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

[goofieslonglostsis]

More than welcome! We've got to keep eachother up to date about those excursions that are accessible. Let alone accessible excursions that go beyond the standard drive around or visit to a beach. It's not as if there are hundreds in each port to pick from, after all.

 

[karentan]

Was wondering if anyone would be interested in a scuba diving excursion? I am a PADI scuba instructor and am planing to do a dive. If anyone would like to join me I would be happy to set up an excursion. I have done this many times...

count me and gary in! what did you have in mind?
we're only open water certified, and havent done a dive in a year or so, so be gentle on us!

Hi

Not sure if 1) I'm going to be allowed the time LOL ( shopping takes priority)
2) If I have enough experience

I completed a PADI scuba course 4 yrs ago but did not complete the open water module and I have not dived in 2 yrs .

I probably would need to be more up to date but let me know if It might be an option for me

Michael

we're not the most experienced divers either, gary has done more than me, but neither of us have done that many dives, and two of mine were epcot divequest! but i really want to dive somewhere warm in the caribbean with lots of fishies!

 

[birkner]

Noel; you OCD? Really? I never noticed it! Your shoe-travel-thingie is a bit of a.... challenge if you ask me for this one. A whole suitcase just for shoes? You're pulling our legs, right? Be honest with us, you've got us all fooled and are Carrie Bradshaw IRL right? I can't think of anybody else when reading about a whole suitcase full of shoes. You are going to think I'm such a shoe-criminal.

I am a bit OCD if you know what I mean when it comes to over planning for traveling. Unfortunately I do tend to over pack shoes but on this trip, I am trying to limit the shoes. We traveled with 3 checked bags and two carry ons each on the way to the cruise. I shipped on bag ahead and carried a duffel inside one of the suitcases.

Here is a picture of us on the way home from last WBTA so you can realize I am not exaggerating about suitcases. We have four checked bags each and two carry ons each.

 

[karentan]

whoa - thats a HUGE amount of luggage! that must have cost you a fortune in excess luggage fees!

 

[birkner]

whoa - thats a HUGE amount of luggage! that must have cost you a fortune in excess luggage fees!

Nada on United but 300 Euros on Air Berlin, $200 on Southwest and $279 to ship one bag with Luggage Forwarders. My only comment is all our flights were on miles so these were the only costs we incurred flying besides $2.50 each for flights on United.

This time, I plan to take less FE gifts, clothes etc. as we are not traveling in Europe this time.

 

[Tod&Copper]

Hello everyone

Just subscribing to this thread, first time cruisers so there will be plenty of questions to follow

Hi! It's my first post, but I just wanted to say thanks to PFlamingo for the link to marinetracker.com. I was using a different tracker, but this one is so much better.

BTW, I'm JessicasMom's other half. Can't wait to meet everyone onboard.

Hi there new cruisers, aboard. We are Mary and DH Stevie and this will be our 9th Disney Cruise. We are from Scotland and did the WBTA last year, it was amazing

Wow, sounds like the suitcase that I need to have! I will be trying hard to limit the number of shoes I take, but I always like to have options, so I'll probably end up taking too many...I always do I usually have a lot of stuff (necessary items, of course) in my hand luggage; then I have to walk nonchalantly up to the check in desk and try to act as if it is as light as a feather and not heavy at all

So i've just finished packing my superlight suitcases with 10 nights outfits (a different one for every night) and also mix and match clothes for through the day and I only have 16 kg in there Claire we are gonna be okay for the WBTA at this rate

All the shoes and jewellery are in the hand luggage, that must weigh as much as the checked luggage luckily it has wheels so they won't notice as I roll up to check-in in the morning how heavy it is

I am going to find packing very hard this time. I think John is going to have a lot less clothes than last time and he didn't have that many then!!! We will have less checked in weight but double the hand baggage weight, so I might have to pack shoes in the hand baggage too.

Toiletries are a problem for me as I have very sensitive skin and at the moment can only use the Body Shop Aloe range. So I will have to take that. I will also have a problem with a few other items too, so i think I will be decanting everything.

