WBTA Question...

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Has anyone toured Europe for an extensive time before their WBTA? We are planning for the 2017 WBTA as we were already headed to Europe for that year, but now we are facing an interesting situation. We are planning to spend 3-4 weeks in Europe before the cruise and having a Eurail pass. We will most likely be flying into London and taking the Chunnel into Paris where we will begin with our Eurail. We are a family of 5 (Kids will be 12,11 & 10) and plan on doing multiple countries, we have done this before but not capping it off with a cruise OR for this long a period as a family and prior to getting married, I have backpacked Europe extensively. Our question is....we will be travelling LIGHT...VERY LIGHT....pretty much backpacking and will not have room for frivolous items that we would ADORE having on a TA cruise....

What about formal nights? Should we shop in Barcelona (our last stop before boarding) or just not dress up (I understand it's optional, but I think it would be fun AND I really do enjoy it)...would we look incredibly odd boarding a ship with just backpacks? And mainly, what other things will we be missing out on with just the basic necessities in our backpacks?

Shipping a box to port is no big deal when we are stateside of course, but now I am in a whole other ballpark and hoping others have been in our same boat!!
Thank in advance!

 

[TrySomethingNew]

That sounds like a great trip! No one is really going to pay attention to your backpacks or any luggage, so that shouldn't be an issue. Formal for the you and any daughters could be one of those long flowing skirts that pack to almost nothing, some flats, nice/pack able top. For the guys, you could rent formal wear -they do offer it on the cruises. US cruises offer suits as well -not sure about the Europe/TA cruises though.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Ohhhh thank you sooo much!!!!! We will have dresses and skirts like that for our Vatican trip but I did not know that rentals were possibly available! My mind keeps thinking evening gown and well there is just no room for that! LOL!!!!

 

[ludari]

I've done the WBTA cruise twice and traveled for a total of a month (including the cruise) on both trips with just a carry-on bag. I cannot speak for the formal dress attire for the ladies but I found a great packable sports coat that I travel with and works perfectly for formal nights. I have also considered renting formal attire on the ship but since I travel and cruise solo I thought it was a bit too much. I hope you work it all out.

 

[Flossbolna]

I think it can be totally doable. For the men maybe pick up one or two shirts in Barcelona and wear these with pants/dark jeans. For the ladies get a dark traveling dress, there are plenty that don't wrinkle and are easy to pack. And then in Barcelona pick up maybe some fancy scarf or necklace to accessorize and to dress up your otherwise plain dress.

Keep in mind that larger sizes might be difficult to get in Europe, especially France, Spain, Italy.

You could also look into using the Spanish Amazon to get stuff mailed to your hotel in Barcelona that you already picked out before the trip. This would put less stress on you to find the right things while in Barcelona.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Thank you all for your input! This has been the one thing that has been stressing me out! LOL!!! It is all much appreciated!!!

 

[o&smom]

Ohhhh thank you sooo much!!!!! We will have dresses and skirts like that for our Vatican trip but I did not know that rentals were possibly available! My mind keeps thinking evening gown and well there is just no room for that! LOL!!!!

I have found easily packable evening/cocktail dresses at Ross. They are what I always bring on our cruises.

 

[NancyIL]

I think your plan to travel for several weeks in Europe pre-cruise is fabulous!

I have done two Disney Transatlantic cruises, and I didn't pack a dress or skirt for either. Nice black pants and a nice top are what I wore on formal nights.

 

[Plaid Princess]

We're travelling for 1 - 2 weeks prior to the TA this year, and we're going to pack 2 bags each and leave one in the luggage storage at the Barcelona airport. That way we can navigate trains etc easily, but will have all the extras we want for the cruise. This would mean that you need to fly into Barcelona and make a loop around Europe, but that's often the cheapest way to buy a plane ticket anyway.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We find it much cheaper to fly into London, which is why we were wondering how to go about this and not only that but we plan on staying in London for about 4 days. The UK is not included in the Eurail pass, so we are purchasing Chunnel tickets and they are already expensive one way for the Premier class tickets we want, adding on the roundtrip adds another 5-600.00. It's not an option to skip London this time around as DS has wanted to go for years.

I think we are getting an idea of what to do with all the advice here and it's so helpful!

 

[Ofinn]

We find it much cheaper to fly into London, which is why we were wondering how to go about this and not only that but we plan on staying in London for about 4 days. The UK is not included in the Eurail pass, so we are purchasing Chunnel tickets and they are already expensive one way for the Premier class tickets we want, adding on the roundtrip adds another 5-600.00. It's not an option to skip London this time around as DS has wanted to go for years.

I think we are getting an idea of what to do with all the advice here and it's so helpful!

Sounds like a wonderful trip. We may do something like this next year. We can't spend a month in Europe. I was thinking maybe a week split between Rome and Barcelona, and then get on the ship. Be prepared for sticker shock when you start looking at hotels in London. I don't know if it good to book early or late. I started looking late for our upcoming trip in June. I booked the Premier inn in Waterloo. It's 250.00 a night. That's about the best I could do.

 

[o&smom]

Another idea for lodging in England is to rent an apartment. We used Home Away and have reserved a two bedroom, two bath flat that overlooks the Tower of London(surprise for our son) and the Thames and Tower Bridge for alot less than a hotel in the city.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Sounds like a wonderful trip. We may do something like this next year. We can't spend a month in Europe. I was thinking maybe a week split between Rome and Barcelona, and then get on the ship. Be prepared for sticker shock when you start looking at hotels in London. I don't know if it good to book early or late. I started looking late for our upcoming trip in June. I booked the Premier inn in Waterloo. It's 250.00 a night. That's about the best I could do.

Yup, London is crazy expensive and yet I keep going back! LOL! Last time we went we rented through AirBNB but just not positive what we will do this time around. I can't start moving on anything until they release the dates! Hahaha!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Another idea for lodging in England is to rent an apartment. We used Home Away and have reserved a two bedroom, two bath flat that overlooks the Tower of London(surprise for our son) and the Thames and Tower Bridge for alot less than a hotel in the city.

Thank you for that information! I have only used AirBnB and am glad to hear of other rental places that people have used!!

 

[Ofinn]

Yup, London is crazy expensive and yet I keep going back! LOL! Last time we went we rented through AirBNB but just not positive what we will do this time around. I can't start moving on anything until they release the dates! Hahaha!!

Yup, London is crazy expensive and yet I keep going back! LOL! Last time we went we rented through AirBNB but just not positive what we will do this time around. I can't start moving on anything until they release the dates! Hahaha!!

Hopefully soon. Im hoping for itinerary similar to this years.