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

[TotallyAngelic]

Lynne - your photos are truly stunning ..... looking at them brings back so many wonderful memories as I spent 3 months cruising Alaska when working for Princess Cruises in 1989. We had some fantastic times in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and did white water rafting in the Mendenhall glacier melt river. Thanks so much for sharing your amazing photos .... really making me want to book an Alaska cruise in 2012.

 

[jinxleprechaun]

Thank you .... I love the look of these sandals ... will certainly look out for them



Crikey .... that's unbelievable !!



Time is definitely starting to speed up, which is what I need to do with my FE gifts and everything ... feel I am way behind this time ... only 3 months today until we leave for Barcelona !!!!!!!

WOO HOO
Might even match the Ladies and buy some new shoessssssss


what IS it with shoes

Don't get me started on FE - Its our first time and where to start

Michael & the Motley Crew

 

[squitty]

Wow!!! We're going away for the weekend and I haven't even thought about what to pack for then, let alone for the cruise! I wish I was as organized as you are, Michelle. Every time we go away, I think I'll get the packing done in advance, so that it is a pleasant experience. Invariably though it ends up being a frantic rush on the night before flying out, desperately trying to pack everything !

I must confess, we have our cases pre packed. We get back from vacation and they are all packed away for the next time. I just went through mine yesterday as I neded to check the weight etc

Me too, I live in them onboard.(So why am I taking the other 15 pairs of shoes then)

LOL's Marilyn, cause you need the choice, just incase

There's some info on the forum regarding the beach and a tour. I know some people are interested in visiting here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2736405

Thanks for the link Mel. I will have a look later

I know many of you are will be arriving at Barcelona Airport before the cruise. If you are going to use the airport shuttle here is an intresting little story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13694382

Norman

what a story!

Still haven't read this part of the thread, but I thought I'd pass along the latest info on what is/is not available to book:

Available Cabanas on Castaway Cay: Family # 9, 11, 12 - Serenity Bay #19


Shore Excursions that are full:

• 12-Metre Regatta - St Maarten
  
• Seaworld Explorer / Coral Reef Exploration - St Maarten

Palo (party of 1-2; that's all I can book due to stateroom occupancy - don't know about bigger groups) NOT available for:

Brunch on

• Day 4 Sep 13 10:30
  
• Day 6 Sep 15 10:30
  
• Day 9 Sep 18 10:30

Brunch times are 10:30, 11:00 and 11:30 am


Tea (only seating is 3pm) on

• Day 6 Sep 15
  
• Day 9 Sep 18
  
• Day 13 Sep 22

Dinner on

• Day 4 Sep 13 7:00
  
• Day 6 Sep 15 6:30

Dinner seatings on the half hour 6:00 - 8:30 pm, inclusive

Thanks for the update Lynne

About shoes, I found some great shoes for my trip in May and I wore them nearly every day of vacation - walking miles and miles around Rome, Venice, Barcelona, etc. on cobblestones and did some light hiking in them as well. They held up beautifully after going through the ringer for 2 weeks and were very comfortable from the start.

The brand is Merrell. Here is their website: http://www.merrell.com
They sell in the US, the UK and elsewhere, but if you get to the US site, just click on the flag in the upper right hand corner and it will allow you to select your country. You can also do the store locator if you don't want to purchase online - they have a small selection at DSW in the states.
The pair I bought is this one: http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/20077W/0/Womens/Bassoon?dimensions=0

But there are lots of other styles. These shoes are made for hiking so they are great walking shoes. Light for packing and worth every penny b/c they last. Highly recommend!

My DH loves his Merell's. He lives in his both here and when we go away..apart from wearing his crocs.

I love my croc flip flops. They are really comfy and don't hurt your toes with the toe posts.

 

[squitty]

Thank you Lynn for sharing your photo's - 'Wonder'ful

 

[Seraphine]

Quote: Originally Posted by TxMermaid1
BTW.. someone asked about manicures on board... I had one at a price of $50. this was just a plain manicure... no fake nails etc. I will never waste my $$ again for this. The polish was half off by dinner time and I had to remove the rest and repaint my own nails. That was the biggest waste of money I ever spent on board..... I also heard others had the same issues....


I wonder what polish they used that just chipped off like that? Do you remember? I wonder if you could bring your own polish & basecoat.....


I've heard this before about the manicure services on the ships. All of the spas on cruise ships are run by a company called Steiner, rather than the individual cruise lines.

