*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* - From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 5

[Donaldcp98]

Me too! How do people know that today is THE DAY for room assignments?

Oh I don't. I am just hoping. I get more antsy by the day waiting for an assignment. It's one of those, I will know it's real when I see a room number, kind of things.

Sitting right now in my hot Condo because our AC went and the stupid repairman showed an hour and fifteen minutes before the time that I was told they would be there which of course I was at work and couldn't be home at that time.Now they are saying that they can't send someone out until tomorrow. Grrrr...

 

[Pinky166]

For those that are familiar with Barcelona, what do you recommend we can do to prevent theft? Would a fanny pack worn in front and under my shirt be enough? Should I have DH put his wallet in it instead of in his back pocket? I am really nervous about it now. TIA for any advice you would have.

I certainly wouldn't recommend your DH having his wallet in his back pocket....it is so easy for them to swipe it. They usually work in pairs, one will distract you with a question or simply bump into you. It's really not worth the risk.

We are taking one of these travel money belts, my DH will wear it under his clothes with our credit cards, passports and most of the cash in it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Money-Bel...cks_Bags_EH&hash=item2c5e23d22d#ht_2471wt_862

 

[Tod&Copper]

Thanks Mary .... I am really looking forward to it. You can wish Tony a Happy Birthday in person .. his birthday is in October ( Halloween ) This trip is just an impulsive thing ... no kids around that weekend, rude not to really kind of thing. Just looking forward to relaxing and wandering, nice meal, theatre, picnic in Hyde Park on Sunday etc etc

Hope you are having a wonderful time out there and hope it isn't too hot for you.

I'll wish him an early Happy Birthday when I see him Quite right though, you have to take the opportunity for some "quality" time without the kids when you get a chance

Having a great time so far, the weather has been good to us. Really hot the last 2 days and spent yesterday afternoon at the pool, so it was lovely. We are staying at the Beach Club Villas. Today is really overcast and muggy. It's always so hot in AK when it is like this, so decided to bail and come home for lunch

Good morning Trannies.

I think you should get one......I've got a plain pink one exactly like that, that i'm bringing for our Pimms.

Good afternoon, my fellow tranny

Here's another one. I had a snowball at my Mum's last week, do you like advocaat? That takes lemonade too, so we are sorted I was thinking about filling a few of my 100 ml new travel bottles with cassis, to save buying a bottle and they can go safetly in my hand luggage. We probably wouldn't use a full bottle anyway

Someone mentioned taking old refillable mugs to use for drinks whilst onboard - would this still be ok, or is it frowned upon?

I'd heard about this & plan to do that. Can you clarify though, if my refillable mug takes two cupfuls to fill it up, do I use two separate cups or is it deemed ok to use one cup twice since it I have not drank from it, just held it at the base?

Stevie's reading over my shoulder while I'm doing this and he says the same as Michelle, we have so many re-fillable mugs, we should just take one with us.

I've done the same before when making up some drinks (cough cough vodka in the bottom of the re-fillable mug) and took a paper cup from the side and filled my mug up that way, definitely just got to be careful for germ transferrance The CM saw me doing it and didn't blink an eye because I was filling my own mug up with a clean paper cup

Thank You so much for picking them up for me. Can't wait to use them. Sorry I replied to the wrong post. I want to make sure I thank the right person. Glad they are so sturdy.

You're very welcome You'll love them I'll see you at the 3 pm Promenade meet and I can give them to you

 

[karentan]

If you're castaway club members why pack the reusable mug, you'll get two bottles anyway in your gift! More room for shoes in the case of you lot!

 

[Tod&Copper]

If you're castaway club members why pack the reusable mug, you'll get two bottles anyway in your gift! More room for shoes in the case of you lot!

Unfortunately the CC reuseable mugs have a sports cap. The alcohol doesn't quite taste the same out of them

 

[karentan]

Adult sippy cup!

 

[fly4free2]

I just got a new money belt. This one says it is "theft proof". It has a wire running through the belt part that can not be cut. And trust me, if anyone would try to steal it I would know about it . This is the first time I had seen one like that.

 

[sue l]

Good news, folks - a friend of mine got with a friend of hers that owns a screen printing company and he will do the pub crawl shirts for us!

He acknowledged Disney being overly litigious sometimes but said that with the small quantity and me being a friend of hers, he'd do it.

No one would be able to tell where they came from or who did them anyway. My lips are sealed!

That's so awesome. I certainly won't tell anyone. Please let me know when you need the money.

