*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 4

[Donaldcp98]

I just had another friend Facebook me asking about particulars of this cruise and was interested in going This is getting crazy (in a good way). I am sure it has all to do with me and nothing to do with how wonderful the cruise is, right? If they join that makes three couples joining us. So much fun.

 

[TxMermaid1]

As others have said, no ice box. You can request fridges for medical reasons but even then I'm not sure if it has a freezer compartment. Why don't you phone DCL and ask about requesting one?

There has always been a refrigerator.... they call it a cool box... in my cabin on all my DLC cruises. It does not have a freezer compartment but it does keep drinks plenty cold.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

Okay, that's me, Pat, Karen, Deb & Karen for the dis dancers. I can't tell you guys how nice it will be to not feel weird dancing up there on my own - Joe goes to the parties but lets me do the dancing.

After many failed attempts due to the weather, we are going to try to go to Epcot tonight.....maybe do some Secret Mickey shopping!

That would be great! It will be hard to be away from her for three weeks - but Jeremy is wanting to fill the iPad full of pictures of her and use it as a slideshow to have in the stateroom. You can see who rates in our house!

Yes, its a running joke around here that the dog runs our lives - but really its the kind of joke that you know is kind of true. We've done other long trips so this won't be new to Lucky but around the 20 day mark is our absolute maximum for staying away.

So jealous of your iPad! Those things are amazing.

The last two days have felt like a week!! All sorts of annoying little things that just had to go wrong. I'm so glad I've got three days off!

All those doggy pics are so cute! Mine don't sit still long enough to get a good pic.

You can count me in for the dance party on Deck 9!!

According to the rescue group, Neville was practically catatonic when they pulled him from Animal Control. Then he hid in his dog house for two weeks. When I walked in with big George, they looked really skeptical. But Neville came to me right away, he wasn't at all afraid of George, and George was very gentle with him. Neville's shyness lasted til we got in the car - then it was paws on the dash and tail wagging the whole way home.

A pet-friendly Disney resort would be so very cool! Trouble is, too many people would abuse it. I find it laughable what some hotels consider being "pet-friendly." A non-refundable $100 pet fee doesn't seem very "friendly" to me! Luckily, we've found two hotels in Orlando we like that are actually "friendly" - clean, decent, and reasonable or no pet fees. They're not very useful to us for visiting WDW, but work well when we visit my family.

When are you leaving? Are you going through JFK or Miami?

It sounds like you really saved Neville's life. I feel like they somehow know & remember how you rescued them, you know?

We are arriving the day before the cruise, so we leave on the 8th. We were in Spain for about 4 days in May and also were in Barcelona last year so we didn't feel like we wanted to spend a lot more time in Barcelona for this cruise. Our flight doesn't connect in the states - it goes from Orlando to Madrid and then Madrid to Barcelona.

Hope things are a little easier for you today!!

After a long day of family emergencies and traveling, I finally arrived at the Lake House too tired to post anything other than apologies for not posting the pin list or answering any PM's or reading the DIS which I hope to do on Saturday!

Hope things are better today.

I forgot to say i'm loving all the doggie photos this morning.

It's Stamford's 6th Birthday today and he is currently playing with his new toy. Kind of sucks that today of all days we got a letter back from his insurance saying they are not paying out on his tumor as it was the same type as the one from last year. I guess we need to find £600 ($900) from somewhere to pay for it now.

Not a great week for news as we got a letter on Thursday from the courts about our burglary incident in April and the scumbag basically got let off with an 8pm curfew for 12 weeks. On top of that because he has no means (aka unemployed druggie) he doesn't even have to pay us the £300 ($450) cost of repairs to the door he busted open. It is laughable!!! How pathetic is the justice system in our country.

Happy birthday Stamford! And about the insurance and the joke of a sentence for your burglar. Of course in this country there would probably also be a civil suit for damages.

Americans - have you seen the article that our credit cards won't work in Europe because they don't have a chip like the European ones do? What's your strategy for dealing with that?

Hope everyone has a great Weekend!

I've heard of that Linda, but it was no problem when we used our ATM card in Spain, Italy, France this May. So I think it might be some banks but not all. Do alert your card companies of your travel dates though.

I just had another friend Facebook me asking about particulars of this cruise and was interested in going This is getting crazy (in a good way). I am sure it has all to do with me and nothing to do with how wonderful the cruise is, right? If they join that makes three couples joining us. So much fun.

The more the merrier right? How fun to be cruising with so many good friends.

 

[birkner]

Sur La Table?

Sur La Table

 

[Chris&Jeremy]

Since everyone is posting images of their "kids" - here is ours. The first picture is from Mardi Gras - I'm not going to tell you what she had to do to get those beads!

 

[birkner]

Than you to everyone for their well wishes. Life is a little mor sane today but I probably won't be on the DIS or FB much.

Here is the PAID in full pin list. If anyone else wants pins, I have a few that are still on allocation. If you are not on the list and feel you have paid, please send me details about your PayPal payment so I may correct the list.

