Who's in for GREECE and TURKEY, June 15 2003????

[MinnieDiva]

It was a very unique experience. I wish Disney offered more of these excursions. They even set up a temporary Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the gift shop the day of the ball. The DD's were 6 and 9 for that cruise, perfect ages. It was a small crowd, so the kids had plenty of interaction with the princesses and group of dancers Disney brought in to dance with the kids.

Here is a link to a few of the photos we took, the Disney photos were much better of course (but I didn't post those online)

www.magicalbalticcruise.com/cruise-trip-report--russia.html

Very cool! I'm going to have to go read your whole blog now! I so wish DCL would go back to the Baltics....

 

[disneyfan888]

Thanks to everyone who answered my questions on Villafranche! I have been away for a couple of weeks and have not been able to log on. I appreciate all the feedback!

 

[NanNan]

Joining up on the meet thread now! I have been following dear MinnieDiva and her infectious excitement and just now found the meet thread,
So great to read all of the info from everyone.
Our party will be me, Marilyn, my DH, Gary, DD Sarah(25)and her partner Chris(25).
We just did the MR cruise on the Wonder in January with my mom, son and his family, 4 generations, so much fun. It was the first time cruising for most of the family as my mom and I had cruised before on Carnival, but now I am hooked on DCL for life!

Can't wait to meet new friends!
Marilyn

 

[MinnieDiva]

Joining up on the meet thread now! I have been following dear MinnieDiva and her infectious excitement and just now found the meet thread,
So great to read all of the info from everyone.
Our party will be me, Marilyn, my DH, Gary, DD Sarah(25)and her partner Chris(25).
We just did the MR cruise on the Wonder in January with my mom, son and his family, 4 generations, so much fun. It was the first time cruising for most of the family as my mom and I had cruised before on Carnival, but now I am hooked on DCL for life!

Can't wait to meet new friends!
Marilyn

Glad you finally found us!

 

[Lynn G]

Joining up on the meet thread now! I have been following dear MinnieDiva and her infectious excitement and just now found the meet thread,
So great to read all of the info from everyone.
Our party will be me, Marilyn, my DH, Gary, DD Sarah(25)and her partner Chris(25).
We just did the MR cruise on the Wonder in January with my mom, son and his family, 4 generations, so much fun. It was the first time cruising for most of the family as my mom and I had cruised before on Carnival, but now I am hooked on DCL for life!

Can't wait to meet new friends!
Marilyn

Welcome!

 

[DL1957]

Joining up on the meet thread now! I have been following dear MinnieDiva and her infectious excitement and just now found the meet thread,
So great to read all of the info from everyone.
Our party will be me, Marilyn, my DH, Gary, DD Sarah(25)and her partner Chris(25).
We just did the MR cruise on the Wonder in January with my mom, son and his family, 4 generations, so much fun. It was the first time cruising for most of the family as my mom and I had cruised before on Carnival, but now I am hooked on DCL for life!

Can't wait to meet new friends!
Marilyn

Welcome to you and your family!

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

It was a very unique experience. I wish Disney offered more of these excursions. They even set up a temporary Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the gift shop the day of the ball. The DD's were 6 and 9 for that cruise, perfect ages. It was a small crowd, so the kids had plenty of interaction with the princesses and group of dancers Disney brought in to dance with the kids.

Here is a link to a few of the photos we took, the Disney photos were much better of course (but I didn't post those online)

www.magicalbalticcruise.com/cruise-trip-report--russia.html

It looks like it was fabulous! Thank you for sharing. I agree, I wish they would do more of those types of things. A Percy Jackson bent excursion would be great for the tweens in Greece.

 

[MinnieDiva]

I agree, I wish they would do more of those types of things. A Percy Jackson bent excursion would be great for the tweens in Greece.

Forget the Tweens....... I'd love a tour like that! The books are awesome!

 

[joius24]

Joining up on the meet thread now! I have been following dear MinnieDiva and her infectious excitement and just now found the meet thread,
So great to read all of the info from everyone.
Our party will be me, Marilyn, my DH, Gary, DD Sarah(25)and her partner Chris(25). mom and I had cruised before on Carnival, but now I am hooked on DCL for life!

Can't wait to meet new friends!
Marilyn

Hi Marilyn and family! Welcome!..... I know it....Once you cruise Disney, you can never go back

Love how active this meet is already ...... gonna have fun!

 

[mehaul]

It looks like it was fabulous! Thank you for sharing. I agree, I wish they would do more of those types of things. A Percy Jackson bent excursion would be great for the tweens in Greece.

How bout Hercules and the crew (Hades and the Fates) doing something special at the Acropolis.

 

[gailg3horses]

Well, I've put away all my planning books for now until I know what's going to happen with this cruise. Trying not to get too excited in case we cant go. I got laid off from my job at the end of February, and while I'm back to work, I had to take a huge pay cut. I'm glad we have over a year, but I just dont know. I'm so hoping we can go. I was even thinking of adding the adventures by Disney piece. Oh I hope things work out.

