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

[KiwiMatt]

HI Susie2

http://www.madeirapirateboat.com/

Can you let me know how you do with these people. I used their website twice and never got a response. Then I emailed (carefully making no reference to our mode of transport to the island) and they finally answered telling me that they had a group booking that day (I highly suspect the Disney one) and would be able to confirm whether they had room for me (3 of us) by this Friday (i.e. tomorrow - Aug 5).

So I'm waiting...
Matthew

 

[heatherLOVESmickey]

Jean,

you need to make 4 more short posts - they don't need to be anything serious or even cruise related, so we can PM (private message).

Group #3 Palo Brunch so far:

giraffe104 (1)
yogitxtx (1)
3candianslovedisney (4)
IansGran (1)

Five more names and we can submit a request.

How it works: we submit a request for the private room; at 30 days pre-cruise (Aug 10), they'll let us know if its available; we need 12-14 people
if you have a personal reservation for Palo brunch, DCL will cancel it if group request approved; you get to meet, mix and mingle with fellow DISers.

Now, I find the brunch starts off sort of awkwardly, like any social situation, then you leave having spent time with some new friends in a lovely setting. So if anyone is concerned about not knowing others, you are pretty much in the same situation. But I haven't been to a Group Palo Brunch that wasn't fun.

Erik and I will join this group too. Are we up to enough yet? I'll have to let Erik know it's on our agenda.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I just want to preface this by saying that I have an injured tendon in my ankle and have been prescribed steroids for the last week. The doctor warned me it would make me irritable and anxious and boy was he right - plus, I can't seem to sleep more than a few hours a night - my mind is racing with things I need to do...Of course, that could the 5 weeks window before we leave for Barcelona, and not the steroids

So, with that being said, thanks for everyone who "talked me down" from my anxiety high about not getting my GTY. I have found a happy place, a new zen regarding my lack of room assignment, now that I understand it is because I got such a great deal on my rate. I only looked for my room assignment 4 times today (trust me when I tell you that is a drop in the bucket compared to every day for the last week), and I was not upset when I didn't see it.

Tonight over dinner I explained to the my boys that usually when you go on a cruise you know where your room is, but we have a surprise room that we may not find out about for a while, maybe even until we get on the ship. I told them it would either be on the first floor with everyone who works on the ship and have 2 windows, or be on the 2nd floor with one window....they were very cool about it!

I will confess though that one of the things that I have been up at night worrying about is this:

http://gizmodo.com/5618561/the-world-is-running-out-of-helium-balloons-will-eventually-cost-100


I know it is crazy to be so sad about this, but I just can't fathom a world where my grandkids grow up without balloons. Total bummer!

 

[giraffe104]

Erik and I will join this group too. Are we up to enough yet? I'll have to let Erik know it's on our agenda.

We would love to join in the brunch also - three people.
Carole, Mike and Jen

John and I will join in the brunch if you can get the ressie. Who do I need to PM as I will have to cancel our own ressie?

Group #3 Palo Brunch so far:

giraffe104 (1)
yogitxtx (1)
3candianslovedisney (4)
IansGran (1)

We did it!! We hit 14 people! group palo, here we come! :-D

 

[auntlynne]

I am so excited for you people. When I emailed DCL the other day, there appeared to be many days available (that's the way I took it - they asked me which of about 6 days I wanted.)

John and I will join in the brunch if you can get the ressie. Who do I need to PM as I will have to cancel our own ressie?

Disney should do that (there have been instances when they didn't).

We would love to join in the brunch also - three people.
Carole, Mike and Jen

Erik and I will join this group too. Are we up to enough yet? I'll have to let Erik know it's on our agenda.

We did it!! We hit 14 people! group palo, here we come! :-D

Josh will be your coordinator.

Here's the address and what I sent for Group 2:

Travel Services and Operations
Disney Cruise Line
Attn: Cruise Activities Specialist/Palo
Fax: 407-566-6910


Request for Palo Private Dining Room – Champagne Brunch
14-Night Westbound Transatlantic
Disney Magic – departing September 10, 2011


We would like to book the Private Dining Room in Palo for Brunch on the above-referenced cruise. The 12 cruisers and their Reservation Numbers are listed below.

