The Med Thread - All Sailings - Mediterranean

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Thanks for the report Andrew.. I'm glad I chose it. I think the weather should be good in July for swimming outside. I can't wait . Let's see this will make 2 Disney Parks down ... 1 more down in 08 and then only 2 more to go! I think Japan and China may take a lot more wishing!

You will enjoy it, less pace than WDW so better.

 

[misseulalie]

Has anyone bought any travel books for the ports yet? I am trying to decide which ones to get. There are so many books out there it is hard to choose.

Have a great weekend and happy planning.

I bought a whole bunch through Half.com They were used so I didn't pay much. I didn't like the Lonely Planet books. Fodors were pretty good.
I have some that are specific to the country and some that have all the Med. ports.

 

[disneylover5]

''
The Cristal Palace Hotel Barcelona seems to be always busy, and I know of people who will not stay anywhere else when they come to Barcelona so they must be doing something right. Popular for tourists and business people this hotel is just off Passeig de Gracia, one of Barcelona’s most famous streets, and is bright, modern and has good facilities.''

Andrew, Thanks!! I think we wantto stay near the beach and not spend a forture. I looked at the Ritz and it is $1,000 a night. How about the Grand Marina? What about booking through Disney....rates seem reasonable?

 

[taysmom]

who has travel insurance and if so, why? I am not sure if I should get it or not. I purchased this trip and the airfare using points/ff. Is it really worth getting. Also, has anyone checked on their health coverage? Does ours work over there? I know disney has a doctor, do they take us health insurance?
S

 

[CarolAnnC]

If you use the medical facilities on board the Disney ship, you will be charged on your room key/credit card the full amount incurred for your visit and treatment. You will take paperwork home to submit to your own insurance, so it is up to your health care provider if it is covered or not.

We do plan on taking medical coverage at the very least, possibly air fare insurance as well and maybe even to cover our DVC points we used to book with.

 

[micluver]

I wish there was a hotel review for families traveling with more than two members. I don't want to have to get two rooms but it's hard to tell if a hotel will fit 3-5 people unless you call them. Can't handle that many overseas phone calls.

micluvr

 

[MJGirl]

We can do those when disney goes to asia! Future wishes?
S

My sentiments exactly ... I'm hoping Adventures by Disney does an Asia trip sometime soon!

 

[MJGirl]

Disneylover5 .. Have you given any thought to the Hilton Diagonal del Mar.. Only a 10 minute walk to the beach and across the street from a major shopping mall. That is where I am booked in with Disney. There charge is 295 a night. This is more than I usually spend, but hey ... I don't take this kind of trip everyday!

 

[bellelinus]

I wish there was a hotel review for families traveling with more than two members. I don't want to have to get two rooms but it's hard to tell if a hotel will fit 3-5 people unless you call them. Can't handle that many overseas phone calls.

micluvr

We are staying at the Hispanos 7 Suiza for just that reason . . . they are an all-suite hotel near La Sagrada Familia and every room has at least 2 bedrooms. If you are looking to be near the port, it wouldn't work, but for our few days in Barcelona prior to the cruise, it will be perfect.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Andrew, Thanks!! I think we wantto stay near the beach and not spend a forture. I looked at the Ritz and it is $1,000 a night. How about the Grand Marina? What about booking through Disney....rates seem reasonable?

Thi one is just up from the port off La RAMBLAS and near a metro stop not so expensive has faimly rooms.

 

[CACruisin']

I don't know if this has been posted yet or not, but we had two wonderful travel resources when we took the family to Italy in 2004. The first is a book "Italy with Kids" by Barbara Pape & Michael Calabrese and the other was a travel journal called "My Italy Discovery Journal" that you can get online at www.kidseurope.com. Using these along with Frommer's we were able to plan out a fabulous 2.5weeks where everyone was happy & got to do what they wanted to do. Our kids were not quite 10 & 8.5 & 9 months at the time.

 

[OurDogCisco]

who has travel insurance and if so, why? I am not sure if I should get it or not. I purchased this trip and the airfare using points/ff. Is it really worth getting. Also, has anyone checked on their health coverage? Does ours work over there? I know disney has a doctor, do they take us health insurance?
S

You need to contact your health insurance carrier to determine if you'll be covered in Europe. My insurance covers us in Europe but only for medical treatment not for transportation to and from where you need to get treatment. So if you need to be transported to a hospital via airlines, etc... they would not cover it.

I did get insurance because my father isn't in the best of health and so I wanted to make sure if I need to cancel the trip then, I'd be covered. However, most policy require that you purchase within X days of booking the trip to be covered for preexisting conditions. My father has a host of pre-existing conditions so it was important for me that he be covered. He is not going on the trip with us but my policy covers my aging parents.

Normally, I don't purchase insurance but since this trips costs over $15,000 I wanted to make sure we were covered. To me that's a lot of money to lose. Everyone's situation is different since you are purchasing frequent flyer miles you wouldn't need as much coverage. You would put in your lost cost of cancelling that flight, etc... At insuremytrip dot com you put in the amount you will spend on your trip and then you get rates from different carriers.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I don't know if this has been posted yet or not, but we had two wonderful travel resources when we took the family to Italy in 2004. The first is a book "Italy with Kids" by Barbara Pape & Michael Calabrese and the other was a travel journal called "My Italy Discovery Journal" that you can get online at www.kidseurope.com. Using these along with Frommer's we were able to plan out a fabulous 2.5weeks where everyone was happy & got to do what they wanted to do. Our kids were not quite 10 & 8.5 & 9 months at the time.

Thanks I'm gonna check out..

 

[taysmom]

thanks for the info. I'll check it out.
S

 

[AhoyCaptainMickey]

 

[din]

I wish there was a hotel review for families traveling with more than two members. I don't want to have to get two rooms but it's hard to tell if a hotel will fit 3-5 people unless you call them. Can't handle that many overseas phone calls.

micluvr

My brother travels frequently to Europe and his advise was that in general the rooms are smaller and does not fit more than two at best. If the room can handle more people, generally there will be rates posted for each additional person for the rooms.

 

[bellelinus]

My brother travels frequently to Europe and his advise was that in general the rooms are smaller and does not fit more than two at best. If the room can handle more people, generally there will be rates posted for each additional person for the rooms.

That's true . . . most rooms are doubles at most . . . you can do searches for "triple rooms" or "quad rooms" or "family rooms" and come up with some hotels that have larger rooms.

 

[misseulalie]

Before we decided to switch cruises, we booked this one: Aparthotel Napols. It was like a hotel/apartment. It held 4 people and had a mini kitchen.

There is a website that has a lot of hotels that will fit 4 people.

http://www.bookings.org/searchresults.html?aid=307461;city=-372490

 

[MJGirl]

Wow .. If I did my math right it looks like some cruisers may already be booking excursions!! (Cat 1-3 Atlantic repo).

That means the trip is getting closer and closer!

 

[winotracy]

Wow .. If I did my math right it looks like some cruisers may already be booking excursions!! (Cat 1-3 Atlantic repo).

That means the trip is getting closer and closer!

Actually May 26 cruises in concierge are booking already and all Castaway Club transatlantic May cruisers were able to book last weekend.