 

[sue l]

I'll wish him an early Happy Birthday when I see him Quite right though, you have to take the opportunity for some "quality" time without the kids when you get a chance

Having a great time so far, the weather has been good to us. Really hot the last 2 days and spent yesterday afternoon at the pool, so it was lovely. We are staying at the Beach Club Villas. Today is really overcast and muggy. It's always so hot in AK when it is like this, so decided to bail and come home for lunch



Good afternoon, my fellow tranny

Here's another one. I had a snowball at my Mum's last week, do you like advocaat? That takes lemonade too, so we are sorted I was thinking about filling a few of my 100 ml new travel bottles with cassis, to save buying a bottle and they can go safetly in my hand luggage. We probably wouldn't use a full bottle anyway





Stevie's reading over my shoulder while I'm doing this and he says the same as Michelle, we have so many re-fillable mugs, we should just take one with us.

I've done the same before when making up some drinks (cough cough vodka in the bottom of the re-fillable mug) and took a paper cup from the side and filled my mug up that way, definitely just got to be careful for germ transferrance The CM saw me doing it and didn't blink an eye because I was filling my own mug up with a clean paper cup



You're very welcome You'll love them I'll see you at the 3 pm Promenade meet and I can give them to you

Sounds great. We will be there. When you get home, give me your paypal address and I will send the money. Or I can pay you on board. Whichever you prefer is fine with me.

 

[nick262]

I just got a new money belt. This one says it is "theft proof". It has a wire running through the belt part that can not be cut. And trust me, if anyone would try to steal it I would know about it . This is the first time I had seen one like that.

Do you mind sharing where you got it from?

Thanks,

 

[granmaz]

We don't like the taste of the water in the Castaway Cay metal sipper cups. It is very strange. I prefer plastic.

 

[heatherLOVESmickey]

I have been trying to read the whole thread to not repeat but I don't think I have seen this question yet... For those of you who have cruised on DCL or on this length of cruise is there a list of MUST HAVES that I need to make sure to pack? TIA

 

[Pinky166]

Good afternoon, my fellow tranny

Here's another one. I had a snowball at my Mum's last week, do you like advocaat? That takes lemonade too, so we are sorted I was thinking about filling a few of my 100 ml new travel bottles with cassis, to save buying a bottle and they can go safetly in my hand luggage. We probably wouldn't use a full bottle anyway


Stevie's reading over my shoulder while I'm doing this and he says the same as Michelle, we have so many re-fillable mugs, we should just take one with us.

I've done the same before when making up some drinks (cough cough vodka in the bottom of the re-fillable mug) and took a paper cup from the side and filled my mug up that way, definitely just got to be careful for germ transferrance The CM saw me doing it and didn't blink an eye because I was filling my own mug up with a clean paper cup



You're very welcome You'll love them I'll see you at the 3 pm Promenade meet and I can give them to you

Yes I do like Advocaat, in fact I have a full unopened bottle in the cupboard....it reminds me of Christmas though, we can put some Christmas Carols on by the pool.

Great idea about the Cassis, I could buy some of those cheap travel bottles and do the same.

Say Hi to Stevie

Unfortunately the CC reuseable mugs have a sports cap. The alcohol doesn't quite taste the same out of them

I was just about to say the same thing.

 

[heatherLOVESmickey]

We don't like the taste of the water in the Castaway Cay metal sipper cups. It is very strange. I prefer plastic.

I am TOTALLY the same! I hate drinking from metal! I don't even love plastic but don't mind as much as metal. I prefer glass but it's so impractical.

 

[Fontabel]

For those that are familiar with Barcelona, what do you recommend we can do to prevent theft? Would a fanny pack worn in front and under my shirt be enough? Should I have DH put his wallet in it instead of in his back pocket? I am really nervous about it now. TIA for any advice you would have.

We have been to Barcelona twice. I have always carried a purse that crosses over my shoulder with a longer strap, meaning it would be really hard to pull off me. I carry it with the pocket facing in so that it is harder to open. My DH always carries his wallet in his front pocket. You just need to be more aware of your surroundings. I tend to not use the money belts that you have to dig inside your clothes to get at it, which tends to draw more attention to you as a tourist.

We also tend to try not to wear clothes that immediately identify us as tourists (i.e. Americans), things like baseball caps, white sneakers, etc. We tend to talk softer and if we are walking, we do carry a small hand-held map and always stop and move off the main drag to look at it, so we are not walking and looking at it, drawing more attention to ourselves.

We rode the metro often in Spain and we had no problems. Just keep your eye on who is on the platform with you and try to stay away from completely empty cars. Know where you want to go before you get on and keep the "loud English" to a minimum (as a fellow American, and a New Englander, this is hard for me) but it really does help. Some people turn their backpacks around on the metro so that they can see all the pockets.

Some bad examples we have seen:

--On Las Ramblas, there often are street performers. Many people stop to watch. They form a small circle around the performer. They become so engrossed in the performance that they are not paying attention to the people in the crowd picking their pockets.

