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

[PFlamingo]

Ooooh, I want to be Rita Moreno!

 

[Pinky166]

I am taking my mother in law back to the States in style! She recently broke her hip and can not take a long flight. Is there a time for meet and great on day 1? I saw the lanyard offer, and I signed up, but I can't find the confirmation list. Is the pin included?
Can't wait to meet everyone!
Damian

aboard.

It is/was at the terminal in Barcelona. We bought 14 bottles of wine, several bottles of alcohol. Wait.....forget that....we purchased a few "drinks" there. LOL.

I thought it was awesome in that you only had to carry the items from entry to the ship to the room.

Hopefully someone can clarify if it still exists.

Mary (Tod&Copper) will be back at the weekend from her Med cruise, hopefully she can confirm if it's still there.

Just to update everyone on the "no dock at White Bay" concern for the JVD catamaran/beach/snorkeling excursion:

I emailed the charter company this evening about how people get to/from catamaran and beach (at least it's not Pirate Night and they make you walk the plank!) - and will update everyone on that aspect when I hear back. I do think the pics are pretty accurate from the times we have been there, and Virgin Gorda was definitely more of a true swim. Once I hear back from them, I'll make any necessary deletions from the list to move standby folks up.

The Virgin Gorda tour with DCL arrives by minibus, so no swimming a mile to shore required.

 

[granmaz]

For a second there I thought you meant in your stateroom!!!!

I think that is frowned upon

Could you imagine

" I'm sorry I could find anything to my tastes in the 9 onboard dining locations so I decided to cook burgers on my balcony!!!!"

SW

Mmmm, sound(and smells) good!!!!

 

[ThePicketts]

WOW! Thank you so much for all of the awesome info! I am always amazed at how wonderful people are willing to help! Thank you again.
Damian

 

[Rikersmom]

I am almost certain that Natalie Wood did not sing--someone dubbed in her songs. I always liked Rita Moreno better myself.

We are in dire need of rain here. Big storm last night, however. When it rains that hard it doesn't do much for the lawns. It is still better than nothing.

I always feel that washing my car causes rain, but even that has not been working. Maybe Sarah has the right idea--plan an outdoor activity. Hope that Taryn has a safe trip.

Karen

 

[TxMermaid1]

WOW I am gone for the weekend and now I have 40 pages to catch up on! Ya'll have been busy chatting! LMBO

 

[auntlynne]

I've started compiling a list of clothes that I would like to take on the cruise and I've noticed I have a lot of white items I've been putting down. My question is (and I'm sure it's a southern regional thing)...do a lot of women wear white on the WBTA? I'm not talking about white shirts.....but sandals, pants, skirts, etc. In the south, you grew up with the tradition of not wearing white shoes before Memorial Day (end of May) and not wearing them after Labor Day (first week-end of Sept.). I figure going on a cruise would be different, but then I'm not sure of what the temperature is like crossing the Atlantic during the middle of Sept. Just an idle thought and thought some of you experienced "cruise fashionistas" could shed light on this for me! Still going to wear white but maybe not as much depending on the temperatures. Thanks for your help on this "earth shattering" issue!

Speaking as the Alabama girl, it's the white shoes after Labor Day that are the issue. However, when in the tropics, tropical attire is always appropriate. If you keep your white sandals packed away until we pass the Greenwich Meridian, we will not be calling the fashion police.

OK, I'll be Natalie Wood! (that's really a stretch ) Now, if I could just sing....

But, yes, it appears we are a scrappy bunch

Are you feeling pretty?

Ooooh, I want to be Rita Moreno!

"Bernardo's girlfriend Anita (Rita Moreno) and her friends sing the praises of life in "America." Like most of the film's other principals however, Moreno danced and acted but didn't do all her own singing. Her vocals for "A Boy Like That" were dubbed in post-production by Betty Wand because the song was too low for Moreno's range.


Co-starring as the ill-fated lovers, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer sing "Tonight" on her balcony -- though their vocals were also dubbed in post-production. Wood's voice was supplied by veteran Hollywood vocalist Marni Nixon, while Jimmy Bryant did the singing for Beymer. Also silenced with another voice was Russ Tamblyn whose lyrics in "The Jets Song" were supplied by Tucker Smith. Of the five principal cast members, only George Chakiris did all his own singing."

http://www.reelclassics.com/Musicals/Westside/westside.htm

 

[Dgentrysim]

Speaking as the Alabama girl, it's the white shoes after Labor Day that are the issue. However, when in the tropics, tropical attire is always appropriate. If you keep your white sandals packed away until we pass the Greenwich Meridian, we will not be calling the fashion police.