We would prefer a date other than the first or second Sea Day (September 11 or 13); however, if that is all that is available, we would be happy, too. They are aware that any personal Palo Brunch reservations will be cancelled by DCL if this group request is approved.

I did not want the 1st or 2nd Sea Day as they are usually the dates for the DVC member's & Platinum/Gold Castaway Club receptions (usually head during Brunch time), plus Group 1 should have been on one of those days.

Please PM giraffe104 (Josh) with your names as listed with DCL & your reservation # (if multiple cabins, make sure to indicate name w/cabin).

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Congratulations!! I am in one of the Palo private brunch groups too and so psyched because I have heard it is even better than dinner...

If our particular Palo brunch group gets assigned a Palo day on the same day my mom and I have our Palo dinner reservations, do you think they will let us try and switch with someone else in a different Palo brunch group (if I could find some takers)? Our dinner Palo ressies are on one of the eight sea days, so I guess there is a 1 in 8 chance that could happen...

We did it!! We hit 14 people! group palo, here we come! :-D

 

[*Flower*]

I wanted to make a t shirt that i could wear to the Champagne Girls event, so had a go at designing something so thought i would share in case anyone else wanted to use it. Am going to make my shirt on vista print later

Hazel

I tried to create my t-shirt at VistaPrint, and the resolution is too low for a good logo. So I'm going to have my DH up the resolution to something that will work and I'll VistaPrint it then. Go to www.retailmenot.com and you can get a link that will take 50% off of the cost of the shirt!

Thanks for the design!!

 

[dylan'smom]

Congratulations!! I am in one of the Palo private brunch groups too and so psyched because I have heard it is even better than dinner...

If our particular Palo brunch group gets assigned a Palo day on the same day my mom and I have our Palo dinner reservations, do you think they will let us try and switch with someone else in a different Palo brunch group (if I could find some takers)? Our dinner Palo ressies are on one of the eight sea days, so I guess there is a 1 in 8 chance that could happen...

Probably a LOT easier to change your dinner res because all you do is call Palo to change or cancel...24 hours is all they need, I think. I understand the rooms are set up to be charged already with group reservations.

And congrats on your Zen like stateroom attitude! The 30 day mark is another popular one for room assignments, so good luck next week...even though you are okay with waiting now.


.

 

[auntlynne]

Sorry for the fuzzy picture but I was updating my avatar with a picture of the Magic sailing past my front door last year.

So I thought I would ask anybody else been able to view the Magic from the comfort of their own home

Show Off!

My parents have a couple of questions if someone could help me out.

Are the beds on the ship comfortable?...

I find the beds very comfortable - was just on the Magic in January, too.

...I told them it would either be on the first floor with everyone who works on the ship and have 2 windows, or be on the 2nd floor with one window....they were very cool about it!

I will confess though that one of the things that I have been up at night worrying about is this:

http://gizmodo.com/5618561/the-world-is-running-out-of-helium-balloons-will-eventually-cost-100


I know it is crazy to be so sad about this, but I just can't fathom a world where my grandkids grow up without balloons. Total bummer!

I find it unfathomable that Congress took a recess while the FAA is unfunded and we are not collecting taxes on airfares! off soapbox...

Not to burst your bubble, but oceanview cabins can also be found

Deck 6 forward (24 cabins)
Dec 5 forward (20 cabins) - that would be my choice! I love those hallways

Deck 1 (25 cabins) on port side only
Deck 2 - the motherlode of O/V rooms

 

[sinnika]

Tonight over dinner I explained to the my boys that usually when you go on a cruise you know where your room is, but we have a surprise room that we may not find out about for a while, maybe even until we get on the ship. I told them it would either be on the first floor with everyone who works on the ship and have 2 windows, or be on the 2nd floor with one window....they were very cool about it!

We stayed on deck one for the Med cruise with a military rate this June and we were very pleased with the location! We were able to choose our rooms (maybe because we settled for the 2 small windows to start with ) and since I wanted to get 2 rooms for us that connected (it was only $600 more and so worth it for us having all that space with our teens). Our cruise sailed pretty full and I knew we would probably not get an upgrade since we had 2 connecting rooms. Some of the pluses of being so low - you get to be the first on the elevators. No worries about if they are too full. You get quick access off the ship. You get to really see any wave motion - when it looked like it was getting choppy, I started dishing out the bonine, even before we felt it! It is super quiet down there! We have another similar room on deck one for the New Year's eve cruise when it comes to Galveston, though all 4 of us will be in the same room this time as a second room was pretty hefty in price! But we're excited to spend New Year's on the ship and be able to drive to the port since Galveston is only one hour from our home!

