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

[pixie3]

My DD will be 12, but my DS, who is 18, will be the real baby.

Okay, then I guess the "wrap up some dollar store toys and give them one an hour" idea is not going to work for you!!!

Actually though, my kids have a this thing made by Archos. You can down load movies onto it, up to about 200. It is nice because it is really small and you don't have to bring any dvds.

 

[gydell]

Okay, then I guess the "wrap up some dollar store toys and give them one an hour" idea is not going to work for you!!!

Actually though, my kids have a this thing made by Archos. You can down load movies onto it, up to about 200. It is nice because it is really small and you don't have to bring any dvds.

Wish we had seen that before we bought the IPod. The screen is bigger.

 

[mishoe01]

Actually though, my kids have a this thing made by Archos. You can down load movies onto it, up to about 200. It is nice because it is really small and you don't have to bring any dvds.

I may have to look into this for ME!

 

[mishoe01]

JACKIE!

Problem w/ the EB TA - what would I do btwn April 24th and June 12th?? I don't have THAT much vacation time to take! I also can't afford 2 different plane tickets!

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Okay, then I guess the "wrap up some dollar store toys and give them one an hour" idea is not going to work for you!!!

Actually though, my kids have a this thing made by Archos. You can down load movies onto it, up to about 200. It is nice because it is really small and you don't have to bring any dvds.

I have to find out what that is! Where can I find it?

With my DD (she'll be 9 during the cruise) we have to do early seating now. You're welcome to come sit with us if you like. Just don't tell my DD. She just LOVES the kids club, but when we had a large set of dinner guests she REFUSED to eat dinner at the club for fear she's miss something with us!

As for the flight - my DD did quite well. We flew overnight and it wasn't as bad as I expected. She slept better than I did! We flew from Miami to Milan and connected to Barcelona. This actually worked out okay because our Milan to Barcelona was an early morning flight (7am or so). We took a quick nap on the connection and then were ready to go for the day. Going home was worse flight-wise. It was all during the daytime, so my DD was way too awake! If there is any way you can come in a few days early it'll make a real difference for the kids. We flew in 3 days early and were really able to enjoy the cruise without feeling jet-lagged. The kids that flew in right before the cruise were downright CRANKY on the first few days of excursions (remember, they start leaving around 7am).



I think all of the GTYs were assigned before documents were sent (a few weeks out). Some cabins get assigned earlier if they can.

We are definitely coming in a few days early.

 

[Pinky166]

When will you be there?? I am going to be at WDW December 4-14. You can always find me in Epcot at the Off Kilter stage

Debbie

We will be there from 29th Nov to 16th Dec.
Seems like a meet is in the making.

We will be at BWV from 6 - 16 December.

Ann

I just might be at WDW the same time everyone else is! I'll be there from the 5th through the 7th. I'd love to meet all of you.

Sue

Wow - it sounds like quite a few of us are there at the same time, maybe we should all get together for a drink? What do you all think? When are you free?

Our dates are 2 - 19th.

When do you fly out? We are on the VS027 Dec 1st

Claire

I fly out on the 2nd Claire but count my holiday as starting on the 1st as we are staying overnight a the Sofitel!

 

[Lynn G]

Good Morning Cruisers!! Just caught up after the weekend, this thread is really moving!!!

For those looking to switch rooms, we found on the first Panama Canal cruise that was booked up early, that when the last payment was due was when the rooms suddenly opened up.

to all those joining us in the last few days!

David - great job on the calendar!

Debbie - great job on the web site!

We have done both early and late dining, each has its advantages - you are not nearly as rushed with late dining, the downside is that it is SO late, especially if you end up with the latest dining time. I think we will stick with the early dining this time, and hopefully, we will get the latest of the early times.

We are headed to WDW later this week, for the Tower of Terror 13K race, anyone else going to be there the last week of Oct? We could meet for a graze around the world at Epcot Food and Wine festival.

 

[rotary2808]

We have late seating right now, but we're trying to decide whether or not to switch to early. We usually do early seating, we just can decide which would be better. We'll probably end up switching though.

We'll be at WDW in Dec. too, Nov. 28-Dec. 7 at VWL to be exact. I might be able to make a meet once everyone else decided on a time and place. We've got quite a few tours and other things in place that I'd have to work around, but I'll at least try to make it.

 

[Rogillio]

How feasible is it to visit Moscow? I've been told it's about 200 miles but most of the trains show 5 - 8 hrs. I would love to see Red Square.....but I also want to tour St Petersburg and the Hermitage.

~Mike

 

[rotary2808]

How feasible is it to visit Moscow? I've been told it's about 200 miles but most of the trains show 5 - 8 hrs. I would love to see Red Square.....but I also want to tour St Petersburg and the Hermitage.

~Mike

I read somewhere (might have been posted here actually) that by 2010 there's supposed to be a high speed train in place between St. Petersburg and Moscow that will cut down the travel time.

I'm pretty sure DCL already mentioned something about the possibility of excursions to Moscow during the press conference, so it might be pretty feasible. Now cost?...