 

[RubyBlue]

Since everyone is posting images of their "kids" - here is ours. The first picture is from Mardi Gras - I'm not going to tell you what she had to do to get those beads!

What happens at Mardi Gras. . . stays at Mardi Gras!

Oh those eyes! I couldn't refuse her anything!

 

[TxMermaid1]

Than you to everyone for their well wishes. Life is a little mor sane today but I probably won't be on the DIS or FB much.

Here is the PAID in full pin list. If anyone else wants pins, I have a few that are still on allocation. If you are not on the list and feel you have paid, please send me details about your PayPal payment so I may correct the list.

I do not see my name on the list but I sent payment for 2 pins via pay pal... please check on that for me.

 

[fly4free2]

Credit cards won't work in Europe...what? When did this start happening. We had no problem last year in April.

[/QUOTE]

I have traveled all over Europe and never have a problem. I do call my Bank and let them know which countries I will be using it in so that it does not look as if it's stolen. I heard about the "chip" thing a few years ago, but I have never had any trouble. I say "Spend Spend Spend" ,just sayin'

 

[poohluv2u]

I forgot to say i'm loving all the doggie photos this morning.


It's Stamford's 6th Birthday today and he is currently playing with his new toy. Kind of sucks that today of all days we got a letter back from his insurance saying they are not paying out on his tumor as it was the same type as the one from last year. I guess we need to find £600 ($900) from somewhere to pay for it now.


Not a great week for news as we got a letter on Thursday from the courts about our burglary incident in April and the scumbag basically got let off with an 8pm curfew for 12 weeks. On top of that because he has no means (aka unemployed druggie) he doesn't even have to pay us the £300 ($450) cost of repairs to the door he busted open. It is laughable!!! How pathetic is the justice system in our country.

Happy Birthday to Stamford So sorry about the insurance not paying out, I'm not sure why it being the same type of tumor has anything to do with it ... crazy

My blood would be boiling too about the outcome of your break-in ... an 8pm curfew! What a joke .. it's not like he is a teenager with bad grades getting punished by his parents

Thanks Karen. Deb has sent me a message she could only find one set for herself so if you could grab them for me that would be great. I didn't realise there are so many in each pack so one will plenty for me, thanks. Oh and if you happen to pass by those matching stickers then I wouldn't mind a sheet of those too. Thank you so much, I will be sure to stock up on some Maltesers to bring with me, although I can't buy them until the day before we leave otherwise i'll eat them.

I will leave within the hour to pick those up for you and Deb ... totally understand about waiting till the day before on the Maltesers, it's a good thing they are not readily available to me here.

Than you to everyone for their well wishes. Life is a little mor sane today but I probably won't be on the DIS or FB much.

I hope everyone is well, just enjoy some down time

 

[Dgentrysim]

Okay, that's me, Pat, Karen, Deb & Karen for the dis dancers. I can't tell you guys how nice it will be to not feel weird dancing up there on my own - Joe goes to the parties but lets me do the dancing.

We need to think of a name for our group of ladies like the Magic Disdancers or Twinkle Toes Disdancers!!!!
We're taking names of potential candidates and there will be try-outs on deck (Deck 6 taken for Riverdance auditions!). Sounds like a good time to me!

 

[fly4free2]

[

QUOTE=Dgentrysim;41695213]We need to think of a name for our group of ladies like the Magic Disdancers or Twinkle Toes Disdancers!!!!
We're taking names of potential candidates and there will be try-outs on deck (Deck 6 taken for Riverdance auditions!). Sounds like a good time to me! [/QUOTE

]

I'm game, maybe the "Magic Dis-co-dancers"

 

[Dgentrysim]

[]

I'm game, maybe the "Magic Dis-co-dancers"

Good one!! For the ones who like to imbibe a "little" maybe....Magic "FAB-ulous" Disdancers! LOL

 

[fly4free2]

Good one!! For the ones who like to imbibe a "little" maybe....Magic "FAB-ulous" Disdancers! LOL

Maybe

 

[Fontabel]

Hi All,

Since we are Americans living in Europe and only have American credit cards, I can hope to give some advice:

1. We have been traveling all over Western Europe, our most recent trip was earlier this month, to Barcelona, in fact, and we had not problems using our credit cards as long as we alerted them to where we were traveling.

2. Debit cards. This is different from a credit card. I know in the U.S. you can sometimes choose credit on a debit card at stores. That option can sometimes not work in Europe. However, you should be able to use your debit card in most ATMs. In Barcelona, we had no problems using our debit cards to get cash (again alert your banks that you are traveling.) You just need to match the symbols on the back of your ATM with the ones on the machine. I have never had problems with my Bank of America card, but occasionally have issues with the ING (finding an ATM it is compatible with), so I usually use the BOA card first.

3. We normally use lots of cash in Europe, which I know some people are not comfortable using or carrying, but in most major European cities, you can use all major cards. I would suggest a Capital One card as they have no currency conversion fees.