--We have seen some people pulling money out of these belts on the streets at vendors in plain sight of the large crowd, making it obvious that they had lots of cash. If you just pull out a wallet, it is not so odd.

--Americans especially tend to speak louder and slower when they speak to foreigners. This attracts attention, not to mention annoys the locals, but I have seen some people who you could hear about a block away and then they were targeted. Now, I don't speak Spanish, let alone Catalan, but we just spoke in more moderate tones to each other and to waiters, etc. We try to learn some phrases, etc. and just try to blend.

--Spain is a night time culture, but this is often when the thieves are out in full force. A good friend of ours who lives in Spain told us that we just needed to be extra careful in the main areas and on the metro after 10.

We had a wonderful time in Barcelona and all the other places we travel, but you just need to up your street smarts some before you just wonder off. The city has a lot of tourists, they way I look at it, if I make it more difficult to be a target, they can find someone else. This would be the same for downtown DC and Boston and other cities I have been in.

I also tend to trust my "spidey sense" when something feels wrong, just get out of the situation. For example, we noticed a small group of young men on the metro platform who were just giving me a "vibe" so we moved down casually and did not get on the car with them. This may have been nothing, but often I find instinct to be my best protection.

Just some thoughts from a seasoned traveler who has lived overseas alot.

Amanda

 

[PFlamingo]

For those that are familiar with Barcelona, what do you recommend we can do to prevent theft? Would a fanny pack worn in front and under my shirt be enough? Should I have DH put his wallet in it instead of in his back pocket? I am really nervous about it now. TIA for any advice you would have.

I certainly wouldn't recommend your DH having his wallet in his back pocket....it is so easy for them to swipe it. They usually work in pairs, one will distract you with a question or simply bump into you. It's really not worth the risk.

We are taking one of these travel money belts, my DH will wear it under his clothes with our credit cards, passports and most of the cash in it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Money-Bel...cks_Bags_EH&hash=item2c5e23d22d#ht_2471wt_862

I agree with Claire. No way should your DH carry his wallet in ANY pocket. Apparently the Barca pick-pockets are good enough to get a wallet out of any pocket before you know it. I wouldn't wear a normal fanny pack either. They can unclip it and have it off you in no time, or slash the strap.

I ordered these for us. Dennis is using the neck pouch, I'm using the purse.

pac-safe neck pouch

pac-safe purse

Pac-safe has anti-slash material in the straps of the pouch and purse, and in the bottom and sides of the purse. The online reviews of these were very good. I didn't order from pac-safe, though. I found them for less here: tamperseal

I haven't decided how we'll divide up our stuff, but we'll each take some of the cash. We have a safe in our hotel room, so we'll probably leave passports and the bulk of any cash there and just carry what we need for the day.

I like what Rick Steves has to say about touring in Barca - if you stop to watch something, put your hands in your pockets before someone else does.

 

[granmaz]

I bought a Pac Safe hand bag last year and it is great.

I have been trying to read the whole thread to not repeat but I don't think I have seen this question yet... For those of you who have cruised on DCL or on this length of cruise is there a list of MUST HAVES that I need to make sure to pack? TIA

Mmm, you should get a load of replies to this.

Highlighters in different colours so you can mark the Navigators a different colour for each of you what you want to do that day.

Air freshener

Some single dollars for room Service tips. Keep them in the drawer handy.

Over the door shoe hanger either for in the bathroom for all the toiletries or outside for everyone's bits and bobs.

Stick it notes to leave notes around(or dry wipe board or both)

Some kind of nightlight or torch.

I will leave it at that though I can think of LOADS more.

I am TOTALLY the same! I hate drinking from metal! I don't even love plastic but don't mind as much as metal. I prefer glass but it's so impractical.

We use the cups they have for hot drinks for water we take to the room as the card ones pass the taste over if left too long.

 

[fly4free2]

[

QUOTE=nick262;41992813]Do you mind sharing where you got it from?

Thanks,

[/QUOTE]

Believe it or not, Marshalls. I can't remember just how much it was, it was either $12.99 or $9.99 either way worth it. Its beige in color like the old ones were has 2 zippered waterproof pouches. That part is a must, sweaty money ( or plane ticket which was my sweaty thing) is not pleasant to get out if ya know what I mean

 

[Dgentrysim]

Doesn't matter what you were driving, though, does it, when it was $172! That's more than the cost of most rentals (before taxes ).

Maybe this will cheer you up:

He's watching the sea, keeping an eye out for your return across the Atlantic.

Where can this be found as wallpaper for your computer? Might would start my day perfectly at work!

 

[susie2]

hi is anyone else having problems logging into there reservation on the cruise site, we just keep getting the message sorry we are unable to retrieve your reservation at this time, never had this happen to us before