what about something like Mickey Meets the Mermaid - Baltic Cruise 2010...?

I like that one.

A friend of mine contacted MS and the points for a Cat 6 are 771 per person for all the Baltic cruises...

Well we are a long way off that!!

 

[rotary2808]

I kind of like Mickey Meets the Mermaid.

 

[mishoe01]

I've looked at some ports/excursions. I've looked at both Cruise Critic and RCCL for ideas.

St. Petersburg seemed to be one of the most expensive. I think that has to do with the visa requirements and then it just depends on how long you want to spend onshore and what you want to see.

Warnemunde, I definately want to go to Berlin. I'm wondering if they'll offer an excursion to Wittenberg. Being Lutheran that would be a must to if they did and it's only around 50 miles outside Berlin. But when you only have about 6 hrs. to see Berlin after you factor in to/from travel times, it's going to be hard to pick and choose.

Well, if I can't see Wittenberg I'll settle for the big Lutheran church in Helsinki. That's definately on my must see list.

I'm thinking that for Warnemunde & St Petersburg I will do tours (not sure if St Pete will be thru DCL or a local company....I'll share info as things get closer...maybe we can do a small group). I figure the other cities I can do my own tour. For Warnemunde I know I want to go to Berlin which is a 3hr train ride away & if done thru DCL I know they'll hold the ship if something happens and we're delayed.

 

[granmaz]

Well I have put in my request, though still not sure John will agree. he hasn't asked about prices so I had better prepare him in some way or he might have a heart attack!

 

[wickesy]

Don't forget the days will be really long with 18+ hours of daylight, sun rising before 4am and setting around 11pm!

Claire

I hadn't thought of that. A 'Land of the Midnight sun' cruise has been on my wish list for years.

 

[mishoe01]

to all the people I haven't met yet!

I'm Monica (will be celebrating my 40th on this cruise) - hopefully travelling along w/ dear friends Jackie & Connie (having a slumber party to save $)

Met many of the lovely cruisers here on the WB PC cruise in May 2008.

Will be meeting more on the 9/12/09 EB with Tortola.

 

[rotary2808]

Well I have put in my request, though still not sure John will agree. he hasn't asked about prices so I had better prepare him in some way or he might have a heart attack!

He's probably prepared already. Although it did turn out to be a little bit more than I was expecting. Once he gets over the initial sticker shock it will be okay.

 

[CustardTart]

Well I have put in my request, though still not sure John will agree. he hasn't asked about prices so I had better prepare him in some way or he might have a heart attack!

Good luck, Marilyn! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you...

 

[rotary2808]

to all the people I haven't met yet!

I'm Monica (will be celebrating my 40th on this cruise) - hopefully travelling along w/ dear friends Jackie & Connie.

Met many of the lovely cruisers here on the WB PC cruise in May 2008.

Will be meeting more on the 9/12/09 EB with Tortola.

Hi Monica!!!! Remember 40 is just a number, it's nothing to be scared of.

Can't wait to see you next year!!!!

 

[mishoe01]

This is quite a chatty group!!! I definitely won't be able to keep up, but I'll try and pipe in now and then.

We took the 1st Med cruise last year. Here's what we learned being a "first".

1) The port check-in won't run as smoothly as it does in PC. The people are at the job for the very first day. Sure, they've had tons of training and there are a few people shipped in from Florida, but still, it's their FIRST day. Expect it to take longer than PC. We didn't rush to the port and still had to wait a bit. But not very long.

2) The excursions were astronomical compared to Caribbean cruises. Most excursions were over $100/person. We also found that DCL made their own set of excursions and they were uniquely Disney. I had looked at a few cruise lines' excursions before DCL announced them, but it wasn't all that helpful.

3) DCL announced the excursions just a few days before they opened up for booking by suite guests. Don't expect to see anything until 110 days before the cruise. DCL said it took them that long to research their options and qualify providers.

4) It's the first cruise. Things won't go as smoothly as they do later. It's the first time the tour providers have worked with Disney. I still remember the one tour guide that stood in shock when we told her flat out that we were all stopping for a bathroom break RIGHT THEN regardless of what her tour said. I don't think she had any clue that children have small bladders and can't wait for 45 minutes while she talked...

5) JET lag is a real killer. I saw so many people that looked dazed and confused those first two days. I was really glad we came in a few days early.

6) You can carry on whatever alcohol and water you want. We brought onboard quite a few bottles of wine that we picked up in Barcelona. We also picked up alcohol along the way and had no problem at ports either. PLEASE don't put this in your luggage (DCL doesn't check). People have had their suitcases and clothes ruined by someone else's red wine.

7) For most of the excursions, we received guest comment forms that we filled out for each excursion. They were also taping guest comments and some of the excursions. Little did I know that's how we'd end up on Disney's website! Anyways - it's quite fun. If you don't want to be a movie star, just let them know. The comments do help them get better. DCL was also very good about giving partial refunds if necessary.

Sue

THANKS! I'm sure there will be alot of people cuz of point nbr 6

 

[CustardTart]

to all the people I haven't met yet!

I'm Monica (will be celebrating my 40th on this cruise) - hopefully travelling along w/ dear friends Jackie & Connie.

Met many of the lovely cruisers here on the WB PC cruise in May 2008.

Will be meeting more on the 9/12/09 EB with Tortola.

Hey Monica! We'll be with you on the last Tortola and I'll be celebrating(?) my 47th birthday on this cruise - this is gonna be a Party cruise!!!

 

[rotary2808]

THANKS! I'm sure there will be alot of people cuz of point nbr 6

Hey what's a cruise without alcohol?