I'm a nail tech, and it makes me crazy when people get substandard services, especially when they are charged such high prices. It makes us all look bad, like we are ripping people off! My clients usually get a week out of a traditional polish manicure, and at least two weeks with UV polish (Shellac). Having it all chip off a few hours later is ridiculous, and you should certainly go back to the salon and complain should that ever happen again.

I'm sure you could bring your own polish and basecoat to the ship's salon, but considering the prices they charge it would be shameful to pay so much if you are supplying the products. I can guarantee they won't give you a discount on the price if you bring your own.

I'll bring some odds and ends, so if anyone has a nail emergency I'd be happy to help them out! I travel with OPI polishes, nail glue and repair silk, files, base and top coats. If I felt comfortable traveling with my Shellac lamp I'd bring that too, but I don't think the bulbs would survive the journey. But I'm serious, if anyone needs a hand with a repair or a quick polish job, I'm in cabin 6071.

 

[karentan]

We will take ours too.

done

 

[karentan]

Might as well, since everyone else is! I'll take ours and the assignment for PinkPug (DM/DN). Thanks again for doing this.

done, sent PM to you and one to pink pug

 

[karentan]

just pushed the cut off date for the secret mickey back to the 27th august (2 weeks prior to sailing). figured that since 13 of 16 people already have their assignments, the cut off date being so close to sailing won't be a problem.

so does anyone else want to join in? had a couple of people join in since they've signed up for the last sea day lunch/mickey reveal.

 

[karentan]

dan, bruce (cliffy97) and mary and stevie (todandcopper) - we're thinking of flying in on the day of the cruise too, arriving at 10.30am.
last year there was a group of us staying at the same hotel the night before and we hired a minibus to get to the port, would you guys be interested in doing the same thing? might save us all a bit of beer money? would work out as 83 euros for six of us (13 euros each?) if we get more people, the price will go down even more

 

[Chirpee]

Thanks for sharing your photos, Lynne. . After seeing them, Alaska is on our "potential future cruise" list

 

[karentan]

they really are stunning photos lynne

plus i think alaska will be the one time where the characters aren't stupidly warm!

 

[Tubbsteruk]

Hi Everyone,

I'm struggling to keep up with everything on the forum there's so much stuff on there.

Firstly Thanks to everyone for the welcome messages, they were great. A little worried about a few comments regarding doing a TA as a 1st cruise as 'interesting' !!! I thought this was going to be a laid back feet up kind of a holiday both before and during. It's dawning on me now that this will definately not be the case

As i'm a newbie i'm not allowed to PM anyone as yet but just to let the relevant people know what we would like to participate in

PFlamingo - we would like to do the FE, as this is the 1st time we would prefer just to be in the one group for this cruise until we find our feet.

Goofieslonglostsis - We would like to take part in the candy swap, sounds great.

Karentan - We would be interested in the secret Mickey. Just a few points :-
do we buy per cabin or each individual person in the cabin
We are in cabin 7000, Grace is 2 and is into anything princess or fairies.
Are we OK to ask that our SM just buy for Grace rather than all in the cabin (not sure how this works)

Birkner - Noel/John - could we be put down for 3 Lanyards and 1 Pin. Do we need to send payment via Paypal or pay on board?

Cliffy97 - Dan/Bruce, can you put myself and Helen down for the pub crawl (babysitter allowing), thanks

Pinky166 - Can you put us down for the farewell lunch

Hard Rock meet on the 9th - see everyone there.

MandyGirl - the playgroup things sounds great. Grace loves mixing with other Kids. I have spoken with DCL and they have said that she can join the kids club as she is just short of 3 - can you give any further advice on this?

Steamboat Will - Thanks for the links to the FE info. Helen's mum will shortly be recruited into action to make our FE (she doesn't know this yet)

Just for information regarding to port days

I have contacted Dolphin discovery and booked for Helen and Grace to do the dolphin experience. They have sent email confirmation and said it was no problems even with a ship docked that day - I thought DCL would have booked the place up. On DCL Grace would not have been able to do this as they state no under 3's but dolphin discovery said no problem and there is no charge for under 3's which was a bonus.

In relation to Gibraltar, the trip to the the apes is a great trip in the minibuses as there is more to do at 'the top of the rock' other than the apes. There are the siege tunnels and St Michael's cave and if you do it on the cable cars there is quite a walk on the rock to visit all the places.