Toiletries are always my problem too, hence why I am going to buy all mine in Gibraltar. Have you seen the extra light suitcases in Argos, Claire and I have got them, only 3.5 kg and it has certainly made a big difference for my checked luggage

Gotta love lists!!!! I'm obsessed with hand writing lists.

I have my printed spreadsheets and handwritten lists too

I've already promised to take Dennis hat shopping in Barca, which means he has to go shoe shopping with me. Shall we make it an excursion?

You'll need to do that one without me, we are flying in on the morning of the 10th, I'll be wanting to see the new hats and shoes onboard Pat that you purchased in Barca

I'll put you down Mary. The 11A I have on the list is my own accessible cabin. I think people will be amazed at the room in the cabin until they think about the turning radius that is required with a wheelchair. Honestly, you could probably park 3 Cooper Mini's in the cabin and maybe another one in the bathroom!

Thanks for offering. I've always wondered what the sideways ones are like. When I cruise with DH accessible is less of a concern as he can help me climb in and out of the tub if I'm having one of "those" days.

Karen

My friends usually have the Cat 12 accessible cabin on deck 7 and it is huge compared with a standard cabin, great for his scooting around in his wheelchair and the bathroom is massive

LOL's Dan - I take it your not the same size as me and you don't want to share

Chris/Jeremy & Dan - Pub crawl query!!!!

I just noticed the date of the Magic Pub Crawl (16th) is the 7th night of the cruise which someone mentioned previously will probably be the 2nd formal night....do you think this will clash?

I'm guessing that many of us attending the pub crawl are on late dining, my plan was to either skip the rotational dinner & eat at Topsiders or go to the rotation restaurant but eat fast and skip dessert....whereas with the Formal meal in my experience it is a slower paced meal.

What do you guys think? If you want to change the day then I don't mind switching my Champagne girls day to the 16th or 18th, freeing up the 17th for the pub crawl. Let me know your thoughts.

I would rather it wasn't on the formal night. It takes so long to get DH into his kilt for formal night and then having to take the whole outfit off again would mean we would lose about an hour that evening. Any other free evening we could swap it to?

If it was another night it means we don't have to get changed out of our formal gowns into casual clothes for hitting the bars. A cruise casual evening would be better?

The only nights the pub crawl would clash with would be:-

Day 2 - formal night
Day 7 - formal night
Villains Night - TBC
Day 11 - Pirate Night
Day 13 - Semi-formal night

Plenty of scope for another night ??

 

[Tod&Copper]

Well that's us packed

One sleep till Barcelona and two sleeps till we board the Magic

What am I saying, sleeps...... there is absolutely no way I will sleep over the next 2 nights with the excitement

Wish me luck that we manage to get an upgrade, we're going to the port for 10 am to try and get one. The ship looked pretty full by the time they closed off for bookings a couple of days ago.

I've just had a quick check on the DCL site for those of you with your reservations opening up in the next few days - quick Palo update:-

High Tea - Days 6, 9 and 13 are gone for High Tea slots
Brunch - availability every day
Dinner - availability every day

Good luck everyone and I hope you get the slots that you want

 

[Chris&Jeremy]

I would rather it wasn't on the formal night. It takes so long to get DH into his kilt for formal night and then having to take the whole outfit off again would mean we would lose about an hour that evening. Any other free evening we could swap it to?

Dan- how about doing the pub crawl on Mickey Mouse Club dinner night? That'll be super-casual.

 

[Pinky166]

Thanks for the Palo update hun.

I just emailed you.

Have an amazing time hunny, I can't wait to hear all about it. Make sure you have a few cocktails for me.

Good luck for the upgrade.

Take care. xx

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Good to know there is another aviation geek onboard!! You will have to chat with Curt. In fact, our office I am sitting in now (a.k.a. supposed to be working in...) has airplane pics all over the walls. Mainly WWII type aircraft. Then outside the room is our curious cabinet with model planes...

My DH is another WWII geek ..... he can bore for Britain on the subject ... seriously. He also like aircraft but mainly the older ones such as spitfire etc.
He is very excited about Maho Beach !!

