-=*September 10 2011, Westbound Transatlantic from Barcelona to Port Canaveral*=-

[CINGULARONE@YAHOO.CO]

Thank you for your help

We booked on the UK WDW site - the 2011 dates only went up in the last week or so and the free dining was added a few days later

Very interesting. I can book on the UK WDW site, but not yet the US WDW site.

When the dates are available on the US site, will you look at the price comparison? It would be interesting to know if the conversion from the pound to the dollar would be beneficial. The purchasing power of the pound is not what it was 2 years ago, but I would think that the dollar (post conversion) would still be more economical.

WE lived in Orlando for 8 years, had annual passes, love the parks. We would sometimes just go to EPCOT after work to ride Soarin' (and Test Track) and walk a few laps around the lagoon.

Hope all is well-

 

[CINGULARONE@YAHOO.CO]

To All-

This is way too early to think about, but.....

Have any of you ever sailed on a cruise with Don "Ducky' Williams? Our first Disney Cruise, Don was on, it was very interesting. I was fortunate enough to win a drawing he did of Grumpy. It is the highlight of our Disney collection.

For those of you who don't know Don, he is a Sr. Character artist for Disney. His story is very interesting, the job he has chosen for himself even more so.

Hope all is well-

 

[junesgoofy]

To All-

This is way too early to think about, but.....

Have any of you ever sailed on a cruise with Don "Ducky' Williams? Our first Disney Cruise, Don was on, it was very interesting. I was fortunate enough to win a drawing he did of Grumpy. It is the highlight of our Disney collection.

For those of you who don't know Don, he is a Sr. Character artist for Disney. His story is very interesting, the job he has chosen for himself even more so.

Hope all is well-

Yes, we sailed with him through the Panama Canal in August of 2008. I have many pictures of and with him.

He's great.

 

[junesgoofy]

Cheers! We'll definitely be celebrating at our dinner table. I'm glad you'll be joining us. Melia is also sitting with us and celebrating an anniversary. WOOHOO!!!

That makes our table 8 people....I think that's perfect. I love sitting at big tables with lots of people....it makes it so much more fun.

The other couple that we'll be sitting with are not DISers. I have to see if I can convince them to join us on this thread. They usually don't spend much time on the computer, but we'll see. They will also be celebrating their anniversary.

I love the pics in your signature. Is this your first time cruising without the kids?

Well, we decided not to go on this long trip. We wanted to do it but we just didn't think we could impose on anyone to keep our kids for three weeks. It's also during the school year which would be tough on whoever would keep the boys for us. We rebooked for a shorter cruise this year closer to our actual anniversary date. I was looking forward to the cruise and the 5 straight days at sea. Oh well, we will do it when the kids are gone from the house. I am sure you will all have a wonderful time. Thanks for including us in your table, it would have been fun!

 

[U2FanHfx]

Hi All,

We booked this cruise onboard our 4/11 Wonder cruise. With 50% deposit, 10% off and $200 stateroom credit, who could pass it up! Plus Dreams Unlimited is giving us another $200 stateroom credit.

It will be my wife and I on our 5th wedding anniversary. We got married on the Magic so for us this is a fitting 5th anniversary gift/trip.

We will be in the aft of the ship on deck 6 in a category 7A. It's a secret verandah room which we have had on 2 previous sailings. We will also be gold Castaway Members for the first time on this sailing. (cruising the Dream for our 5th cruise in April 2011).

We plan on doing a few days in Paris and Barcelona before the cruise. Are there any good threads / links that people know of for pointing out the touristy things in Barcelona?

Thanks!

Chad J.

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

 

[U2FanHfx]

Thanks BigHugs.

Would you mind posting the links to suggested hotels. We were potentially doing the westbound this coming September but decided not to. The one thing I remember in planning was trying to find a hotel was a bit difficult to determine. It's not like the US for us lol.

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

 

[MissErin]

Hi all!

Poking my head in here to say hello! We just got back last night from the EBTA and loved it so much that we booked the WBTA for next fall! We are also hoping to come in a day or so early and do a little exploring before the cruise starts.

We originally planned to do the Med next summer, but decided that the port days were a little long for my kidlets... and that I adored the sea days too much to have to DO something everyday. We'd have considered the EB again for next year, but we decided we'd like to gain a day each day rather than losing one (plus we already have a family vacation booked in December, so we need some time to save up for the mouse!).

Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

 

[christannj]

Hi Everyone, this is my first posting on the boards.... We made our reservation last week for the 2011 transatlantic cruise.... Thought that it would be a great way to recognize our 30th anniversary... at this point we will be a party of 4.... my husband and I and our two adult children....Will be eventually interested in what everyone is doing for transportation to Barcelona.... from what I have seen, the one way rates at least for this year are ridiculous and almost twice what a roundtrip would cost..... when I mentioned to my brother that we obviously would need to book a roundtrip and then just not return from Barcelona he stated that they will come after us.... I think that he was just being argumentative but does anyone know if there are any problems with this

 

[christannj]

Hi Everyone, this is my first posting on the boards.... We made our reservation last week for the 2011 transatlantic cruise.... Thought that it would be a great way to recognize our 30th anniversary... at this point we will be a party of 4.... my husband and I and our two adult children....Will be eventually interested in what everyone is doing for transportation to Barcelona.... from what I have seen, the one way rates at least for this year are ridiculous and almost twice what a roundtrip would cost..... when I mentioned to my brother that we obviously would need to book a roundtrip and then just not return from Barcelona he stated that they will come after us.... I think that he was just being argumentative but does anyone know if there are any problems with this

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

Hi all!

Poking my head in here to say hello! We just got back last night from the EBTA and loved it so much that we booked the WBTA for next fall! We are also hoping to come in a day or so early and do a little exploring before the cruise starts.

We originally planned to do the Med next summer, but decided that the port days were a little long for my kidlets... and that I adored the sea days too much to have to DO something everyday. We'd have considered the EB again for next year, but we decided we'd like to gain a day each day rather than losing one (plus we already have a family vacation booked in December, so we need some time to save up for the mouse!).

Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

I was on the EBTA also and loved it so much that I am planning on doing this one next year. We are going to do a B2B though so we will be on the ship on September 3 as my 35th birthday is Sept 8. I thought about the eastbound again but decided that I also wanted to gain an hour!

It will be myself, my husband, mother and father, and mother-in-law and father-in-law. We have not actually booked yet as my parents work for Disney and want to wait to see what rates come out then, but as of now, we are planning on eing there!

 

[MissErin]

I was on the EBTA also and loved it so much that I am planning on doing this one next year. We are going to do a B2B though so we will be on the ship on September 3 as my 35th birthday is Sept 8. I thought about the eastbound again but decided that I also wanted to gain an hour!

The EBTA was frankly the best vacation I've ever had! Lazy days at sea, watching movies with the kidlets from the Goofy hot tub, the awesome mixology class we took, did I mention lazy days at sea... even the couple days that were a bit rougher were fun. I was running on deck 4 on the 5th sea day, rocking all over the place every time I got to the front of the ship and laughing like a kid. I commented to someone on the deck that it was a beautiful day and they looked at me like I was loony.

My husband is focused on our trip to Bora Bora in November, but I am completely dreaming of being back on the Magic!

We'd be game for the b2b if we could find a good deal. (Maybe some last minute cat 12s!) Right now, our plan is to fly into BCN a couple of days early and drive to coast up to France, or perhaps to fly to Rome for a couple of days first.

christannj - They won't come after you! You won't be able to get a refund or anything for the unused ticket, but the airline won't care.

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

The EBTA was frankly the best vacation I've ever had! Lazy days at sea, watching movies with the kidlets from the Goofy hot tub, the awesome mixology class we took, did I mention lazy days at sea... even the couple days that were a bit rougher were fun. I was running on deck 4 on the 5th sea day, rocking all over the place every time I got to the front of the ship and laughing like a kid. I commented to someone on the deck that it was a beautiful day and they looked at me like I was loony.

My husband is focused on our trip to Bora Bora in November, but I am completely dreaming of being back on the Magic!

We'd be game for the b2b if we could find a good deal. (Maybe some last minute cat 12s!) Right now, our plan is to fly into BCN a couple of days early and drive to coast up to France, or perhaps to fly to Rome for a couple of days first.

christannj - They won't come after you! You won't be able to get a refund or anything for the unused ticket, but the airline won't care.

I agree - they will not come after you. I speak from experience because this is exactly what we did this year. We just made sure that whatever the part we actually needed was the first leg of the trip, so we did roundtrip from Barcelona to Orlando and back to Barcelona. Saved us over $1000 a person...One thing to mention is that once you figure out the actual day you have to be there on, play around with the fake return date. Most airlines will let you stay on a roundtrip for about 15-30 days. I used every day to find the lowest and by doing this, it saved a few hundred more per person.

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

The EBTA was frankly the best vacation I've ever had! Lazy days at sea, watching movies with the kidlets from the Goofy hot tub, the awesome mixology class we took, did I mention lazy days at sea... even the couple days that were a bit rougher were fun. I was running on deck 4 on the 5th sea day, rocking all over the place every time I got to the front of the ship and laughing like a kid. I commented to someone on the deck that it was a beautiful day and they looked at me like I was loony.

My husband is focused on our trip to Bora Bora in November, but I am completely dreaming of being back on the Magic!

We'd be game for the b2b if we could find a good deal. (Maybe some last minute cat 12s!) Right now, our plan is to fly into BCN a couple of days early and drive to coast up to France, or perhaps to fly to Rome for a couple of days first.

christannj - They won't come after you! You won't be able to get a refund or anything for the unused ticket, but the airline won't care.