Fashion police?!!! Do they have international waters jurisdiction???? Thanks for the tip about the Greenwich Meridian!

 

[MandyGirl]

Hey Mandy, do they make those things in adult sizes? Specifically Dennis sizes? You should've seen the look he just gave me when I told him the catamaran doesn't go to the beach or a dock.

LOL! No reply yet. Show him the pics on the DCL excursion and how close they can get without actually beaching the boat.

One time on St John, we rented a dinghy and went beach hopping for the day. One place you tied to moorings in the water that was over your head (Waterlemon) and snorkeled out there. However, you had to get back in the dinghy with no dock, no ladder, and no ocean floor under you that you could reach. I'm sure we were quite a site to see. Curt was able to get right in, but me, well, any video would have made America's Funniest Home Videos! I told him later he needed better upper arm strength to pull me up (and I probably need less lower body weight!) Hopefully it goes pretty darn close where we are in just a few feet of water for getting on/off.

The Virgin Gorda tour with DCL arrives by minibus, so no swimming a mile to shore required.

Yep - can skip the catamaran sail and take the ferry/bus for VG. They have it right when mentioning "good physical condition". We had a guided tour along the base of the Baths, and never went to the top where tour buses dropped off. Too much climbing and squeezing through holes here and there. We knew we couldn't do Virgin Gorda this time having little ones.

When I had compared the charter to the DCL JVD excursion when putting it out there, I noticed they mentioned no dock as well, and figured everyone saw that as opposed to me reposting everything. Of course, I don't recall seeing kayaks, water trampolines, etc there... and don't see that in the charter company pics.... but mentioned lunch is on our own for our excursion. I'm still thinking the boats can get pretty close for pickup/dropoff because of what we see in the pics and also the DCL slideshow of pics for that excursion. Hopefully I'll get a reply in the next day or two.

WOW I am gone for the weekend and now I have 40 pages to catch up on! Ya'll have been busy chatting! LMBO

You can't sleep around here... too much happens!

 

[Fontabel]

So,

We returned from our two weeks B2B on the Norweigan Epic. It was definately a different experience for us trying the freestyle again. Overall cruise was a C+, but the entertainment and the ship was really something. We probably won't go back to NCL (this was our second chance for them out of 15 cruises). Once I get my act together and post a review on Cruise Critic, I can link it for anyone interested.

Anyway, I have only gotten to page 35 of the new posts, but wanted to jump in with some thoughts on things I have read thusfar. I have sent a lot of PMs and am trying to catch up with the new events. We will get our pictures up on the web site soon. I am sure I will be adding more posts as I run through the pages. So here goes:

1. Passports and Passport Stamps: In my official capacity as Diplomat for the U.S. Department of State, I can tell you that you should have a copy of your passport, but when you leave the ship, you should take the real thing with you, not the copy. I know that the web site says differently, but from experience I can tell you that if you are lost, in trouble, or picked up by the cops, a copy will not get you anywhere. Also, at the nearest US Embassy or consulate, you will need another form of ID besides the copy if you happen to lose your passport. So my advice is to carry your actual passport with you off the ship, especially in the European ports, never leave home without it! On the stamps, you are unlikely to get any from the ports, sometimes there are guards that will, if asked, stamp it, but not normally. In Barcelona, you should get one at the airport customs, if not, you can ask, but they will likely stamp it. If DCL does something different, then I defer to the experts here, but from a passport official perspective, unlikely to stamp cruise ship people.

2. We are interested in the Pub Crawl so please add us to the list of people who would likely show up (Fontabel--Amanda and DH Jared)

3. We just got back from Barcelona, which is where the Epic went out of. We stayed at the Hotel Inglaterra. We rebooked it for our one night in Sept. It was approx $170. The reason we liked it was that it was literally a stone's throw from the University airport shuttle stop. It is clean, within walking distance of Las Ramblas and slightly off Catalunya. It is also 100 feet from University Metro Stop. Unfortunately, there were 5 ships leaving Barcelona the day we left, so our cab ride was a bit costly to the ship mainly due to the inordinate amount of taxis going to the ship, so it was 20 Euros, but on a slower day, I think it would only be about 10 or 12.