Well that's us packed

One sleep till Barcelona and two sleeps till we board the Magic

What am I saying, sleeps...... there is absolutely no way I will sleep over the next 2 nights with the excitement

Wish me luck that we manage to get an upgrade, we're going to the port for 10 am to try and get one. The ship looked pretty full by the time they closed off for bookings a couple of days ago.

I've just had a quick check on the DCL site for those of you with your reservations opening up in the next few days - quick Palo update:-

High Tea - Days 6, 9 and 13 are gone for High Tea slots
Brunch - availability every day
Dinner - availability every day

Good luck everyone and I hope you get the slots that you want

WOW .... have an amazing time .... we will be thinking about you as you sail away. Good luck getting that upgrade. Enjoy every Magical moment and don't forget we want a full report and photos when you get back

 

[TotallyAngelic]

So i've just finished packing my superlight suitcases with 10 nights outfits (a different one for every night) and also mix and match clothes for through the day and I only have 16 kg in there Claire we are gonna be okay for the WBTA at this rate

Have you seen the extra light suitcases in Argos, Claire and I have got them, only 3.5 kg and it has certainly made a big difference for my checked luggage

Are they the sub zero G - world's lightest luggage ??? They are reduced at the moment in Argos ... may just have to check those out!

 

[Tod&Copper]

Thanks for the Palo update hun.

I just emailed you.

Have an amazing time hunny, I can't wait to hear all about it. Make sure you have a few cocktails for me.

Good luck for the upgrade.

Take care. xx

Thanks hun, will have more than a few cocktails

Behave while I am away and don't be tooo chatty I will probably have tons of pages to read when I get back xx

WOW .... have an amazing time .... we will be thinking about you as you sail away. Good luck getting that upgrade. Enjoy every Magical moment and don't forget we want a full report and photos when you get back

Thanks Sarah, I will try and take photos and attempt a trip report

I'll be thinking of you while we are away, take care, I know it will be an emotional time for you next week and Taryn will be fine I'm dreading the day that Rachel flies the nest on her own

Are they the sub zero G - world's lightest luggage ??? They are reduced at the moment in Argos ... may just have to check those out!

Claire will be able to tell you which ones they are, I can't remember right now as my head is buzzing, but its not the zero G. We looked at them on Saturday in Argos, would be perfect as your case for clothes only, then nothing would get damaged. I'm very tempted to get one

 

[cliffy97]

Good to know there is another aviation geek onboard!! You will have to chat with Curt. In fact, our office I am sitting in now (a.k.a. supposed to be working in...) has airplane pics all over the walls. Mainly WWII type aircraft. Then outside the room is our curious cabinet with model planes...

Anyway, we loved Maho when we went there. It was the day before our wedding, and were with other aviation geeks. I would love to go back again, but there was literally no shade except at the bar. (Stupid airports and trees...) I may still try to coerce him back because I think DD1 would have a blast watching the planes come in. Esp if we see a 747 come in, or one who has to abort landing and circle again. We took the public bus system out there, and then hitched a ride back with a couple from Denmark who were headed back to town anyway. We watched their AirFrance plane come in, then rode back with them so they could grab their luggage and return to the airport for their flight home. Probably won't be taking rides with random strangers we meet at a bar now that we have kiddos.

Really into planes here myself. Loving thta my building in on the flightpath to LHR.

 

[smootenloopers]

I ordered three different t-shirts and when they arrived, I realized I'd accidentally ordered one in the wrong size.

It is a size L ash grey shirt with this logo on the left chest:

Nothing is on the back. First person to PM me can have it. If you are in the USA, I'll toss it in the mail if you want to share your address. Otherwise I'll bring it to the ship in September.

UPDATE: Claimed!

 

[cliffy97]

Dan- how about doing the pub crawl on Mickey Mouse Club dinner night? That'll be super-casual.

Game for whatever. I actually started planning this as a day time event. I was thinking 1130ish to 4/5ish which is how I have always done them in the past.


I will go with the group. and If we do it on Mickey Mouse Club Dinner night perhaps we can incorporate that into the shirt design.

Thoughts from the wider group?

 

[PFlamingo]

We'll probably do this one too.