Everyone that has asked me about the trip, I have said the exact same thing, best trip of my lifetime. We do not have kids yet, we have been waiting on an adoption from China for almost 4 years. Even without kids, it was the best ever. The staff was amazing and I really enjoyed the sea days.

My parents were on it with my husband and I. They want to do the B2B this year also, but I know I can not do it this year, so planning for next year. I was so relaxed by the time I got back to work that my whole perspective on work has changed. I have not been stressed at all and it has been really nice. I went into absolute relaxation on this trip which has never happened on a trip before because we have only taken one week trips and usually to Vegas or to Disney itself. This was completely different.

 

[U2FanHfx]

It's funny everyone is mentioning that if you buy a round trip for the cheaper fare that no one will come after you. I thought this same thing until I began to research this on the web. Apparently, depending on your airline, they can charge you the FULL FARE rate at that time if the find you have done this! It's in the Terms and Conditions. They call it "throwaway ticketing". It may still be worth the risk. Some info here on how to risk/get away with it. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...i-dont-use-my-return-ticket-round-ticket.html

Anybody else do the "round trip" for the cheaper fare this or last year that can chime in?

Regs,

Chad J.

 

[DisneyHeather]

To All-

This is way too early to think about, but.....

Have any of you ever sailed on a cruise with Don "Ducky' Williams? Our first Disney Cruise, Don was on, it was very interesting. I was fortunate enough to win a drawing he did of Grumpy. It is the highlight of our Disney collection.

For those of you who don't know Don, he is a Sr. Character artist for Disney. His story is very interesting, the job he has chosen for himself even more so.

Hope all is well-

He was on the EBTA last month and we loved having him on there.

I really want to go on this cruise with you guys next year but will probably have to wait until next year to decide for sure if I can do it. It would be my mom and I if she can find someone to watch my siblings while we're gone and I'd be using my DVC points. If I don't make it I hope you all have a blast.

 

[Phil & Deborah]

The EBTA was frankly the best vacation I've ever had! Lazy days at sea, watching movies with the kidlets from the Goofy hot tub, the awesome mixology class we took, did I mention lazy days at sea... even the couple days that were a bit rougher were fun. I was running on deck 4 on the 5th sea day, rocking all over the place every time I got to the front of the ship and laughing like a kid. I commented to someone on the deck that it was a beautiful day and they looked at me like I was loony.

My husband is focused on our trip to Bora Bora in November, but I am completely dreaming of being back on the Magic!

We'd be game for the b2b if we could find a good deal. (Maybe some last minute cat 12s!) Right now, our plan is to fly into BCN a couple of days early and drive to coast up to France, or perhaps to fly to Rome for a couple of days first.

christannj - They won't come after you! You won't be able to get a refund or anything for the unused ticket, but the airline won't care.

I was also on the EBTA with my DW and DS and father-in law. We had a great time and booked the WBTA 2011 (just DW and I). We have yet to go on a cruise alone, so it will be a treat in Cat 3.

 

[Phil & Deborah]

Please officially count me in!!

Ended up booking a Cat 5A. Price delta for a Cat4A was about $500 (not bad), however I wanted to be midship, but not on the highest floor for staterooms. So we are on 7th deck, which is just perfect...

I am so so excited!!

I began reading on Barcelona, and all the stuff there is to see there...I thought I could spend just a day, day and a half, but seems like a 2-3 pre-cruise would be in order.

Curious about what your WBTA's cruisers pre-cruise plans are?

Yay!!


/Melia

We are going down 2 days early to do some sightseeing. We didn't see much this year on the EBTA as we had 2 extra people. Not sure exactly what to see, but the aquarium looked cool and the over-head cable cars.

We booked a Cat 3 as it is nice to have the extra room on such a long trip.

We are staying at the AC Diplomat (booked through Disney).

 

[MissErin]

We are going down 2 days early to do some sightseeing. We didn't see much this year on the EBTA as we had 2 extra people. Not sure exactly what to see, but the aquarium looked cool and the over-head cable cars.

We booked a Cat 3 as it is nice to have the extra room on such a long trip.

We are staying at the AC Diplomat (booked through Disney).

We did the aquarium this time around and it was... eh. Not the best I've been to. Quite frankly, I'd skip it.

I'm not sure what we'll do pre-cruise. We talked about doing the drive from Barcelona up to Nice, which I think might be fun. We might also fly into London first (or Paris) and explore and then take a flight over. We'd originally planned to go to Rome or Hawaii for a couple of days in April to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Now we're thinking we're going to make this our anniversary trip and just do something in the continental 48 to mark the actual occasion.

Course I'm already missing the mouse... after two trips already since September, we swore we wouldn't do another this year... yet the 40% off deals roll around and I just reserved three nights in September. Now I have to figure out how to afford park tickets! We already have a family reunion booked at Hersey Park in July, and the trip to LA (maybe Disneyland!) and Bora Bora booked in November..... DH may kill me yet!