4. Airport Shuttle: Not sure about that video, but do not let this deter you from taking the Aerobus. It was clean, cheap (5.30 Euros per person--try to have as close to actual amount as possible. You buy the tickets on the bus.) and it takes you right to Catalunya. It has three stops before Catalunya, one being the University which is closer to our hotel, but we learned that after we got off at the end. The bus we had had luggage racks in the center of the bus. There was so much luggage on them, I could not imagine how people would jump on and steal stuff, the bus was pretty full too, so it would be hard to get away with it. The airport itself could use a bit more signs to find this bus, but if you follow the signs to the buses generally, you should begin to see a sign for Aerobus. If you fly into Terminal 1, PM me and I can tell you how to get to it from baggage. I am not sure about Terminal 2.

5. Barcelona Safety: We were fine. We were careful on the metro, paid attention at night, tried not to attract too much attention and no one bothered us, and we were carrying a map. I sometimes think this is over-exaggerated. We have had more problems in Washington DC then many European cities. You need to be careful on Las Ramblas after 9. Also, don't get caught up in the "street performers" on the plazas, as we noticed some people picking pockets of tourists standing in a crowd looking at the "entertainment." That was the only real issue.

6. We still have two rides on our T10 card, does anyone know how long they last?

7. We are considering the Hard Rock meet and greet, but we will leave Skopje at 430am that Friday (getting up at 2am) and be in Barcelona at 12. So, it may be a nap for us at that time. Is it okay to just stop by or do you need a definitive head count?

8. Question for people who has been to Gibraltar before: Can you do the rock on your own? Is it difficult to get to if you just walk off the ship? Is it an "on your own" type exploration or do you need a tour?

9. Has anyone done one of the spa pedicures? Is the polish issue a problem on your feet that it is on your hands?

That's all for now. Back to trying to catch up. You guys are so quick. Gone two weeks and over 100+ posts!

Fontabel (Amanda)

 

[sue l]

hi! welcome to the thread
i'm karen and i'm cruising with my husband gary. this is our fourth DCL cruise but first TA.



sorry to hear you lost everything, i know how much time its taking to coordinate the secret mickey, let alone the whole FE. hope you manage to recover it!



the first rule of the leprechauns is never talk about the leprechauns.......



sooooo true! i was stuck at work though so no sun for me



sounds interesting and vile at the same time!



mary, i just assumed tim couldnt get the time off work, i didnt realise he didnt WANT to come! oh well, you can have a great time and then he'll realise what he missed out on!

My sister and I are also traveling withour our DH's. Hers won't fly and mine won't take the time off work. Their loss ladies, not ours. We will have a good time without them. Peace and serenity. Not that we don't love them, because we do very much.

 

[DISNEYFAN_SD]

Hey Mandy, do they make those things in adult sizes? Specifically Dennis sizes? You should've seen the look he just gave me when I told him the catamaran doesn't go to the beach or a dock.

 

[sue l]

It was too early on Saturday morning to think of grabbing the camera. He was so cute though that I wish I had.
I just replaced them. I have to find a better hiding place.

awwww cute .... did you take any pics?



Oh no ..... that would be a disaster if it happened to me ... I have never seen any female underwear in the shops on the ship



That is a stunning dress I tend to bring a different dress for each formal night.

My sister and I are boycoting formal night since my DH is no longer coming. More room in the suitcase for sandals.



I wear a lot of white and will be bringing a white skirt ot 2, white linen pants, white tops etc. I think it is definitely a suitable colour for the tropics !!



I remember the discussion this prompted last time Noel .... when we all thought you were having a special hair wax treatment



oh dear thats not good ..... I had it when good plans go to pot




We did it last September ...... maybe that is just for this year then



Better start looking for a water-tight bag to store my beach clothes / towel / camera etc in.



ahhhhhh plan B --- Hard Rock then booze shopping Thanks for that


Oh no - what a nightmare you poor thing. That is so frustrating and annoying and every other negative word you can think of. Sending and a virtual bottle of scotch



WElcome aboard. We are Sarah and Tony from Wales ... on our 2nd WBTA !!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

LOL! No reply yet. Show him the pics on the DCL excursion and how close they can get without actually beaching the boat.