 

[jeanneg]

Good grief, this thread moves fast! I try not to use the internet on weekends (my little gift to myself!) and came back today to find over 10 pages to catch up on. Slow down, folks!
Just my 2 cents on some things that have already been discussed........
Fish extender gifts: I would really find it hard to be exclusive and give gifts to just one floor or sub-group. I will bring something small for everyone, or perhaps collaborate with some other cruisers to give something larger. The point is I will bring for everyone and the challenge is to find something small enough to not take up half your luggage allotment. I learned this the hard way on our recent PC cruise. I had put together 150 small bags of Mexican Hats candy for our first day in Mexico, but it ended up being over 20 pounds of candy and was taking up too much of our luggage weight and space. Plus, it was really hot in August and I had some reservations about how well the candy would survive. I ended up running out 2 days before we left and bought hi-liters to mark the navigators. I felt bad because it wasn't very clever, but at least I had something. I will definitely give it more thought this time around.
Formal night: Yes, you can rent a tux for a Eupopean cruise. We were on the first med sailing and my husband rented one from DCL with no problems whatsoever. However, as we get older, we like dressing up less and less. I really like Scott's idea about the check-off t-shirt! I've also noticed over the years that alot more Disney cruisers are treating formal nights a bit more casually. If you get a kick out of dressing up, go for it. I love to see everyone all glammed up. As for me, formal night means nice black slacks and a pretty top....period! Lets face it, the only reason cruises routinely have formal nights are because they are a great money-making photo opportunity.
Dining: if this cruise is anything like the Med sailing, you may want to switch to the late dining. I know it lets out really late for the adult shows, but many of the excursions did not get back in time for the earlier seatings and people were just pouring into Topsiders on port days.
Palo: As others have said, it was just one reserved dinner and then you could go up and request if there was an opening on that particular day.

Leaving on Wednesday for WDW.......doing the Tower of Terror race with hubby and also Scott and Lynn! Anybody else planning on being there?

 

[wickesy]

I fly out on the 2nd Claire but count my holiday as starting on the 1st as we are staying overnight a the Sofitel!

We love the Sofitel.

 

[rotary2808]

Just my 2 cents on some things that have already been discussed........
Fish extender gifts: I would really find it hard to be exclusive and give gifts to just one floor or sub-group. I will bring something small for everyone, or perhaps collaborate with some other cruisers to give something larger. The point is I will bring for everyone and the challenge is to find something small enough to not take up half your luggage allotment. I learned this the hard way on our recent PC cruise. I had put together 150 small bags of Mexican Hats candy for our first day in Mexico, but it ended up being over 20 pounds of candy and was taking up too much of our luggage weight and space. Plus, it was really hot in August and I had some reservations about how well the candy would survive. I ended up running out 2 days before we left and bought hi-liters to mark the navigators. I felt bad because it wasn't very clever, but at least I had something. I will definitely give it more thought this time around.

I agree with that. I want to try to find something small for everyone, whether it be candy or even a hi-lighter, which I think is a great idea.

 

[sweetsue]

How feasible is it to visit Moscow? I've been told it's about 200 miles but most of the trains show 5 - 8 hrs. I would love to see Red Square.....but I also want to tour St Petersburg and the Hermitage.

~Mike

Another cruise line (I won't mention any names here) has an excursion to Moscow as part of their St. Petersburg offering. They are in port for a similar time as Disney. Don't forget about the Visas though. If you're planning on your own tour, you'll need to handle visas too.

Dining: if this cruise is anything like the Med sailing, you may want to switch to the late dining. I know it lets out really late for the adult shows, but many of the excursions did not get back in time for the earlier seatings and people were just pouring into Topsiders on port days.

Leaving on Wednesday for WDW.......doing the Tower of Terror race with hubby and also Scott and Lynn! Anybody else planning on being there?

Jeanne,
DCL leaves port much earlier on this sailing than on the Med. In the med, our "onshore" time was routinely 8pm. On this trip, almost all of them are by 5pm. We're doing early seating this time.

Good luck to both you and Scott/Lynn on the race!!!

Sue

 

[sweetsue]

Day 1 Dover, England — 5:00 p.m.
Day 2 At Sea — —
Day 3 Oslo, Norway 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.
Day 4 Copenhagen, Denmark 9:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
Day 5 Warnemünde, Germany (Berlin) 8:00 a.m. 8:30 p.m.
Day 6 At Sea — —
Day 7 St. Petersburg, Russia 11:30 a.m. —
Day 8 St. Petersburg, Russia — 10:30 p.m.
Day 9 Helsinki, Finland 9:45 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
Day 10 Stockholm, Sweden 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.
Day 11 At Sea — —
Day 12 At Sea — —
Day 13 Dover, England 8:00 a.m. —


If you picked early dining, the only days that might conflict are Warnemunde and St. Petersburg. For all other ports, you have to be back on the boat long before dinner.

Hope that helps everyone decide on early/late!

Sue

 

[MJGirl]

Hi all .. I'm at WDW from Dec 10 to 17. Would love to a meet with all of you. Maybe we can post meet dates on the first page. Thanks.

Mary Jane

 

[jeanneg]

Good point, Sue......I've been so busy lately, that I really didn't even look at the port times. That would make a big difference and my concern about excursions arriving late is no longer valid. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

 

[seaulater]

My DD will be 12, but my DS, who is 18, will be the real baby.



Jackie!!!!I didn't know you were on this cruise? Yay!!!

Didn't your son get to spend some time with Mike Super during the cruise? I remember vaguely talking with my friend Karen and she and I talked to Mike Super about it.

 

[ClassicalCinderella]

We are on a B2B. Is anyone else?

 

[gydell]

We are on a B2B. Is anyone else?

Rub it in........