Feel free to ask me any questions, I will do my best to help, but I would not worry too much, just inform your banks and credit card carriers.

Amanda

 

[Donaldcp98]

Hi All,

Since we are Americans living in Europe and only have American credit cards, I can hope to give some advice:

1. We have been traveling all over Western Europe, our most recent trip was earlier this month, to Barcelona, in fact, and we had not problems using our credit cards as long as we alerted them to where we were traveling.

2. Debit cards. This is different from a credit card. I know in the U.S. you can sometimes choose credit on a debit card at stores. That option can sometimes not work in Europe. However, you should be able to use your debit card in most ATMs. In Barcelona, we had no problems using our debit cards to get cash (again alert your banks that you are traveling.) You just need to match the symbols on the back of your ATM with the ones on the machine. I have never had problems with my Bank of America card, but occasionally have issues with the ING (finding an ATM it is compatible with), so I usually use the BOA card first.

3. We normally use lots of cash in Europe, which I know some people are not comfortable using or carrying, but in most major European cities, you can use all major cards. I would suggest a Capital One card as they have no currency conversion fees.

Feel free to ask me any questions, I will do my best to help, but I would not worry too much, just inform your banks and credit card carriers.

Amanda

Thank you for that insight. I remember not having a problem at all last year when we traveled but didn't know if something had changed. Glad to hear that we should be ok.

 

[liesbeth1012]

Americans - have you seen the article that our credit cards won't work in Europe because they don't have a chip like the European ones do? What's your strategy for dealing with that?

Hope everyone has a great Weekend!

In the Netherlands they are changing the pinautomats. You can pin with your chip on your bankpass, but not everyone has a new pass. So you also can pin and pay with the magnetic strip on your pass.
I just understand that some bankpinautomats in Europe don't accept the new bankpass.
So I think that there is always a bank that accept your card. And you can pay with your creditcard.
I have never had a problem with my bankpass and creditcard.

 

[colkath2005]

Hello Colette am looking forward to the same re: meeting all! So sorry about the difficulty securing reservations. Good job on the shopping and FE start. Makes the sail date feel closer.

When do you finish qualifying for PT? I have gained so much insight and patience and wisdom from my PT. The right person in that job is a godsend. I was doing cardio today on machines and imagined myself viewing endless ocean in front of me rather than sweaty gym rats, lol.

I shouldv'e been on a 5 day course to finish off in Sep but now iv'e moved it to Nov instead so after I finish the course anda exam i have on the 12th of this month ill be done. I love going to the gym on sea days I was telling a guy at work about it and he thought it sounded amazing. Iv'e tried a spin class and it was a bit different but hard work and felt good after. This time I would like to try the yoga.

I love all the pics of everyones dogs. They really made me smile.

Cant wait to get my FE orders through now so I can make a start on them. Has anybody else got theirs to make or am I totally behind?
Colette

 

[Dgentrysim]

I shouldv'e been on a 5 day course to finish off in Sep but now iv'e moved it to Nov instead so after I finish the course anda exam i have on the 12th of this month ill be done. I love going to the gym on sea days I was telling a guy at work about it and he thought it sounded amazing. Iv'e tried a spin class and it was a bit different but hard work and felt good after. This time I would like to try the yoga.

I love all the pics of everyones dogs. They really made me smile.

Cant wait to get me FE bit through now so I can make a start on them. Has anybody else got theirs to make or am I totally behind?
Colette

I am about halfway done. Slowly but surely getting there!

 

[LindaBabe]

Hi All,

Since we are Americans living in Europe and only have American credit cards, I can hope to give some advice:

1. We have been traveling all over Western Europe, our most recent trip was earlier this month, to Barcelona, in fact, and we had not problems using our credit cards as long as we alerted them to where we were traveling.

2. Debit cards. This is different from a credit card. I know in the U.S. you can sometimes choose credit on a debit card at stores. That option can sometimes not work in Europe. However, you should be able to use your debit card in most ATMs. In Barcelona, we had no problems using our debit cards to get cash (again alert your banks that you are traveling.) You just need to match the symbols on the back of your ATM with the ones on the machine. I have never had problems with my Bank of America card, but occasionally have issues with the ING (finding an ATM it is compatible with), so I usually use the BOA card first.

3. We normally use lots of cash in Europe, which I know some people are not comfortable using or carrying, but in most major European cities, you can use all major cards. I would suggest a Capital One card as they have no currency conversion fees.

Feel free to ask me any questions, I will do my best to help, but I would not worry too much, just inform your banks and credit card carriers.

Amanda

In the Netherlands they are changing the pinautomats. You can pin with your chip on your bankpass, but not everyone has a new pass. So you also can pin and pay with the magnetic strip on your pass.
I just understand that some bankpinautomats in Europe don't accept the new bankpass.
So I think that there is always a bank that accept your card. And you can pay with your creditcard.
I have never had a problem with my bankpass and creditcard.

Thank you so much for the insights! My husband saw this article the other day and was all worried on my behalf (since he's not going to be there to "look out" for me)