One time on St John, we rented a dinghy and went beach hopping for the day. One place you tied to moorings in the water that was over your head (Waterlemon) and snorkeled out there. However, you had to get back in the dinghy with no dock, no ladder, and no ocean floor under you that you could reach. I'm sure we were quite a site to see. Curt was able to get right in, but me, well, any video would have made America's Funniest Home Videos! I told him later he needed better upper arm strength to pull me up (and I probably need less lower body weight!) Hopefully it goes pretty darn close where we are in just a few feet of water for getting on/off.



Yep - can skip the catamaran sail and take the ferry/bus for VG. They have it right when mentioning "good physical condition". We had a guided tour along the base of the Baths, and never went to the top where tour buses dropped off. Too much climbing and squeezing through holes here and there. We knew we couldn't do Virgin Gorda this time having little ones.

When I had compared the charter to the DCL JVD excursion when putting it out there, I noticed they mentioned no dock as well, and figured everyone saw that as opposed to me reposting everything. Of course, I don't recall seeing kayaks, water trampolines, etc there... and don't see that in the charter company pics.... but mentioned lunch is on our own for our excursion. I'm still thinking the boats can get pretty close for pickup/dropoff because of what we see in the pics and also the DCL slideshow of pics for that excursion. Hopefully I'll get a reply in the next day or two.



You can't sleep around here... too much happens!

Mandy,

A few years ago I took my DH and DS snorkeling in Belize. Folks on the little boat, after getting instruction about how to use their snorkel, etc., asked about how to get off the boat...and Mr. Big (yep, that was his name) said to just jump in or fall in. To me it was no big deal....but to the rest on the boat you'd have thought he told them to jump from the Statue of Liberty! It was too funny.

I'm game for whatever, but Andrew may be another story. I'm sure I can get in the water and swim for it a bit...though a mile will push my endurance. My biggest concern is getting my bottom half back onto the catamaran. Yep, you guessed it, not a lot of upper body strength accompanied by a lot of bottom part of the body!

I'm not hoping for a dock....but I am hoping for a ladder to get back in and a swim that is less than a mile!

Keri/ Karen

 

[GA-yaya]

Hi Everyone!

We're just back from a 5-day jaunt to New Orleans for multiple family celebrations! And, YIKES!!!! I am about 45 pages behind in reading....gonna take a couple of days to catch up.

So I apologize if I am repeating any previously answered questions...
What time to we need to be onboard for the muster drill in Barcelona? We'd like to get our bags into the stateroom and then head back out to buy liquor & wine. You can never have too much on hand!

I need to add transportation and a WDW hotel to my reservation, but it says I cannot change it online - maybe because it's a GTY. Will I be able to make changes online later or should I just call them?

Now that we are back in town I can start to focus on this cruise. Woohoo! AND I need to get serious with this diet!!!

 

[GA-yaya]

I've started compiling a list of clothes that I would like to take on the cruise and I've noticed I have a lot of white items I've been putting down. My question is (and I'm sure it's a southern regional thing)...do a lot of women wear white on the WBTA? I'm not talking about white shirts.....but sandals, pants, skirts, etc. In the south, you grew up with the tradition of not wearing white shoes before Memorial Day (end of May) and not wearing them after Labor Day (first week-end of Sept.). I figure going on a cruise would be different, but then I'm not sure of what the temperature is like crossing the Atlantic during the middle of Sept. Just an idle thought and thought some of you experienced "cruise fashionistas" could shed light on this for me! Still going to wear white but maybe not as much depending on the temperatures. Thanks for your help on this "earth shattering" issue!

I completely understand the white shoes after Labor Day dilemma, being a Louisiana girl. But let's just consider this cruise attire that can include white...that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

When we went on the Med. cruise last year, we only had one evening where you could feel the boat just "a rockin' & a rollin'" I remember after the dinner show, I thought I would leave a few minutes early to beat the crowd out. I was down at the front and I started walking up the steps. Anybody looking at me must have thought I was drunk...I was stumbling from one side to the other because of the ship rolling. I just prayed the whole time that I wouldn't fall into someone's lap (it was that BAD!). I was so happy to reach the top of the stairs!!!! So I considered us very lucky to have only had one night of bad weather. Hope we will be that lucky this time!!! lol

Yep, I remember that night well - I was konked out on Dramamine in our stateroom and missed the show in Rockin' Bar D where my husband was "not hypnotized" and then he was dressed up as Barry White!