 

[o&smom]

Well, I've put away all my planning books for now until I know what's going to happen with this cruise. Trying not to get too excited in case we cant go. I got laid off from my job at the end of February, and while I'm back to work, I had to take a huge pay cut. I'm glad we have over a year, but I just dont know. I'm so hoping we can go. I was even thinking of adding the adventures by Disney piece. Oh I hope things work out.

I sure hope it all works out for you to come on the cruise! I see you are heading out on the Fantasy soon. We leave in 25 days! Can't wait! Enjoy your upcoming cruise and we hope to see you in the Med!!!

Marni

 

[MinnieDiva]

How bout Hercules and the crew (Hades and the Fates) doing something special at the Acropolis.

That would be very cool!

Well, I've put away all my planning books for now until I know what's going to happen with this cruise. Trying not to get too excited in case we cant go. I got laid off from my job at the end of February, and while I'm back to work, I had to take a huge pay cut. I'm glad we have over a year, but I just dont know. I'm so hoping we can go. I was even thinking of adding the adventures by Disney piece. Oh I hope things work out.

So sorry to hear that, but glad to hear that you've got some work....faith, trust, and pixie dust, right??

 

[nzdisneymom]

Still waiting for DCL to get the pre-cruise hotels lined up. As of today, they still say "not yet."

gailg3horses, wishing you lots of for you all to still sail with us!

 

[DL1957]

Happy Easter to my fellow cruisers. Next year at Easter we will have plane and hotel reservations as well as our shore excursions nailed down!
To the West Coast travelers I am headding your way on the 11th to be at opening day on the 13th!

 

[OurDogCisco]

So.... anyone struggling with pre or post cruise plans? We are a family of 4 and of course it is very difficult to find a hotel room that sleeps 4 and is affiliated with Marriott. I have some points I wanted to use where I get 5 nights in a hotel room plus airfare for 2. There isn't anything in Barcelona. So, I started looking at other cities. I found some in Paris, London, etc... We went to London in 2010 so, we don't want to do that city again. Paris is an option but then, I have to pay for the flight from Paris to Barcelona. So, has anyone stayed in a different City than the port city before the cruise? I'm thinking now it will need to be 6 nights before cruise if we stay in a different city (5 nights in one city and then, 1 night before the cruise as I don't want to fly the same day as the cruise departs). When we did the our 1st Mediterranean with Disney we just did a day before the cruise and day after all in Barcelona. When we did the Baltics cruise we did 5 nights in London before the cruise. I was trying to cut down cost and time by not having to travel far. Any advice???

 

[nzdisneymom]

Here's what we want to do pre-cruise. We sail on Saturday, so we want to have two full days in Barcelona to sightsee and adjust to the time. That means we need to arrive on Wednesday which means we'll fly out on a red-eye that leaves Tuesday night - so we'll need three nights hotel accommodations in Barcelona. We don't have points, etc., that we're trying to use so we are pretty flexible about where we might be able to stay pre-cruise. We are waiting to see where DCL is going to put their guests and for what price and then we'll decide if we're going to do hotel through them - we have air booked right now and are also waiting to see what on-our-own airfare will be - if we do air on our own, we'll probably do hotel on our own.

That does beg a question for me - we have travel insurance for our cruise through DCL - if we do air through them, I think the same insurance covers that portion as well. If we do air on our own, I think we'd need to get a separate policy to cover the air portion of our trip. Of course it gets complicated since for this sailing, we're using DVC points (we purchased the DVC offered insurance to cover our points) but the air portion is added on the second half of our B2B that we're paying cash for (and have DCL insurance for that). I think the DCL travel insurance covers the air - if I understood correctly in the past, that was the case. But if we do air on our own, I think we have to get a separate policy. Anyone know?

As for staying somewhere besides Barcelona pre-cruise - I'd think about where I wanted to see in Spain (or France or...) and whether or not I'd want to see more of Barcelona than you've already seen - that would frame our decision... if we could stay for points for 5 nights in Paris and then just fly down to Barcelona on Friday and sail on Saturday, I'd be inclined to do that if the flight price from Paris to Barcelona was reasonable and I didn't want a lot of time in Barcelona.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Here's what we want to do pre-cruise. We sail on Saturday, so we want to have two full days in Barcelona to sightsee and adjust to the time. That means we need to arrive on Wednesday which means we'll fly out on a red-eye that leaves Tuesday night - so we'll need three nights hotel accommodations in Barcelona. We don't have points, etc., that we're trying to use so we are pretty flexible about where we might be able to stay pre-cruise. We are waiting to see where DCL is going to put their guests and for what price and then we'll decide if we're going to do hotel through them - we have air booked right now and are also waiting to see what on-our-own airfare will be - if we do air on our own, we'll probably do hotel on our own.

That does beg a question for me - we have travel insurance for our cruise through DCL - if we do air through them, I think the same insurance covers that portion as well. If we do air on our own, I think we'd need to get a separate policy to cover the air portion of our trip. Of course it gets complicated since for this sailing, we're using DVC points (we purchased the DVC offered insurance to cover our points) but the air portion is added on the second half of our B2B that we're paying cash for (and have DCL insurance for that). I think the DCL travel insurance covers the air - if I understood correctly in the past, that was the case. But if we do air on our own, I think we have to get a separate policy. Anyone know?