One tip that I would give for Gibraltar is to take some pounds sterling. Everywhere will accept pounds sterling and euros but the exchange rate for euro's is 1.5 to the pound which is extortionate. If drawing money out of ATM's there are different machines that dispense pounds and euros. The ATM at morrisons gives pounds sterling


We have been assigned cabin 7000. Can anyone offer any info regarding the cabin, being the foremost cabin will we suffer more from noise than most? Any info would be great as I can look at changing if it's going to be a problem

As i'm new to blogging can anyone help in advising me how to do the correct layout when replying to peoples comments i.e the yellow boxes showing the comments you are replying to. I'm sure it's quite straight forward as everyone else has the hang of it but I haven't managed to work it out as yet.

I think i've covered everything for now

Thanks

Paul, Helen & Grace x

 

[karentan]

Karentan - We would be interested in the secret Mickey. Just a few points :-
do we buy per cabin or each individual person in the cabin
We are in cabin 7000, Grace is 2 and is into anything princess or fairies.
Are we OK to ask that our SM just buy for Grace rather than all in the cabin (not sure how this works)

We have been assigned cabin 7000. Can anyone offer any info regarding the cabin, being the foremost cabin will we suffer more from noise than most? Any info would be great as I can look at changing if it's going to be a problem

As i'm new to blogging can anyone help in advising me how to do the correct layout when replying to peoples comments i.e the yellow boxes showing the comments you are replying to. I'm sure it's quite straight forward as everyone else has the hang of it but I haven't managed to work it out as yet.

I think i've covered everything for now

Thanks

Paul, Helen & Grace x

hi paul
i've sent you a PM about the secret mickey. as to your questions:
the budget is approx $20-$25 per cabin. you can choose to do one gift per cabin, one per person, multiples for the cabin, multiples per person. its really up to you.
no probs with just having grace as your recipient, a couple of people are just doing it for the kids, not for the adults.

room 7000 should be fine, you're right at the front of the ship, so no through traffic, near the forward elevators, and only two decks down from all the pool decks.
here's a couple of reviews on your room: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomreport.cfm?Room=7000

about the multi replies:
right at the bottom right side of every post there should be 3 icons, one will say quote (normal quoting - it'll take you to another page and it will quote the entire post you clicked on).
the one on the right is a paper with a feather pen - thats quick reply. it'll direct you to the bottom of the page and you can just type your reply
the one in the middle (paper with quotation marks and a plus sign) is multi quote. click on that button for every post you want to quote, then when you get to the last one you want to quote, hit quote. it'll redirect you to another page with all the quoted text on it. write what you want between the quotes and hit submit reply.
easy peasy

 

[sue l]

Every time I go into the shoe store in my village, the staff there tell me how wonderful and popular the Fit Flops are, but I have yet to try on a pair. After reading your endorsements for them, though, I feel a visit to that store is in my near future!

they are well worth. I promise. You will not regret it.

 

[karentan]

as may or may not be obvious, i'm a bit bored - just figured out our cruise threads have done 596 pages so far! man, we're a chatty bunch!

 

[Tubbsteruk]

Karen,

Received you PM, just sent the reply, ta

Thanks for the link to the cabin reviews

Just tried the link reply and it won't allow me to do this as yet as I don't have 10 posts as yet

Well, that's 3 - can't see it being long before i have 10

Paul

 

[MandyGirl]

MandyGirl - the playgroup things sounds great. Grace loves mixing with other Kids. I have spoken with DCL and they have said that she can join the kids club as she is just short of 3 - can you give any further advice on this?

From what I have read, if they are just short of 3 and FULLY potty trained, you can leave them in the kids club if available room onboard. I also read they cannot go back and forth between Flounders and Kids Club, but not sure on that. Our youngest will be just 15 months, so we will be Flounders... except for when we take her to Kids Club and stay with her just so she can do some things in there. Our oldest turns five the week of the cruise, so no issues there. (Even at the pool the other day, our oldest plays "mother hen" to the little ones it seems!)

Playgroup -- I was thinking if we just had a one-time meet-up so the parents of little ones could meet each other - then those of us from DIS recognize each other had any missed Hard Rock on Friday night. Maybe our first sea day after leaving Barcelona so we then know each other as we criss-cross paths. (?) I don't know how weather will be, but something like the toddler splash area either before or after lunch. (Before lunch such as 11:00 would mean less sun exposure... after lunch such as 1:00 could mean get their wiggles out right before naps) Thoughts?

 

[Pinky166]

Paul, I have added the three of you to the farewell lunch.

 

[Just love Eeyore]

I just wanted to share the t-shirts I received today. I hope it works, I never used Photobucket before.

Sorry I don't know how to resize. But at least you don't have to wear glasses to see the picture

 

[Tubbsteruk]

Mandygirl,

Thanks for the info regarding kids club.

I think a get together would be great and we'd be ok for either time. One thing, what are 'wiggles' ???