 

[granmaz]

Hi Everyone!

We're just back from a 5-day jaunt to New Orleans for multiple family celebrations! And, YIKES!!!! I am about 45 pages behind in reading....gonna take a couple of days to catch up.

So I apologize if I am repeating any previously answered questions...
What time to we need to be onboard for the muster drill in Barcelona? We'd like to get our bags into the stateroom and then head back out to buy liquor & wine. You can never have too much on hand!

I need to add transportation and a WDW hotel to my reservation, but it says I cannot change it online - maybe because it's a GTY. Will I be able to make changes online later or should I just call them?

Now that we are back in town I can start to focus on this cruise. Woohoo! AND I need to get serious with this diet!!!

Sounds like you had a fun vacation.

Have you booked this cruise through a TA? If so you will have to ask them to book the transfers for you. That could be why you have that message on the website.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Would you like me to bring a bottle with me so you can have it on the cruise

Ooh, that is tempting. Now if we could only get that softserve changed into a B&J icestation prior to cruising and it would be icecream heaven.

I am taking my mother in law back to the States in style! She recently broke her hip and can not take a long flight. Is there a time for meet and great on day 1? I saw the lanyard offer, and I signed up, but I can't find the confirmation list. Is the pin included?
Can't wait to meet everyone!
Damian

Welcome Damian and mother! I'm GLLS, known IRL as Jacqueline. This is my 2nd cruise, first TA.

Hey Mandy, do they make those things in adult sizes? Specifically Dennis sizes? You should've seen the look he just gave me when I told him the catamaran doesn't go to the beach or a dock.

He only needs to be able to say one word; lifejacket. I really need to see pics of this excursion!

its not quite the same as the smuckers one but they do something similar over here if you want me to send you one?

What a nice offer, Karen! Really appreciate it, but not needed. Actually, we've seen alike products hit the Dutch market since last christmas but none of them come close to the real thing. They are just blegh. I decided not to try any other anymore and just stick to the known. Will only make me enjoy it that much more when I get my next taste.

The Virgin Gorda tour with DCL arrives by minibus, so no swimming a mile to shore required.

Are you trying to tell us something, Claire?


Welcome back Amanda!!


I'm going to hit a wholesale store tomorrow. They've got a great offer on certain baking stuff and as I need to get my stock refilled and can always use new cool bakingstuff; we're hitting it. Well, and because they've got enough other stuff on offer that we need as it's a bit too much of a drive to just hit them for a few things. I'm hoping to get my shopping done there for the few last FE-things and the candy swap. As a wholesale store, they've got a lot more in individual packaged baggies for canteens etc. which would be perfects for the candy exchange. Fingers crossed I can get most of my cruise grocery shopping done tomorrow. One less thing on the list to take care off.

 

[GA-yaya]

Don't forget, John and I will be publishing a DIS Navigator that you can either print out, view on your computer or put on you iPod, Android or iPad.

It should have all the daily activities for the DIS board, birthdays, anniversaries etc. Anything people want to add, they should PM me.

Noel, you and John ROCK!!! Thank you for doing this.

 

[magic123]

Hi Everyone
It’s been over three weeks since I’ve been on the Dis and I can’t believe I’ve missed so much…. Thread 4 !!!! . I have let everyday life, kids exams/hols get in the way….. and have got myself out of holiday mode….. so I need to find the magic again…. Since it’s only 87 days to go

Welcome to all those new members I have missed, and there are lots of you, it’s been so busy

Just can’t believe the Morrisons saga still continues, may just have to do a little shopping beforehand just in case!

Pat so sorry I was very late replying to your question about FE sizes, hope you got my FB message. Hope you have managed to sort out your computers troubles. That would have had me reaching for the drink and the chocolate!!! Or my DH, he can be useful !!

All the talk of shoes had me thinking. I need at least 12 pairs and that hadn’t even crossed my mind. So DH now wants me to pack my case, we have already purchased one extra case from BA so we have 3x23kg and I’ve told him that’s fine half a case for him and the rest for me!!! But on a serious note I need to stop buying dresses, something I won’t normally wear, because I have no idea how I’m going to fit them in.
Any suggestion’s on regaining my holiday mojo….. after catching up on a hundred pages of posts I am now feeling panic setting in. Need to get myself focused on 27th June and booking our ressies if there are any left !!!


Margaret