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

[susiemmfan]

Hi Susie...welcome....

Kim and I are on this cruise...Lori and Susan are on the one after that going to Venice. We all have kept in touch since then...we actually all went on an Alaska cruise last summer. How have you been?

Hi Mindy and Kim,

Yes, it was my mom and I who joined you at Palo for dinner that night.
It is great that you have all kept in touch and went to Alaska last year. We went in July. I loved the Alaskan cruise. The scenery was amazing.

Nothing new on this end. Work and the kids have kept me busy, but glad to have a job.

I am so excited to be going back to Europe. I just wish the ship was going to Venice as well. Maybe 2014?

Susie

 

[MJGirl]

Hi everyone .. thought I would pop in and say Hi! Thought I would take a break from the Hawaii cruise planning and spent time today researching B&Bs in Barcelona for pre-cruise stay. Was wondering if anyone has any suggestions!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Welcome to the newcomers! And how cool to find DISers that you've traveled with before - I know for us, we always enjoy getting to know people and whenever we happen to travel together again, that adds to the enjoyment!

As for B/B's in Barcelona, I don't have any experience, but someone pointed me to Booking.com as a place to look for possibilities for hotels and apartments pre-cruise. If we end up booking our own air / hotel, we'll likely get an apartment booking. Some of them include breakfast as part of the booking.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We were at AAA last week buying our Disney World tickets and saw that Rick Steves is coming to our city for the same talk that someone else was able to see. Unfortunately we won't be able to make it, but I thought I would post the schedule here in case someone else was interested.


Grand Junction 3/6/2012 Avalon Theatre with Rocky Mountain PBS
7:30-9:30pm

Colorado Springs 3/7/2012 Colorado College's Shove Chapel with Rocky Mountain PBS
7:00-9:00pm

Houston 3/9/2012 The Houstonian Hotel with HoustonPBS 11:00-1:00pm

Omaha 3/12/2012 Joslyn Art Museum with Nebraska Educational Television
7:00-9:00pm

Des Moines 3/13/2012 Hoyt Sherman Auditorium with Iowa Public Television 6:00-8:00pm

Conway 3/16/2012 Reynolds Performance Hall with University of Central Arkansas 5:30-9:00pm

Memphis 3/17/2012 Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center with WKNO
7:00-9:00pm

Atlanta 3/20/2012 Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios
7:30-9:30pm

Atlanta 3/21/2012 Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios
7:30-9:30pm

Tallahassee 3/22/2012 Florida State University's Ruby Diamond Concert Hall with WFSU
7:00-9:00pm

 

[mindelmouse]

We were at AAA last week buying our Disney World tickets and saw that Rick Steves is coming to our city for the same talk that someone else was able to see. Unfortunately we won't be able to make it, but I thought I would post the schedule here in case someone else was interested.


Grand Junction 3/6/2012 Avalon Theatre with Rocky Mountain PBS
7:30-9:30pm

Colorado Springs 3/7/2012 Colorado College's Shove Chapel with Rocky Mountain PBS
7:00-9:00pm

Houston 3/9/2012 The Houstonian Hotel with HoustonPBS 11:00-1:00pm

Omaha 3/12/2012 Joslyn Art Museum with Nebraska Educational Television
7:00-9:00pm

Des Moines 3/13/2012 Hoyt Sherman Auditorium with Iowa Public Television 6:00-8:00pm

Conway 3/16/2012 Reynolds Performance Hall with University of Central Arkansas 5:30-9:00pm

Memphis 3/17/2012 Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center with WKNO
7:00-9:00pm

Atlanta 3/20/2012 Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios
7:30-9:30pm

Atlanta 3/21/2012 Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios
7:30-9:30pm

Tallahassee 3/22/2012 Florida State University's Ruby Diamond Concert Hall with WFSU
7:00-9:00pm

Thanks Cindy - it was Kim (minniediva) who went to see him and she posted a whole description of her experience on her pre trip report....He doesn't seem to get out to the Northeast, I guess that's why I've only heard about him through her.

 

[MinnieDiva]

Thanks Cindy - it was Kim (minniediva) who went to see him and she posted a whole description of her experience on her pre trip report....He doesn't seem to get out to the Northeast, I guess that's why I've only heard about him through her.

I didn't see him....someone else did (and we're still waiting on her review. My dad went and saw him as well. I saw a lady named Francesca lecture on Rome. It was fantastic! My dad did say that the one he went to was very informative and was focused on travel skills and the "thru the back door philosophy".

 

[abayaflowers]

Sorry everyone! A terrible flu has gone through my family. I am now the last one to get it and it's horrible.

So, here's a quick overview of what Rick Steves spoke regarding the European areas.

1. Purchase the Mediterranean Cruise Ports.
2. Book DIY excursions early.
3. Purchase tickets ahead of time
4. Start walking.
5. Pack light & drink lots of water.

He was nice to hear, because it was more a talk of encouraging everyone to travel and explore.

As he referred back to the shows and books especially the Med Cruise Ports that I already purchased prior to the Adventure Expo. Very helpful but neat to see and hear him in person. All the information can be found in the books and CDs. So, I purchased the Greece & Turkey DVD from Barnes & Nobles.

Very neat! My DD's are visual people. So, I purchased it for them.

He makes it seem so simple.