So it looks like we'll probably do two DIS excursions (Jost Van D in Tortola and Madeira) and the rest we'll likely do through DCL or explore on our own. Still not sure about our plans for St. Maarten - definitely want to hit Maho and see the planes - I'm a big aviation geek!

Good to know there is another aviation geek onboard!! You will have to chat with Curt. In fact, our office I am sitting in now (a.k.a. supposed to be working in...) has airplane pics all over the walls. Mainly WWII type aircraft. Then outside the room is our curious cabinet with model planes...

My DH is another WWII geek ..... he can bore for Britain on the subject ... seriously. He also like aircraft but mainly the older ones such as spitfire etc.
He is very excited about Maho Beach !!

Dennis is an aviation geek, too. I'm a WWII amateur geek - I'm absolutely fascinated by that period. As for Maho, I know we want to go, and it's fine if we have to sit at the bar. Heck, after a couple of drinks I might even hang on the fence!

Dan- how about doing the pub crawl on Mickey Mouse Club dinner night? That'll be super-casual.

Excellent idea! A bunch of drunken mouseketeers - we'll certainly be remembered by DCL! I love it!!!!

 

[PFlamingo]

Well that's us packed

One sleep till Barcelona and two sleeps till we board the Magic

What am I saying, sleeps...... there is absolutely no way I will sleep over the next 2 nights with the excitement

Wish me luck that we manage to get an upgrade, we're going to the port for 10 am to try and get one. The ship looked pretty full by the time they closed off for bookings a couple of days ago.

I've just had a quick check on the DCL site for those of you with your reservations opening up in the next few days - quick Palo update:-

High Tea - Days 6, 9 and 13 are gone for High Tea slots
Brunch - availability every day
Dinner - availability every day

Good luck everyone and I hope you get the slots that you want

Have a great time! I'm so jealous - I'd love to do the Med cruise.

I second lots of pics and a trip report.

 

[poohluv2u]

ahhhh..... I think we do have someone who is a diver. Karen maybe?

Definitely not this Karen

... I would rather it wasn't on the formal night. It takes so long to get DH into his kilt for formal night and then having to take the whole outfit off again would mean we would lose about an hour that evening.

I had no idea it took so long to get into a kilt .. imagine how long it would take if you had to put on some underpants with it too

Well that's us packed

One sleep till Barcelona and two sleeps till we board the Magic

What am I saying, sleeps...... there is absolutely no way I will sleep over the next 2 nights with the excitement

Have a great trip, keep really good notes as we will all want to live the trip vicariously through you and your trip report.

 

[DISNEYFAN_SD]

We did that tour last year. The Butterfly Farm was great and we really enjoyed it. Some wonderful photo opportunities. The water part of the trip was not the best as the PA system failed so we didn't have the commentary. However, it was still very nice and the crew were very good and helpful. The bus tour part was just pointing out houses and areas of interest, the usual thing. I like these tours as they give you a good overlook of the area for not too much money.

Thanks for the info

On our previous cruise a couple of families did the butterfly farm on their own and all came back stating it was a nice place to visit but wasn't worth the DCL-price. If you do a search on Crystal27, she's got a tripreport on the eastbound car. cruise from sept 27th 2009. I know, a bit dated by now but she's made lovely pics and did the butterfly farm on their own. I know they walked to it, not sure if she posted details about that in her report (she and her lovely family were our tablemates so not sure if she told us about that IRL or if I reread it in her report). Either way, it's a good report to get some more info and pics about the farm.

Thanks again for the information

Here is a picture of us on the way home from last WBTA so you can realize I am not exaggerating about suitcases. We have four checked bags each and two carry ons each.

Here my DH thought it was too much with 4 suitcases total

Excellent idea! A bunch of drunken mouseketeers - we'll certainly be remembered by DCL! I love it!!!!

 

[poohluv2u]

I am really trying to get our pre-cruise hotel figured out but I feel like I am going in circles trying to decide between all the hotels.

Sarah, I saw on a hotel thread that you loved your stay at Praktik Rambla, but I noticed you are not staying there this trip. If it's not too personal can I ask why? It is one that we are considering.

Anyone that has already been to Barcelona and enjoyed their stay in a hotel, I would love to hear some recommendations.