 

[auntlynne]

Found a post with a picture of a Deck 1 O/V:

Deck 2 (this one has a steamer trunk for storage) - cabin 2590:

cabin 2622 (doesn't seem to have steamer trunk):

Declk 7, cabin 7010:

Thanks to those who posted on the Virtual Tour thread.

 

[STLUCIELADY]

hey Disers
I am so confused in how to find a cheap way to get from London to Barcelona? Any ideas or help is welcomed
Thanks

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Thanks for the pix! My kids just went to bed (not to sleep of course) so I'll show them these in the morning. We've seen the DVD pix and a couple on here, but they love to look at any pix of the cruise ship.

Also, I have a call from Mickey about our cruise scheduled for them this weekend!!!

Found a post with a picture of a Deck 1 O/V:

Deck 2 (this one has a steamer trunk for storage) - cabin 2590:

cabin 2622 (doesn't seem to have steamer trunk):

Declk 7, cabin 7010:

Thanks to those who posted on the Virtual Tour thread.

 

[Chirpee]

What lovely artwork. I've enjoyed seeing all of your creations. Unfortunately I am hopeless at arts and crafts, though I will try and make some magnets for our cabin door. Not sure how those will turn out as we have a laser printer and all of the magnetic paper I've seen in the shops is for ink jet ones. So I'm going to use regular paper and then stick magnetic tape to it; hopefully that will work.

No, I don't have such a spectacular view, but I have seen a pack of wild turkeys out my window, walking down the middle of my street....does that count? .

We often have white tailed deer in our backyard in the winter.

When we were at a beach resort in Australia many years ago, we had a possum wander into the cabin one evening. Also, one morning we saw a jogger out for a run, who was being followed by a line of kangaroos! We've always regretted not having our camcorder handy as I'm sure it would have been selected to be shown on America's Funniest Video!

 

[giraffe104]

hey Disers
I am so confused in how to find a cheap way to get from London to Barcelona? Any ideas or help is welcomed
Thanks

I ended up grabbing a flight from London City Airport to Barcelona with british air. Check them out, they're reasonable.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Well, if I had to choose I would go with the brunch because I am committed with a group. I'm just not sure if I would be able to book a different dinner night on Palo - it seems like they sell out from what I've seen posted. I would probably cancel dinner - or maybe I would force myself to eat there for brunch AND dinner

Probably a LOT easier to change your dinner res because all you do is call Palo to change or cancel...24 hours is all they need, I think. I understand the rooms are set up to be charged already with group reservations.

And congrats on your Zen like stateroom attitude! The 30 day mark is another popular one for room assignments, so good luck next week...even though you are okay with waiting now.


.

 

[auntlynne]

IGT/OGT/VGT v. Cat X GTY

Are there any Cat GTY who DON'T have an assignment yet?

Are there any of the special restricted GTY (IGT/OGT/ VGT) who DO have a room #?

 

[STLUCIELADY]

I ended up grabbing a flight from London City Airport to Barcelona with british air. Check them out, they're reasonable.

Thanks for the info Josh! Which airport is London City? Is it easy to get to from Piccadilly? This is our first trip to London.

 

[giraffe104]

Thanks for the info Josh! Which airport is London City? Is it easy to get to from Piccadilly? This is our first trip to London.

http://www.visitlondon.com/travel/airport/london-city-airport hope this helps! Its connected by the tube via the docklands light rail. I don't exactly know what that means... first time londoner as well

 

[auntlynne]

There are five seats available on Sep 8 on BA from London City to BCN for $168 (according to kayak.com)

With BA, you are allowed a normal roll-on carryon and a piece of hand luggage + one 23 kg checked luggage (for the cheapest category - more for others).

You could get easyJet for about $111 with one free carryon (no more, not even a purse) and NO free check-in (it will cost you 15 euros/$21 - if paid online - for a 20 kg bag). Go over that weight and it quickly escalates!