As for staying somewhere besides Barcelona pre-cruise - I'd think about where I wanted to see in Spain (or France or...) and whether or not I'd want to see more of Barcelona than you've already seen - that would frame our decision... if we could stay for points for 5 nights in Paris and then just fly down to Barcelona on Friday and sail on Saturday, I'd be inclined to do that if the flight price from Paris to Barcelona was reasonable and I didn't want a lot of time in Barcelona.

I believe if you buy trip insurance through Disney it does not cover airfare unless you buy the airfare through Disney which totally makes sense as trip insurance is usually based on the value of your trip. Disney is not going to know the value of your airfare if purchased separately. I know, you can buy trip insurance just for airfare so, I'd go that route as well. I'm not sure how trip insurance works when you have 2 policies though. Maybe you should talk to an expert. I bought my policy insuremytrip.com I know they have an 800 number to call if you have questions.

I guess, the thing that is really bugging me about the pre-cruise in Barcelona is that fact I'm not finding very many interesting things to do there. I know we can go to Montserrat, Sagrada Familia and then, what?? I get stuck so, I don't see 5 days of sight seeing for us in this town. When we were in London I had to pick and choose what to do. We wanted to do so much more than we had time for. I could handle 3 nights in Barcelona but then, I can't use my 5 night plus airfare for 2 package. We did the hop on hop off tour in Barcelona on our last trip and it was nice much nothing went let's come back to Barcelona for us. I've been trying to read other trip reports about Barcelona to find out what else we can do there but not having much luck.

I know, you can get a pretty descent flight price on one of those European airlines like a Southwest here but they have luggage restrictions which I know my family we couldn't comply with the 30 lb weight limit. We could with 50 lbs. I know that Ryanair is 22 lbs. If I choose an American type airline it would be more costly so, not sure worth it plus, not sure I want to hope cities either for a short period of time.

I need to decide soon. I'm sure the way to go would be to rent an apartment in Barcelona for a family. I saw a trip report from 2010 on Disboards where a family did that. So, I'll have to weigh out is it worth it to pay for airfare for 4 and rent an apartment or do hotel 5 night and get 2 free flights and pay for 2 flights. Too many decisions...

 

[nzdisneymom]

I guess, the thing that is really bugging me about the pre-cruise in Barcelona is that fact I'm not finding very many interesting things to do there. I know we can go to Montserrat, Sagrada Familia and then, what?? I get stuck so, I don't see 5 days of sight seeing for us in this town. When we were in London I had to pick and choose what to do. We wanted to do so much more than we had time for. I could handle 3 nights in Barcelona but then, I can't use my 5 night plus airfare for 2 package. We did the hop on hop off tour in Barcelona on our last trip and it was nice much nothing went let's come back to Barcelona for us. I've been trying to read other trip reports about Barcelona to find out what else we can do there but not having much luck.

I know, you can get a pretty descent flight price on one of those European airlines like a Southwest here but they have luggage restrictions which I know my family we couldn't comply with the 30 lb weight limit. We could with 50 lbs. I know that Ryanair is 22 lbs. If I choose an American type airline it would be more costly so, not sure worth it plus, not sure I want to hope cities either for a short period of time.

I need to decide soon. I'm sure the way to go would be to rent an apartment in Barcelona for a family. I saw a trip report from 2010 on Disboards where a family did that. So, I'll have to weigh out is it worth it to pay for airfare for 4 and rent an apartment or do hotel 5 night and get 2 free flights and pay for 2 flights. Too many decisions...

What if you fly into Barcelona but then do your 5 nights somewhere else at the end of the trip? Could you do your 5 nights plus air that way? Is there a train that goes from Barcelona to somewhere that has the Marriott accommodations and somewhere you would want to spend those days? Are there luggage limitations for trains? Or if you were to fly a 30-lb limit airline, would it be worth shipping some of your baggage weight home from Barcelona - it might arrive back to your home about the same time you get there! Just thinking out loud.

When we sailed from Barcelona in 2007, we arrived the day before we sailed - it was our first international flight and we did not know better We had a flight delay so by the time we got to the hotel and checked in, it was 3 p.m. and we were exhausted. We were returning home the day the ship returned, so we literally had 3 hours to see Barcelona - we did the HOHO but nodded off for most of it and only hopped off once and that was to change lines. That's why we'd like to have two full days this time around - so we can see the city properly. But I agree - I don't think I would want 5 days there.

As for apartments, if we end up doing accommodations on our own, we are leaning towards doing an apartment for the three nights - bookings.com and tripadvisor have yielded some acceptable options, so we are keeping those in mind.

 

[MJGirl]

Hi all... Sorry can't help with the insurance question! I always buy insurance from my bank (it sells insurance through a subsidiary). I don't purchase it until I have to pay for something where a refund is not offered, usually airfare! I figure if something happens and I have to cancel the cruise, up until 90 days before, I get a full refund!

On another note, looks like we are in for a premEar while on board! Monsters 2(Monsters University) is set to be released on June 21st. We'll be in Athens that day!!!!