I will try put more information online as I go through my notebooks.

Again, I am so sorry for the long delay!

This flu is terrible!

 

[MinnieDiva]

This flu is terrible!

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[USUKMama]

Sorry everyone! A terrible flu has gone through my family. I am now the last one to get it and it's horrible.

Get well soon!!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

1. Purchase the Mediterranean Cruise Ports.
2. Book DIY excursions early.
3. Purchase tickets ahead of time
4. Start walking.
5. Pack light & drink lots of water.

First of all, sorry to hear you all have been hit with the 'flu. Ugh. Hope you're feeling better already.

Start Walking - we have every intention every time we're taking a "big" vacation to "train" ahead of time for the walking, stairs, etc. DH is a runner so he's already ready, and I will do some extra walking, etc., but the boys never do. When we went to the Baltic, we had a sea day before getting to our first port, and Zachary ran all over the ship with the Ocean Quest group (on Deck 2), up and down stairs. By the second morning, his legs were so sore that he could hardly walk (and he was on the top bunk, so getting out of bed was tough). I took pity on him and helped him on the stairs as we headed out to the bus for our tour - and helped him down the stairs coming off the bus, and at one of the museums, I found a cafe for us to sit and wait for DH and Nathan to explore. But I think he learned his lesson because he was better prepared for Alaska (plus he slept on the bottom bunk) and for next year's Med, he'll have had a year of marching band and PE behind him!

 

[detroitdad]

We are very late coming to the party, but my family will be joining the cruise as well.

It will be myself, DW, DD(19), DS(16), DS(13), DS(11). My daughter graduates from high school this year and this will be her graduation present a year late. Of course the whole family benfits . This will be our 4th cruise with DCL. We booked the Med cruise while on our 4-day Fantasy over Feb winter break. I am still in sticker shock even with the on board discount. We love DCL, but when you have a family of 6, it ends up being a small fortune. I will not tell anyone else in my family what this trip will cost us, but we have wanted to go to Europe for years and our youngest will finally be old enough to appreciate it as he will be a couple months shy of 12 when we travel. We won't be vacationing anywhere else for quite a while though!

 

[gailg3horses]

I'm enjoying the Rick Steves med cruise ports book too. I was also able to get the package of all his dvds through a rewards program so watching those while reading has really given me a nice picture of the places we'll visit.

I'm curious to know which ports people plan to use dcl excursions for and where you'll be venturing on your own. Also some recommended tour guides. Thanks.

 

[MinnieDiva]

We are very late coming to the party, but my family will be joining the cruise as well.

 

[4boons]

We are very late coming to the party, but my family will be joining the cruise as well.

It will be myself, DW, DD(19), DS(16), DS(13), DS(11). My daughter graduates from high school this year and this will be her graduation present a year late.

Welcome aboard.

Your not late we're early.

Our DD graduates from high school this year and she too will be 19 when we cruise.

Bill

 

[DL1957]

We are very late coming to the party, but my family will be joining the cruise as well.

It will be myself, DW, DD(19), DS(16), DS(13), DS(11). My daughter graduates from high school this year and this will be her graduation present a year late. Of course the whole family benfits . This will be our 4th cruise with DCL. We booked the Med cruise while on our 4-day Fantasy over Feb winter break. I am still in sticker shock even with the on board discount. We love DCL, but when you have a family of 6, it ends up being a small fortune. I will not tell anyone else in my family what this trip will cost us, but we have wanted to go to Europe for years and our youngest will finally be old enough to appreciate it as he will be a couple months shy of 12 when we travel. We won't be vacationing anywhere else for quite a while though!

Welcome to the group! You are not late since we have not even hit the 365 day mark yet! You will have a great time. There are serveral of us that have already done Europe on Disney and we can all confirm it is awesome!

 

[speakupjc]

Welcome!

 

[detroitdad]

Thanks for the welcome! Can't believe how many DISers will be on this cruise and how many of you have cruised together before. That is really cool! We still keep in touch with a family that we met on our first cruise in 2006 on the Magic....just spoke with them yesterday, in fact.

So I thought I read somewhere that some cruisers are looking forward to seeing what ABD add ons get offered this cruise. Can someone explain that to me? Are you talking about just specific ABD excursions from the Italy ports or a post trip from Barcelona?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Detroitdad - welcome to the Meet thread! I've added you to the "who's sailing" post, and if you'll follow the link in my sig line, you'll find information about how to add your traveling party to the spreadsheet. This trip is an early graduation for our older son - he'll be between junior and senior year.

Rick Steves has some of his audio tours for free at iTunes - just search Rick Steves and you'll find them. Some of his maps and such are also available for iBooks if you have that app and are interested.

 

[abayaflowers]

I found this great article, "How to Shop for summer flights to Europe" on USA Today Travel section:

http://travel.usatoday.com/experts/...-shop-for-summer-flights-to-Europe/53388550/1

Still have this darn flu! I thought that I was better, but it's still here.

 

[joius24]

I found this great article, "How to Shop for summer flights to Europe" on USA Today Travel section:

http://travel.usatoday.com/experts/...-shop-for-summer-flights-to-Europe/53388550/1

Still have this darn flu! I thought that I was better, but it's still here.

Thanks Abaya....good article... hope you feel better soon!